The House Of Mirth is a period drama released in 2000 – filmed largely in Glasgow it brought a formidable cast to the city, including Gillian Anderson, Dan Aykroyd, Eleanor Bron, Terry Kinney, Anthony LaPaglia, Laura Linney, Jodhi May, Elizabeth McGovern and Eric Stoltz.
On this occasion Glasgow takes on the role of New York City during the first decade of the 20th Century. Based on the 1905 novel of the same name by American Edith Wharton, The House Of Mirth follows the doomed love life of Anderson’s character – socialite Lily Bart.
Some well known Glasgow locations feature throughout the movie – various rooms and staircases in the City Chambers double as opulent New York apartments and mansions, Kelvingrove Art Gallery and Museum takes on the guise of a train station and the Theatre Royal takes on the not so dramatically different role of an opera house. There is also a scene involving Anderson and LaPaglia where the stairway at Kelvinbridge subway station is surrounded by some not totally convincing CGI imagery that transforms the existing buildings and has a steam train sitting where Great Western Road is in reality, while other locations include Devonshire Terrace and Kelvingrove Park.
Viewing of this film requires something of an acquired taste – it is certainly not everyone, including Glasgow on Film’s, cup of tea, however it is worth a one-off glance to see Glasgow locations at their finest and witness a number of well known Hollywood names working in the city.
Glasgow on Film 