Helene Hanffs book 84 Charing Cross Road had previously been a TV program and a stage play before it was converted into this charming 1986 film. The scene is New York, 1949: Anne Bancroft plays a struggling writer and passionate bibliophile, who answers an advertisement from a rare-volumes bookshop at 84 Charing Cross Road in London. Thus begins a two-decade romance by correspondence between Bancroft and Briton Anthony Hopkins, the man in charge of the overseas department of Marks and Company. Though several meetings are arranged, Bancroft and Hopkins never come face to face thanks to mitigating circumstances. When Anne finally makes it to London, she finds that both the bookstore and Hopkins have permanently taken leave of this world. This potentially static chamber drama is given a marvelous visual and verbal fluidity throughout by director David Jones. 84 Charing Cross Road was produced by Mel Brooks, the husband of star Anne Bancroft. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide