The correspondence between Frank and Helene, who became a somewhat successful TV writer, carried on for 20 years from 1949 to 1969, and was published in 1970, which eventually led to this movie.

One of my new favorites!! The rest of my comments contain SPOILERS for my recollection, please stop reading if you have not seen the movie. Bancroft (Helene) and Hopkins (Frank) are magnificent here, in this wonderful little movie of two people, quite different, living worlds apart, but who become lifelong friends. She finds a simple ad in a publication, writes to the bookstore in London, they send her two of the three books she seeks, for a total of $5.30, and the story begins in earnest from that point. Helene (Anne Bancroft), a New York Jew and struggling writer, loves English literature but cannot find suitable and reasonably-priced books that she wants in NYC. I always like movies based on real people, and closely identify with the idea of a seemingly random event triggering a new and perhaps lasting friendship. Watching it today, I became totally immersed in the story, and I found out why later, because it is based on the real story of Helene and Frank. '84 Charing Cross', from the address of the used book store in London, takes place over roughly 20 years from 1949 to 1969.

Doel, Judi Dench as his wife, and Mercedes Ruehl as Helene's neighbor. The film also has a wonderful cast with Anne Bancroft as Helene, Anthony Hopkins as the generous Frank P. The interaction between Helene and her British friends occurs only through letters, so rather than have the characters write a letter and then dub what is written, eventually, the characters just face the camera and say what they would have written, with the camera cutting back and forth for each others response at times as though we suddenly become the recipient of their conversations.

And through their letters, they share experiences over the years, which the viewer witnesses through a juxtasposition of two different cultures: American and British. Through her letters, she not only becomes a frequent customer, but eventually, becomes quite close with all of the bookstore's employees. The movie begins during WWII as Helene, a writer, is searching for out-of-print books and, frustrated at the poor selection in the city's bookstores, starts writing letters to the Marx brother's bookstore in England. Based on the memoirs of Helene Hanff (the book contains the letters from which they read throughout the film), this is the story of a single New York woman named Helene Hanff (Anne Bancroft) who builds a forty-year friendship with some people who work in a bookstore in England. 84 Charing Cross Road is one of my favorite movies.

84 charing cross road book