John Wesley (film)

Last updated

John Wesley
Directed by Norman Walker
Screenplay byLawrence Barrett
Produced byClifford Jeapes
Starring
Cinematography Hone Glendinning
Edited by
  • Duncan Spence
  • David Powell (as Dave Powell)
Music byHenry Reed
Production
companies
G.H.W. Productions
Radio and Film Commission of the Methodist Church in co-operation with J.Arthur Rank
Distributed by General Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
  • 20 April 1954 (1954-04-20)(US)
Running time
77 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
Language English

John Wesley is a 1954 British historical film directed by Norman Walker and starring Leonard Sachs, Neil Heayes and Keith Pyott. [1] It depicts the life of the father of Methodism, John Wesley. [2] The film was financed by J. Arthur Rank, a prominent Methodist layman, and with contributions from the church. [3]

Contents

Plot

Rescued from a burning house as a child, John Wesley (Leonard Sachs) believes the experience marked him for a higher purpose, a ‘brand from the burning.’ The film follows Wesley's years at Oxford and as a clergyman, his disagreements with the church over the social position of the clergy, his mission to America, the founding of Methodism, and his bringing of the Gospel into the lives of ordinary people.

Cast

Critical reception

Allmovie wrote, "the budget didn't allow for a professional cast, thus many potentially worthwhile scenes are laid low by amateurish acting. On the other hand, the film is quite slick and accomplished on a technical level, thanks to the first-rate cinematography of Hone Glendenning and the assured direction of Norman Walker"; [4] while TV Guide gave the film three out of five stars, noting, "This handsomely mounted biography of the title Methodist leader was originally conceived as a short black-and-white film, but was expanded to include more of Wesley's life and work...The plot is minimal, focusing on the young Wesley's studies and the development of his principles, but the production values are excellent and Leonard Sachs' Wesley is superb. The initial release of the film went to some 500 churches that contributed to the $200,000 budget in return for first rights on viewing." [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Free Methodist Church</span> Christian denomination

The Free Methodist Church (FMC) is a Methodist Christian denomination within the holiness movement, based in the United States. It is evangelical in nature and is Wesleyan–Arminian in theology.

Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's brother Charles Wesley were also significant early leaders in the movement. They were named Methodists for "the methodical way in which they carried out their Christian faith". Methodism originated as a revival movement within Anglicanism originating out of the Church of England in the 18th century and became a separate denomination after Wesley's death. The movement spread throughout the British Empire, the United States and beyond because of vigorous missionary work, and today has about 80 million adherents worldwide.

The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelicalism. The present denomination was founded in 1968 in Dallas, Texas, by union of the Methodist Church and the Evangelical United Brethren Church. The UMC traces its roots back to the revival movement of John and Charles Wesley in England, as well as the Great Awakening in the United States. As such, the church's theological orientation is decidedly Wesleyan. It embraces liturgical worship, holiness, and evangelical elements.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Wesley</span> English clergyman (1703–1791)

John Wesley was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Methodist movement that continues to this day.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Francis Asbury</span> Methodist minister and bishop in America

Francis Asbury was a British-born Methodist minister who became one of the first two bishops of the Methodist Episcopal Church in the United States. During his 45 years in the colonies and the newly independent United States, he devoted his life to ministry, traveling on horseback and by carriage thousands of miles to those living on the frontier.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Charles Wesley</span> English Methodist and hymn writer (1707–1788)

Charles Wesley was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "Christ the Lord Is Risen Today", "Love Divine, All Loves Excelling", the carol "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing", and "Lo! He Comes With Clouds Descending".

The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself nationally. In 1939, the MEC reunited with two breakaway Methodist denominations to form the Methodist Church. In 1968, the Methodist Church merged with the Evangelical United Brethren Church to form the United Methodist Church.

The Methodist Church of Great Britain is a Protestant Christian denomination in Britain, and the mother church to Methodists worldwide. It participates in the World Methodist Council, and the World Council of Churches among other ecumenical associations.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin Elmer Ellsworth Hamilton</span> American priest and historian

Franklin Elmer Ellsworth Hamilton was an American bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church, elected in 1916.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Susanna Wesley</span> Mother of John & Charles Wesley

Susanna Wesley was the daughter of Dr Samuel Annesley and Mary White, and the mother of John and Charles Wesley.

“…although she never preached a sermon or published a book or founded a church, (she) is known as the Mother of Methodism. Why? Because two of her sons, John Wesley and Charles Wesley, as children consciously or unconsciously will, applied the example and teachings and circumstances of their home life.”

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon</span> British countess

Selina Hastings, Countess of Huntingdon was an English religious leader who played a prominent part in the religious revival of the 18th century and the Methodist movement in England and Wales. She founded an evangelical branch in England and Sierra Leone, known as the Countess of Huntingdon's Connexion.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Early (bishop)</span>

John Early was instrumental in organizing the Methodist Episcopal Church, South, and was their bishop from 1854.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesleyan theology</span> Protestant Christian theological tradition

Wesleyan theology, otherwise known as Wesleyan–Arminian theology, or Methodist theology, is a theological tradition in Protestant Christianity based upon the ministry of the 18th-century evangelical reformer brothers John Wesley and Charles Wesley. More broadly it refers to the theological system inferred from the various sermons, theological treatises, letters, journals, diaries, hymns, and other spiritual writings of the Wesleys and their contemporary coadjutors such as John William Fletcher.

The Wesleyan Methodist Church was the majority Methodist movement in England following its split from the Church of England after the death of John Wesley and the appearance of parallel Methodist movements. The word Wesleyan in the title differentiated it from the Welsh Calvinistic Methodists and from the Primitive Methodist movement, which separated from the Wesleyans in 1807. The Wesleyan Methodist Church followed the Wesleys in holding to an Arminian theology, in contrast to the Calvinism held by George Whitefield, by Selina Hastings, and by Howell Harris and Daniel Rowland, the pioneers of Welsh Methodism. Its Conference was also the legal successor to John Wesley as holder of the property of the original Methodist societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benjamin Ingham</span> English cleric

Benjamin Ingham was an English cleric who was the founder of the Moravian Church in England as well as his own Inghamite societies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Methodism in the United States</span>

The history of Methodism in the United States dates back to the mid-18th century with the ministries of early Methodist preachers such as Laurence Coughlan and Robert Strawbridge. Following the American Revolution most of the Anglican clergy who had been in America came back to England. John Wesley, the founder of Methodism, sent Thomas Coke to America where he and Francis Asbury founded the Methodist Episcopal Church, which was to later establish itself as the largest denomination in America during the 19th century.

The Bible Methodist Connection of Churches is a Methodist denomination within the conservative holiness movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Statue of John Wesley, St Paul's Churchyard</span> Statue in St Pauls Churchyard, London

The statue of John Wesley, St Paul's Churchyard is an outdoor bronze sculpture depicting the theologian, cleric and co-founder of the religious movement known as Methodism, John Wesley. The statue is located northwest corner of St Paul's Churchyard, London, England, and was erected in 1988. It was cast from a sculpture created by Samuel Manning and his son between 1825 and 1849.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wesley John Gaines</span> American church and community leader (1840–1912)

Bishop Wesley John Gaines was an African-American church and community leader in Georgia. He was vice president of Payne Theological Seminary and co-founder of Morris Brown College.

References

  1. BFI.org
  2. "John Wesley".
  3. 1 2 "John Wesley".
  4. "John Wesley (1954) - Norman Walker | Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related | AllMovie".