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On gossamer wings: Fact or fiction
October 22, 1997
From Correspondent Michael Okwu
NEW YORK (CNN) -- In 1917, two young British girls enthralled much of the world with photographs of what they claimed were real, live fairies. The claims electrified England, which was already engaged in heated debates over either the passing fad or precious faith in fairies.
Hollywood has finally caught up with the notion with the film "Fairytale: A True Story." The movie stars newcomers Florence Hoath and Elizabeth Earl as the two young girls who, along with their photos, sparked a debate between the likes of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and Harry Houdini about the authenticity of the claim.
In "Fairytale" Harvey Keitel stars as famed magician Houdini, who was skeptical both of spiritualism and of the fairies. Keitel says he himself is interested in the subject matter.
"Well, fairytales are a subject I really read about the most...and in this story it is wonderfully depicted how important it is for us to recognize and nourish the imagination of children," he says.
Playing the magician among a cast of children required sweetly alternative preparations on the part of veteran tough guy Keitel.
"You have to make sure you have enough money for lollipops, candy, you know. You buy them the wrong candy, (and) they can get very upset. And I didn't like it when they tried to steal my Mallomars," he laughs.
Peter O'Toole plays Doyle, creator of Sherlock Holmes and a believer in spiritualism. In 1920, the Cottingley fairy photographs were brought to Doyle's attention and he became convinced that they were genuine, scientific proof of the existence of fairies.
Believing in fairies wasn't a problem for the film's young stars. But pretending to interact with enchanted creatures on gossamer wings was a challenge.
"It was weird because you were doing motions to nothing, or a doll on a piece of string or something," says Elizabeth Earl, who stars as Frances Griffiths, one of the two British girls claiming to have seen the fairies.
Florence Hoath, cast as Elsie Wright, admits to feeling a bit silly at times.
"It makes you feel like a bit of a fool sometimes," she laughs.
Related sites:
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- Fairytale - A True Story
- Movieweb - Fairytale - A True Story
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