The Loves of Joanna Godden | |
---|---|
Directed by | Charles Frend |
Written by | |
Based on | the novel Joanna Godden by Sheila Kaye-Smith |
Produced by | Michael Balcon |
Starring | |
Cinematography | Douglas Slocombe |
Edited by | Michael Truman |
Music by | Ralph Vaughan Williams |
Distributed by | Ealing Studios |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Budget | £167,073 [2] |
Box office | £82,908 (UK) [2] |
The Loves of Joanna Godden is a 1947 British historical drama film directed by Charles Frend and produced by Michael Balcon. [3] The screenplay was written by H. E. Bates and Angus MacPhail from the novel Joanna Godden (1921) by Sheila Kaye-Smith.
It stars Googie Withers, Jean Kent, John McCallum, Derek Bond, Chips Rafferty and Sonia Holm. [4] Some scenes were shot by director Robert Hamer when Frend was ill, though he was uncredited. The music was composed by Ralph Vaughan Williams. [5]
In Edwardian Britain, a young woman has three suitors who seek her hand in marriage.
When Joanna Godden's father died, he bequeathed her a farm in Romney Marsh in Kent. Joanna is determined to run the farm herself. Her neighbour Arthur Alce (John McCallum), laughs at her ambitions, but loves her. Choosing a new shepherd, she allows physical attraction to a man to overcome her judgment as a farmer, and her scheme for cross-breeding sheep is unsuccessful. Her wealth gone, she turns to Arthur Alce for help - but not love. That she accepts from Martin Trevor (Derek Bond), a visitor from the world beyond the Marsh. But on the eve of their marriage, Martin dies. [5] [6]
and the people of Romney Marsh.
The film was based on Joanna Godden, a novel by Sheila Kaye-Smith originally published in 1921. [7] [8] The book was popular enough for Kaye-Smith to write a sequel, Joanna Godden Married, published in 1926. [9]
After World War Two, Ealing Studios decided to film the novel, with a screenplay written by H. E. Bates and Angus MacPhail. The film had an ending different from the novel.
The studio cast Googie Withers to star; she had been a hit in Pink String and Sealing Wax . Lead roles were given to Australians John McCallum, who had been put under long-term contract to Rank, and Chips Rafferty, who had just starred in The Overlanders for Ealing. [10]
The casting of Withers and Kent was announced in July 1946. [11] Filming took place in August and September 1946, with location filming in Kent. [12]
Withers and McCallum fell in love during filming and later married. They named their first child "Joanna" in honour of the film. [13]
The film earned distributor's gross receipts of £82,908 in the UK of which £159,642 went to the producer. [2]
Georgette Lizette "Googie" Withers, CBE, AO was an English entertainer. She was a dancer and actress, with a lengthy career spanning some nine decades in theatre, film, and television. She was a well-known actress and star of British films during and after the Second World War.
Sheila Kaye-Smith was an English writer, known for her many novels set in the borderlands of Sussex and Kent in the English regional tradition. Her 1923 book The End of the House of Alard became a best-seller, and gave her prominence; it was followed by other successes, and her books enjoyed worldwide sales.
They're a Weird Mob is a 1966 Australian comedy film based on the 1957 novel of the same name by John O'Grady under the pen name "Nino Culotta", the name of the main character of the book. It was the penultimate collaboration of the British filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger.
John William Pilbean Goffage MBE, known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until he died in 1971, and during this time he performed regularly in major Australian feature films as well as appearing in British and American productions, including The Overlanders and The Sundowners. He appeared in commercials in Britain during the late 1950s, encouraging British emigration to Australia.
John Neil McCallum, was an Australian theatre and film actor, highly successful in the United Kingdom. He was also a television producer.
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Charles Herbert Frend was an English film director and editor, best known for his films produced at Ealing Studios. He began directing in the early 1940s and is known for such films as Scott of the Antarctic (1948) and The Cruel Sea (1953).
Jean Kent, born Joan Mildred Field was an English film and television actress.
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Joanna McCallum is an English theatre, film and television actress.
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The Root of All Evil is a 1947 British drama film, directed by Brock Williams for Gainsborough Pictures and starring Phyllis Calvert and Michael Rennie. The film was the first directorial assignment for Williams, who was better known as a screenwriter, and also produced the screenplay based on the 1921 novel by J. S. Fletcher.
Bush Christmas is a 1947 Australian–British comedy film directed by Ralph Smart and starring Chips Rafferty. It was one of the first films from Children's Entertainment Films, later the Children's Film Foundation.
Joanna Godden is a 1921 thriller novel by the British writer Sheila Kaye-Smith. It is a drama set amongst the sheep farmers of Romney Marsh in Kent.
Desire of the Moth is a 1966 Australian play by James Brazill.