Hindle Wakes | |
---|---|
Directed by | Arthur Crabtree |
Written by | John Baines |
Based on | Hindle Wakes by Stanley Houghton |
Produced by | Philip Brandon William J. Gell |
Starring | Lisa Daniely Brian Worth Leslie Dwyer Sandra Dorne |
Cinematography | Geoffrey Faithfull |
Edited by | Max Benedict |
Music by | Stanley Black |
Production company | |
Distributed by | Monarch Film Corporation |
Release date |
|
Running time | 82 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Hindle Wakes is a 1952 British drama film, directed by Arthur Crabtree and starring Lisa Daniely, Brian Worth, Leslie Dwyer and Sandra Dorne. [1] It was the fourth screen adaptation of the 1912 play by Stanley Houghton, dealing with a young woman engaging in a holiday sexual flirtation, regardless of the disapproval of her parents or wider society.
Lancashire mill-girls Jenny Hawthorne and Mary Hollins go on holiday to Blackpool during the annual wakes week in their hometown of Hindle. They run into Alan Jeffcote, the son of the owner of the mill in which they work, who has also travelled to Blackpool with a group of friends while his fiancée is detained on business in London. Jenny had admired Alan from afar in the factory and they hit it off immediately. When they go off on their own together, he persuades her to leave Blackpool to spend the week with him at Llandudno. To cover her tracks, Jenny takes Mary's advice and writes a postcard for Mary to post to her parents later in the week. She and Alan leave their friends and set off for Llandudno, where he books them into a hotel on the front as Mr and Mrs Jeffcote.
Shortly afterwards, Mary is involved in a serious boating accident and is killed. Her possessions are returned to Hindle and the unsent postcard is found in her luggage. Jenny's parents are already suspicious and concerned by the fact that Jenny has not returned to Hindle as they would have expected in view of such a tragic turn to her holiday, and the discovery of the postcard increases their fears. When Jenny returns at the end of the week, her parents ask about her holiday, and allow her to dig a hole for herself as her fictitious account shows she is unaware of Mary's death and has clearly not spent the week in Blackpool. When confronted with the truth, Jenny is distraught at Mary's death and admits to where she has been, and with whom, but defiantly refuses to feel guilty or immoral.
The Hawthornes decide that they will confront the Jeffcotes with their son's unacceptable behaviour. Mrs. Hawthorne's anger is tempered by the fact that she believes the situation may be turned to financial advantage. Hawthorne feels some trepidation, as he and Jeffcote have been friends since childhood and have remained on good terms despite Jeffcote's rise to social prominence. To the surprise of Mr Hawthorne, Jeffcote agrees that the proper thing to do is for Alan to marry Jenny. Mrs. Jeffcote is less convinced, because of the loss of his expected marriage to the daughter of another local factory owner, who breaks off their engagement when Alan tells her what has happened. A meeting is convened between the families. Jenny and Alan remain silent while their parents try to agree the details of their marriage, and Mrs. Hawthorne and Mrs. Jeffcote become involved in a shouting match. Jenny then announces that she has no interest in marrying Alan and that for both of them it was just a "little fling". Her parents are shocked, and her mother sobs inconsolably. Alan and his mother are surprised but relieved, and he quickly phones and makes up with his fiancée. Jenny resumes her relationship with her admirer at the factory.
The film was produced and distributed by the independent Monarch Film Corporation. It was made at the Merton Park Studios in London with sets designed by the art director Andrew Mazzei. [1] Location shooting took place in Blackpool and Llandudno.
Monthly Film Bulletin said "This well-known Lancashire piece has been turned into a modest, efficient and quite agreeable little film. Glimpses of the cotton mills, of the Hindle inmates, of Blackpool amusement park and Wakes Week give it a lively background and, although the acting is generally rather weak, the entertainment as a whole has simple and direct appeal." [2]
Kine Weekly wrote "The picture takes a little time to warm up – its initial Cook’s tour of Blackpool and Llandudno, although colourful and conducive to correct atmosphere, is somewhat repetitious – but the concluding chapters, culminating with the heroine’s defiant stand against convention, express sentiments that are certain to appeal to the majority. Lisa Daniely looks attractive at all times and impresses in the big scene as Jenny, and Brian Worth is very true to type as the weak and vacillating Alan. Joan Hickson excels as the spiteful and grasping Mrs. Hawthorne and gives validity to the soundly chosen supporting cast, which includes extras recruited from visitors to the 1952 CEA Conference. The interiors are more than adequate, and so is the musical accompaniment. " [3]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "This is a weak adaptation of Stanley Houghton's theatrical warhorse about cross-class love in the early years of the last century. The story of a Lancashire mill lass who refuses to marry the boss's son after spending her summer factory holiday with him at Blackpool is hardly likely to raise the eyebrows of the prudish or the pulse rate of the thrill-seeker." [4]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Strangely cast old chestnut has dated emotional appeal." [5]
Leslie Halliwell said: "Modestly competent version of a semi-classic play about class distinctions." [6]
The Family Way is a 1966 British comedy-drama film produced and directed by John and Roy Boulting, respectively, and starring father and daughter John Mills and Hayley Mills. Based on Bill Naughton's play All in Good Time (1963), with screenplay by Naughton, the film began life in 1961 as the television play Honeymoon Postponed. It is about the marital difficulties of a young newlywed couple living in a crowded house with the husband's family.
The Wakes Week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland. Originally a religious celebration or feast, the tradition of the Wakes Week developed into a secular holiday, particularly in North West England during the Industrial Revolution. In Scotland, each city has a "Trades Fortnight"; two weeks in the summer when tradesmen take their holidays.
Mary Clare Absalom was a British actress of stage, film and television.
The Good Die Young is a 1954 British crime film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Laurence Harvey, Gloria Grahame, Joan Collins, Stanley Baker, Richard Basehart and John Ireland. It was made by Remus Films from a screenplay by Vernon Harris and Gilbert based on the 1953 novel of the same name by Richard Macaulay. It tells the story of four men in London with no criminal past whose marriages and finances are collapsing and, meeting in a pub, are tempted to redeem their situations by a robbery.
John Stuart was born to Scottish parents, and was a very popular leading man in British silent films in the 1920s. He successfully made the transition to talking pictures in the 1930s and his film career went on to span almost six decades. He appeared in 172 films, 123 stage plays, and 103 television plays and series.
Hindle Wakes is a stage play by Stanley Houghton written in 1910. It was first performed in 1912.
Curtain Up is a 1952 British comedy film directed by Ralph Smart and starring Robert Morley, Margaret Rutherford and Kay Kendall. Written by Jack Davies and Michael Pertwee it was based on the 1949 play On Monday Next by Philip King.
Lisa Daniely was a British film and television actress.
No Kidding is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas featuring Leslie Phillips, Geraldine McEwan and Irene Handl, Noel Purcell and Julia Lockwood. The film is adapted from the book Beware of Children, a 1958 memoir by Verily Anderson, who also wrote the screenplay.
The High Terrace, also known as High Terrace, is a 1956 black and white British second feature ('B') mystery film directed by Henry Cass and starring Dale Robertson, Lois Maxwell, Derek Bond, Eric Pohlmann and Lionel Jeffries. It was written by Norman Hudis, Alfred Shaughnessy and Brock Williams from an original story by A. T. Weisman.
Sandra Dorne was a British actress.
Beatrice Evelyn Varley was an English actress who appeared in television and film roles between 1936 and 1964. She made her screen debut in the 1936 film Tomorrow We Live and began to portray a variety of character roles in films such as Oh, Mr Porter!, Holiday Camp and The Wicked Lady before moving predominantly into television until she died in 1964.
Belle Chrystall was a British actress who appeared in a number of leading roles in British films during the 1930s. She was born in Preston, Lancashire in 1910. She came to London and after appearing on stage was given a minor part in a film A Warm Corner, directed by Victor Saville but she was given no more work after that. The filming of Hindle Wakes led her to apply for the part of Jenny Hawthorne which led her to become an instant success. She made her last film in 1940.
Nurse on Wheels is a 1963 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas, and starring Juliet Mills, Ronald Lewis, and Joan Sims. The screenplay was by Norman Hudis based on the novel Nurse is my Neighbour by Joanna Jones, a pseudonym of John Burke.
Hindle Wakes is a 1927 British silent film drama, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Estelle Brody and John Stuart. The film is adapted from Stanley Houghton's 1912 stage play of the same name, and reunites Brody and Stuart following their hugely popular pairing in the previous year's Mademoiselle from Armentieres. The film was also released under the title Fanny Hawthorne.
Hindle Wakes is a 1931 British drama film directed by Victor Saville for Gainsborough Pictures and starring Belle Chrystall and John Stuart. The film is adapted from Stanley Houghton's 1912 stage play of the same name, which had previously been filmed twice as a silent in 1918 and 1927. Saville had been the producer on the highly regarded 1927 version directed by Maurice Elvey. Both Stuart and Norman McKinnel returned in 1931 to reprise their roles from the 1927 film.
Hindle Wakes is a 1918 British silent film drama, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Colette O'Niel and Hayford Hobbs. It is the first of four screen versions of the celebrated and controversial 1912 play by Stanley Houghton. It which was a sensation in its time for its daring assertions that a woman could enjoy a sexual fling just as much as a man, without feeling any guilt or obligation to explain herself, and that she was perfectly capable of making her own life decisions without interference from family or the need to bow to social pressures.
Police Dog is a 1955 British second feature ('B') crime film directed and written by Derek Twist and starring Charles Victor, Nora Gordon, Cecil Brock, John Le Mesurier, James Gilbert, and Christopher Lee.
Nearest and Dearest is a 1972 British comedy film directed by John Robins and starring Hylda Baker and Jimmy Jewel. A spin-off from the long running TV sitcom Nearest and Dearest, it was written by Roy Bottomley and Tom Brennand and produced by Hammer Films in conjunction with a film subsidiary of Granada TV.
Mrs. Pym of Scotland Yard is a 1939 British comedy-drama film directed by Fred Elles starring Mary Clare in her only title role and Nigel Patrick in his film debut. It is based on the Mrs Pym novels by Nigel Morland, and written by Morland, who re-used the title for a 1946 book.