Trouble in the Glen | |
---|---|
Directed by | Herbert Wilcox |
Written by | Frank S. Nugent |
Based on | Trouble in the Glen by Maurice Walsh |
Produced by | Herbert Wilcox |
Starring | Margaret Lockwood Orson Welles Forrest Tucker Victor McLaglen |
Cinematography | Max Greene |
Edited by | Reginald Beck |
Music by | Victor Young |
Production company | Everest Pictures |
Distributed by | Republic Pictures |
Release dates |
|
Running time | 91 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Trouble in the Glen is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Margaret Lockwood, Orson Welles, Forrest Tucker and Victor McLaglen. [1] It is loosely based on Maurice Walsh's 1950 novel of the same name. It was filmed in Trucolor for Republic Pictures.
After moving from South America to the Scottish Highlands, millionaire Sanin Cejador y Mengues (Welles) reassumes the title of laird of Glen Easan, which he inherited from his grandfather, Sandy Menzies. Obstinate in nature, Mengues soon finds the climate inhospitable, and the language and customs of the Highland people exasperating. While fishing on the loch with his equally stubborn, distantly related cousin Angus, who works as a fishing or hunting guide for the estate, Mengues hooks and then loses a large trout, and the confrontation escalates from Gaelic epithets and an overturned boat to Mengues firing Angus. When the locals then refuse to work for him and his cattle roam unmanaged over the glen, Mengues, advised by Oliver "Nolly" Dukes (Archie Duncan), his factor from Glasgow whom the villagers distrust, closes a heavily used road that leads through his property.
By the time American widower, Major Jim "Lance" Lansing (Tucker), a former Air Force pilot who was stationed in Scotland during World War II, returns there, the disgruntled villagers are burning the laird in effigy. After a quick drink at the pub, where he befriends tinker and former paratrooper Malcolm MacFie (John McCallum), Lance reunites with his old friends the Carnochs, who act as guardians of Lance's young daughter Alsuin (Margaret McCourt), who adores Lance but is unaware that he is her father. Stricken with polio, the bedridden Alsuin is hard-hit by the closing of the road, which inspires her made-up fairy tales and provides people to call to her as they pass.
At her request, Lance, whom Alsuin calls "Sir Lancelot", proceeds to the Mengues estate to talk to the laird about the road. Finding the gate locked, he climbs the fence, but before approaching the castle, detours to the loch and takes a swim. Mengues' feisty daughter Marissa (Lockwood) spots him trespassing and steals his trousers while he is in the loch. Later, dressed in the clothes he has left, Lance shows up at the castle and manages to meet Mengues, who will only advise him, as a fellow foreigner, to "leave Scotland."
Lansing, however, rallies the people of the glen and eventually, they prevail upon Mengues to restore peace, but not before a brief and unconvincing fistfight between Lansing and Dukes. Mengues apologizes to all by explaining that he has recently learned the difference between a lord and a laird. A lord, he says, takes care of the people and land belonging to him, while a laird belongs to the land and the people.
With peace restored, the road re-opens, and during the wedding festivities of Lance and Marissa, Mengues, dressed in a kilt, promises Alsuin, who knows now that Lance is her father, that they both will be dancing within six months. Tinker chieftain Parlan (McLaglen) and Malcolm enjoy the party from the window, until they realize it is an excellent night for poaching.
The film was based on a novel by the writer of The Quiet Man which was published in 1950. [2] [3] Republic hoped that John Wayne would co-star with Margaret Lockwood. Screenwriter Frank S. Nugent, who also wrote Quiet Man, said the film wasn't a sequel to Quiet Man "but we're hoping to recapture the same flavour and warmth." [4] [5] The film was one of a series of movies that Wilcox and Republic intended to make together. [6] Wilcox tried to get Cary Grant to do the film, then Mel Ferrer. [7] [8] It was Orson Welles' fifth British movie in six months. [9] John McCallum was under contract to Herbert Wilcox. [10]
Filming started 15 December 1953. [11] It was shot at Elstree Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director William C. Andrews.
According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was a "money maker" at the British box office in 1954. [12]
The film received very poor reviews. [13]
Victor Andrew de Bier Everleigh McLaglen was a British-American actor and boxer. His film career spanned from the early 1920s through the 1950s, initially as a leading man, though he was better known for his character acting. He was a well-known member of John Ford’s Stock Company, appearing in 12 of the director’s films, seven of which co-starred John Wayne.
Argyll, sometimes called Argyllshire, is a historic county and registration county of western Scotland.
Michael Charles Gauntlet Wilding was an English stage, television, and film actor. He is best known for a series of films he made with Anna Neagle; he also made two films with Alfred Hitchcock, Under Capricorn (1949) and Stage Fright (1950); and he guest starred on Hitchcock's TV show in 1963. He was married four times, including to Elizabeth Taylor, with whom he had two sons.
Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE, was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included The Lady Vanishes (1938), Night Train to Munich (1940), The Man in Grey (1943), and The Wicked Lady (1945). She was nominated for the BAFTA Award for Best British Actress for the 1955 film Cast a Dark Shadow. She also starred in the television series Justice (1971–74).
Forrest Meredith Tucker was an American actor in both movies and television who appeared in nearly a hundred films. Tucker worked as a vaudeville straight man at the age of fifteen. A mentor provided funds and contacts for a trip to California, where party hostess Cobina Wright persuaded guest Wesley Ruggles to give Tucker a screen test because of Tucker's photogenic good looks, thick wavy hair and height of six feet, five inches.
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.
Joi Lansing was an American model, film and television actress, and nightclub singer. She was noted for her pin-up photos and roles in B-movies, as well as a prominent role in the famous opening "tracking shot" in Orson Welles' 1958 crime drama Touch of Evil.
Andrew Victor McLaglen was a British-born American film and television director, known for Westerns and adventure films, often starring John Wayne or James Stewart.
John Neil McCallum, was an Australian theatre and film actor, highly successful in the United Kingdom. He was also a television producer.
Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue is a 1953 adventure film produced by RKO-Walt Disney British Productions which is about Rob Roy MacGregor. It was the last Disney film released through RKO Radio Pictures.
Glen Affric is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland, some 15 miles west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin. A minor public road reaches as far as the end of Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin, but beyond that point only rough tracks and footpaths continue along the glen.
The Clan Malcolm, also known as the Clan MacCallum, is a Highland Scottish clan. The Clan MacCallum may have originally been a separate clan until the 18th century, when the chief of the Clan MacCallum adopted the name Malcolm after inheriting the Malcolm estate, and the two clans were drawn together under the same chief.
Bernard Knowles was an English film director, producer, cinematographer and screenwriter. Born in Manchester, Knowles worked with Alfred Hitchcock on numerous occasions before the director emigrated to Hollywood.
Herbert Sydney Wilcox CBE was a British film producer and director.
Earl St. John was an American film producer in overall charge of production for The Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios from 1950 to 1964, and was credited as executive producer on 131 films. He was known as the "Earl of Pinewood". John Davis of Rank called him "the greatest showman that The Rank Organisation has ever had, and probably the greatest showman to have lived in this country. "
Trent's Last Case is a 1952 British detective film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Michael Wilding, Margaret Lockwood, Orson Welles and John McCallum. It was produced by Wilcox as part of a distribution agreement with Republic Pictures. It was based on the 1913 novel Trent's Last Case by E. C. Bentley, and had been filmed previously in the UK with Clive Brook in 1920, and in a 1929 US version.
Laughing Anne is a 1953 British adventure film directed by Herbert Wilcox and starring Wendell Corey, Margaret Lockwood, Forrest Tucker, and Ronald Shiner. It was adapted from Joseph Conrad's short story, "Because of the Dollars" and from his 1923 two-act play, Laughing Anne. The film was shot at Shepperton Studios outside London. The film's sets were designed by the art director William C. Andrews and costumes were by Elizabeth Haffenden.
The Last Hard Men is a 1976 American Western film directed by Andrew McLaglen, based on the 1971 novel Gundown by Brian Garfield. It stars Charlton Heston and James Coburn, with supporting roles by Barbara Hershey, Jorge Rivero, Michael Parks, and Larry Wilcox in his screen debut.
Cardboard Cavalier is a 1948 British historical comedy film directed by Walter Forde and starring Sid Field, Margaret Lockwood and Jerry Desmonde.
William C. Andrews was a British art director who designed film sets for a number of productions. During the 1940s he frequently worked for producer Herbert Wilcox. Later in his career he was generally credited as Bill Andrews.