The first look at Black Palace has arrived, offering a glimpse at Nick Hamm’s new period drama starring Freya Allan and Kodi Smit-McPhee. Written by Jon Croker, the film is set in autumn 1888, when London was gripped by fear surrounding the Jack the Ripper murders. Production has been underway in the United Kingdom, with New Regency representing the film for worldwide sales.
The story moves inside Buckingham Palace, where a young woman is sent to work at the centre of Queen Victoria’s empire. Her secret task is to spy on Victoria’s wayward grandson, who repeatedly disappears at night. As she grows closer to the Prince, she moves between royal privilege and the poverty of Victorian London, eventually uncovering secrets that could put both the Crown and her own survival at risk.
The setting gives Black Palace a direct connection to one of London’s most disturbing historical periods. The emerging tabloid press was filling newspapers with lurid stories about Jack the Ripper, creating widespread anxiety across the city. The Prince’s unexplained nighttime movements may also remind audiences of the long-running theory that Prince Albert Victor, Queen Victoria’s grandson, was connected to the Ripper murders. That remains a historical conspiracy theory, however, and the film should not be treated as confirmation of it.
For Hamm, the project also represents a return to British filmmaking. The director said he had not had the privilege of shooting a movie in the UK for many years and described the experience as fantastic. He praised the committed cast and crew and Croker’s screenplay, calling it “audacious and disturbing.” The film also marks the sixth collaboration between Hamm and producer Piers Tempest, continuing a partnership that has developed across several productions.
Allan and Smit-McPhee lead a cast that also includes Joe Anders, Raffey Cassidy, Iain Glen, Martin Clunes and Juliet Stevenson. The ensemble brings together performers from film and television, with Stevenson set to play Queen Victoria.
The production team adds another major point of interest. Cinematographer Jamie Ramsay is joined by costume designer Joanna Eatwell, whose work has received Emmy and BAFTA recognition. Karen Hartley, an Academy Award-nominated hair and makeup designer known for Golda, is responsible for the film’s hair and makeup. Production designer Peter Francis, an Academy Award nominee for The Father, is shaping the visual world, while Emmy-winning editor Yan Miles, known for The Crown, is handling the edit.
The film’s music comes from Steven Price, the Academy Award-winning composer of Gravity. Together, the department heads give Black Palace an experienced creative team capable of building a convincing Victorian setting without relying only on its famous historical backdrop. DNEG is providing visual effects, adding another layer to the production.
Producer Marie-Christine Jaeger-Firmenich has described the story as being about the nature of power and what people choose to do with it, a theme that gives the royal setting relevance beyond its historical surface. New Regency will handle worldwide sales as the film moves through the next stage, with the first-look material focusing on the unusual blend of royal intrigue and Victorian suspense.
Black Palace is produced by Jaeger-Firmenich, Tempest, Mark Huffam and Hamm. It is the first film to complete production under Hamm4, the company Nick Hamm runs with his sons, with Hannah Shipley and Will Matthews serving as co-producers.
With its Buckingham Palace setting, royal secrets, forbidden closeness and the fear surrounding Jack the Ripper-era London, Black Palace brings several historical and dramatic threads together. Its combination of romance, mystery and survival gives the film a distinctive identity as it moves toward its next stage.
Read More:
- World War II: The Story That Hollywood Never Stops Telling
- How Do Independent Films Survive? The Economics Behind the Movies
- Batwara 1947: How Hindi Cinema Kept Remembering The Scar Of PartitionTHE SEED OF THE SACRED FIG: When Politics Enters the Home
- How a Film Is Born: The Journey from an Idea to the Big Screen
