The Weaker Sex (1948 film)

Last updated

The Weaker Sex
"The Weaker Sex" (1948).jpg
Original film poster
Directed by Roy Ward Baker
Written by Esther McCracken
Paul Soskin
Val Valentine (additional scenes)
Based onthe play No Medals by Esther McCracken
Produced byPaul Soskin
Starring Ursula Jeans
Cecil Parker
Joan Hopkins
Cinematography Erwin Hillier
Edited by Michael C. Chorlton
Joseph Sterling
Music by Arthur Wilkinson
Production
company
Distributed by General Film Distributors
Release date
  • 22 September 1948 (1948-09-22)
Running time
84 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£175,200 [1]
Box office£105,800 [1]

The Weaker Sex is a 1948 British drama film directed by Roy Ward Baker and starring Ursula Jeans, Cecil Parker and Joan Hopkins. [2] [3] It was written by Esther McCracken, Paul Soskin and Val Valentine based on McCracken's 1944 play No Medals .

Contents

It was one of the most popular films at the British box office in 1948. [4] The film's subject was what The New York Times described as the "heroics of that valiant legion of women who stood, but did not wait, through the long war years and the now dreary post war years." [5]

Plot

Set near Portsmouth, one of the main bases for the D-Day invasion fleet, the film portrays life on the British home front during World War II.

During the run up to D-Day (1944), widowed Martha Dacre tries to keep house and home together for her two daughters and two servicemen billeted on her, including Geoffrey, a naval officer who was a friend of her deceased husband. Although her two daughters serve as Wrens, and her son is away in the Navy, she has chosen to stay at home as a housewife, but she also participates in fire-watching and works in a canteen for the armed forces. When she learns that her son's ship was damaged during the landings, she experiences regrets about not taking a more active role in the war.

Using occasional footage of actual events and with frequent reference to contemporary newspaper and wireless reports, the story moves forward from D-Day to VE-Day, the 1945 general election and on to 1948 when the film was made. Martha eventually re-marries to Geoffrey who has by now become a father-figure to her son and daughters.

Cast

Production

The film was shot at Denham Studios with location shooting taking place in Margate, Portchester Castle and the village of Denham in Buckinghamshire. The film's sets were designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky.

Reception

Box Office

The film was popular at the British box office. [6] According to Kinematograph Weekly it was a runner-up for 'biggest winner' at the box office in 1948. [7] The film earned producer's receipts of £92,700 in the UK and £13,100 overseas. [1]

Critical

Critical reception was lukewarm, but the film had some defenders. [8] A critic for The News of the World wrote, "I see that according to my fellow critics The Weaker Sex ... is riddled with faults. Therefore I ask your indulgence for being incapable of detailing these grave weaknesses. I must have missed them because I was enjoying myself so much". [8]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Cecil Parker is the kindly Commander, Ursula Jeans the mother and general confidant, Joan Hopkins the affectionate elder daughter, supported by a reasonably adequate cast. Thora Hird, however, steals the picture as Mrs. Gaye, the "daily", with her extremely dry sense of humour, and creates the laughs in an otherwise fairly serious film." [9]

The New York Times wrote, "a thoroughly professional cast and an adult script make the drama genuine and trenchant. Ursula Jeans is excellent as the beleaguered mother who minimizes her work and sacrifices by remarking "one is given no choice — just a little extra strength from somewhere." Cecil Parker is equally adept in his restrained portrayal of the commander she eventually marries. The wonderful Thora Hird contributes a superbly droll bit as a Yorkshire servant and Joan Hopkins, Lana Morris, Digby Wolfe, Derek Bond and John Stone add solid characterizations as the children and sons-in-law." [5]

Variety wrote: "It's difficult to determine the motives which prompted Paul Soskin to make The Weaker Sex because it possesses very little in story values, and devotes a large part of its footage to recalling the war days without saying anything new. ... Pic's main weakness, however, is its lack of action; it's almost the stage play transferred to celluloid and brought up to date by the authoress herself. As Mrs. Dacre, Ursula Jeans has a part which she handles with utmost ease; Cecil Parker is nicely cast as the naval officer whom she marries, and Lana Morris makes a satisfying starring debut as one of the Wrens. Major supporting roles are played with competence by an experienced cast but they are unable to redeem a subject which, while abounding in sincerity, is devoid of vitality." [10]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Mild suburban comedy which sparkled more on stage, with such curtain lines as 'Quick, the fishmonger's got fish!'." [11]

Sky Movies wrote, "the best reviews of the period were saved for Thora Hird as Mrs Gage [sic], the 'daily' with a dry sense of humour", and concluded, "good, solid drama told convincingly – if a trifle over-sentimental today." [12]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "very good", writing: "Nicely human story, well handled: sentimental but convincingly so." [13]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "A marvellous British cast plays out this nostalgic and very human story of the latter war years, leading up to D-Day." [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thora Hird</span> British actress (1911–2003)

Dame Thora Hird was an English actress. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 films, as well as many television roles, becoming a household name and a British institution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ursula Jeans</span> English actress (1906–1973)

Ursula Jean McMinn, better known as Ursula Jeans, was an English film, stage, and television actress.

<i>A Kind of Loving</i> (film) 1962 British film by John Schlesinger

A Kind of Loving is a 1962 British kitchen sink drama film directed by John Schlesinger, starring Alan Bates and June Ritchie. It was written by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall based on the 1960 novel of the same name by Stan Barstow which was later adapted into the 1982 television series A Kind of Loving. The film tells the story of two lovers in early 1960s Lancashire. It belongs to the British New Wave movement.

<i>Term of Trial</i> 1962 British film by Peter Glenville

Term of Trial is a 1962 British drama film written and directed by Peter Glenville and starring Laurence Olivier, Simone Signoret, Sarah Miles, Terence Stamp, Hugh Griffith, Roland Culver, Dudley Foster and Thora Hird. It was produced by James Woolf for Romulus Films, with James H. Ware as associate producer. The screenplay was based on the 1961 novel of the same name by James Barlow. The music score was by Jean-Michel Damase and the cinematography by Oswald Morris.

<i>Lost</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film directed by Guy Green

Lost is a 1956 British thriller film directed by Guy Green and starring David Farrar, David Knight and Julia Arnall. It is set in 1950s London, and revolves around the apparent kidnapping of a young couple's baby.

<i>The Gentle Sex</i> 1943 British film by Leslie Howard

The Gentle Sex is a 1943 British black-and-white romantic comedy-drama war film, directed by Leslie Howard and Maurice Elvey and narrated by Howard. It was produced by Concanen Productions, Two Cities Films, and Derrick de Marney. It was Howard's last film before his death.

<i>These Dangerous Years</i> 1957 British film by Herbert Wilcox

These Dangerous Years is a 1957 British drama musical film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring George Baker, Frankie Vaughan, Carole Lesley, Thora Hird, Kenneth Cope, David Lodge and John Le Mesurier. It was written by Jack Trevor Story,

<i>A French Mistress</i> 1960 British film by Roy Boulting

A French Mistress is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Roy Boulting and starring Cecil Parker, James Robertson Justice, Agnès Laurent, Ian Bannen, Raymond Huntley, Irene Handl and Thorley Walters.

<i>Once a Sinner</i> (1950 film) 1950 British film by Lewis Gilbert

Once a Sinner is a 1950 British drama film directed by Lewis Gilbert and starring Pat Kirkwood, Jack Watling and Joy Shelton. It was written by David Evans.

<i>The First Gentleman</i> 1948 British film

The First Gentleman is a 1948 British historical drama film directed by Alberto Cavalcanti, and starring Jean-Pierre Aumont, Joan Hopkins, and Cecil Parker. It portrays the relationships and marriage of George, Prince Regent and his tense dealings with other members of his family such as his only child Princess Charlotte and his younger brother Frederick, Duke of York. It was also released as Affairs of a Rogue.The film is based on a play, The First Gentleman by Norman Ginsbury, which was staged in London in 1945, starring Robert Morley as the Prince Regent and Wendy Hiller as Princess Charlotte.

<i>The Woman in the Hall</i> 1947 British film

The Woman in the Hall is a 1947 British drama film directed by Jack Lee and starring Ursula Jeans, Jean Simmons, Cecil Parker. The screenplay was written by Jack Lee, Ian Dalrymple and Gladys Bronwyn Stern, from Stern's 1939 novel of the same title.

<i>Piccadilly Incident</i> 1946 British film

Piccadilly Incident is a 1946 British drama film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding, Coral Browne, Edward Rigby and Leslie Dwyer. It was written by Nicholas Phipps based on a story by Florence Tranter.

<i>For Better, for Worse</i> (1954 film) 1954 British film by J. Lee Thompson

For Better, for Worse is a 1954 British comedy film in Eastmancolor directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Dirk Bogarde, Susan Stephen and Cecil Parker. It was written by Thompson, Peter Myers and Alec Grahame based on Arthur Watkyn's 1948 play For Better, for Worse.

<i>I Believe in You</i> (film) 1952 British film by Michael Relph and Basil Dearden

I Believe in You is a 1952 British drama film directed by Michael Relph and Basil Dearden, starring Celia Johnson and Cecil Parker and is based on the book Court Circular by Sewell Stokes. Inspired by the recently successful The Blue Lamp (1950), Relph and Dearden used a semi-documentary approach in telling the story of the lives of probation officers and their charges.

<i>Women Without Men</i> (1956 film) 1956 British film by Elmo Williams

Women Without Men is a 1956 British second feature drama film directed by Elmo Williams and Herbert Glazer and starring Beverly Michaels, Joan Rice, Thora Hird and Hermione Baddeley. A woman escapes from prison to keep a date with her boyfriend.

<i>The Man in the Mirror</i> (1936 film) 1936 British film by Maurice Elvey

The Man in the Mirror is a 1936 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Edward Everett Horton, Genevieve Tobin and Ursula Jeans. It was adapted by F. McGrew Willis from the 1931 novel by William Garrett.

<i>No Room at the Inn</i> 1948 British film

No Room at the Inn is a 1945 play by Joan Temple that became a 1948 film directed by Daniel Birt. Both play and film are presented in flashback mode and share the same subject matter – cruelty, neglect and mental and physical abuse meted out to evacuee children during World War II. Temple's attack on those who turn a blind eye to child abuse, be they public officials or private individuals, was considered frank and uncompromising in its time.

<i>A Boy, a Girl and a Bike</i> 1949 British film by Ralph Smart

A Boy, a Girl and a Bike is a 1949 British romantic comedy film directed by Ralph Smart and starring John McCallum, Honor Blackman and Patrick Holt, with art direction by George Provis. The screenplay was by Ted Willis. The film is set in Wakeford and in the Yorkshire Dales and features cycle sabotage and cycling tactics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Joan Hopkins</span> British actress (1915–2002)

Joan Hopkins was a British stage and film actress. During the late 1940s she appeared in starring roles in several productions, including Princess Charlotte in The First Gentleman and as Helen in the box office success The Weaker Sex. Her final appearance was in the 1950 thriller Double Confession. After this she appeared in television for several years. She was married to the film director Henry Cass.

<i>No Medals</i> 1944 play by Esther McCracken

No Medals is a play by the British writer Esther McCracken first staged in 1944. Its West End run at the Vaudeville Theatre lasted for 740 performances between 4 October 1944 and 19 July 1946. It depicts the struggles of a middle-class British housewife during the war years. The original cast included Fay Compton and Frederick Leister while Thora Hird appeared in a comic relief role as servant in her first London performance.

References

  1. 1 2 3 Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 354. Income is in terms of producer's share of receipts.
  2. ↑ "The Weaker Sex". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  3. ↑ "The Weaker Sex". BFI. Archived from the original on 12 July 2012.
  4. ↑ "THE STARRY WAY". The Courier-Mail . Brisbane: National Library of Australia. 8 January 1949. p. 2. Retrieved 11 July 2012.
  5. 1 2 "Movie Review – The Weaker Sex – A British Import at Little Carnegie – NYTimes.com". The New York Times. 21 October 2021.
  6. ↑ Thumim, Janet. "The popular cash and culture in the postwar British cinema industry". Screen. Vol. 32, no. 3. p. 258.
  7. ↑ Lant, Antonia (1991). Blackout : reinventing women for wartime British cinema. Princeton University Press. p. 232.
  8. 1 2 Mayer, Geoff (2004). Roy Ward Baker. Manchester University Press. p. 20.
  9. ↑ "The Weaker Sex" . The Monthly Film Bulletin . 15 (169): 139. 1 January 1948 – via ProQuest.
  10. ↑ "The Weaker Sex" . Variety . 172 (5): 11. 6 October 1948 – via ProQuest.
  11. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 1098. ISBN   0586088946.
  12. ↑ "The Weaker Sex". Find and Watch.
  13. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 259. ISBN   0-7134-1874-5.
  14. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 1008. ISBN   9780992936440.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.