Windom's Way

Last updated

Windom's Way
Windom's Way (1957 film).jpg
Original trade ad
Directed by Ronald Neame
Written by Jill Craigie
Based onnovel by James Ramsey Ullman
Produced by John Bryan
John Hawkesworth
executive
Earl St. John
Starring Peter Finch
Mary Ure
Cinematography Christopher Challis
Edited by Reginald Mills
Music by James Bernard
Production
company
J Arthur Rank Organisation
Distributed by Rank Organisation
Release dates
  • December 1957 (1957-12)(UK)
  • October 1958 (1958-10)(US)
Running time
108 min.
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Windom's Way is a 1957 British thriller film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Peter Finch and Mary Ure. Made in Eastman Color, it is set during the Malayan Emergency.

Contents

Premise

Dr Alec Windom is a British doctor who works in a village in Malaya. He is visited by his estranged wife Lee.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Cameo/Uncredited cast

Original novel

The film was based on a 1952 novel by James Ramsey Ullman, which was reportedly inspired by Dr. Gordon S. Seagrave, who was imprisoned for allegedly helping the Karen people. The novel was set in the fictitious island state of Papaan. [1] [2] [3]

Ullman says he wanted to tell the story how "in between man – call him the liberal – can get caught between the rollers of fanaticism or authoritarianism on either side; the case of a man trying to do his job and be a human being among other human beings and how hard this is in the twentieth century." [4] Ullman admitted the story of Seagrove "was somewhere in the back of my mind" when he wrote the book. [4]

The book was a Literary Guild choice and became a best seller in the US. [5] Ullman wrote a first draft of a play based on the book. [4]

Production

Film rights to Windom's Way were bought by Carl Foreman, who wrote the script. He sold the rights to this and two other properties to Earl St John of Rank Film Productions, who in January 1955 announced it as part of its schedule for that year (but it would not be made for another two years). [6]

The script was rewritten and 'Anglicized' by Anthony Perry. Perry's draft was considered too "political" and was rewritten by Jill Craigie to be softened. However, the resulting work was considerably more left-wing than Rank's other colonial war films of this time such as The Planter's Wife and Simba . [7] [8]

Ronald Neame had just left The Seventh Sin (1957) during production. He was contacted by his old producing partner John Bryan who suggested Neame make Windom's Way with Peter Finch.

Finch made the film immediately after returning from Australia where he made Robbery Under Arms . Part of the location shoot took place in Corsica. The rest was filmed at Pinewood. [9]

Neame says Corsica was a "difficult location". [10]

Reception

Box Office

"It was not a successful picture, I'm afraid", said Neame later. "I think it fell between two stools, neither politically profound nor exciting enough as an action film. John just liked the book very much and I would have directed anything to get back to the studios again." [11]

"The finished film may have had too many messages for people to stay interested", Neame later wrote. "It was neither a hit nor a disgrace." [10]

Critical

Variety called it "a slowish but well-made intelligent drama". [12]

The New York Times said the film was "without any topical teeth" in which Windom's "political sympathies, like the geography, are so vague that one need have no fear of being subverted by associating with him in this film. All one needs to worry about, precisely, is being a little provoked and bored." [13]

Awards

The film was nominated for four British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards in 1958. [14]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">John Mills</span> English actor (1908–2005)

Sir John Mills was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portrayed guileless, wounded war heroes. In 1971, he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ryan's Daughter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Peter Finch</span> English-Australian actor (1916–1977)

Frederick George Peter Ingle Finch was an English-Australian actor of theatre, film and radio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The Rank Organisation</span> British entertainment conglomerate

The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937, Rank also served as the company chairman. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribution, and exhibition facilities as well as manufacturing projection equipment and chairs. It also diversified into the manufacture of radios, TVs and photocopiers. The company name lasted until February 1996, when the name and some of the remaining assets were absorbed into the newly structured Rank Group plc. The company itself became a wholly owned subsidiary of Xerox and was renamed XRO Limited in 1997.

<i>The Story of Robin Hood</i> (film) 1952 film by Ken Annakin

The Story of Robin Hood and his Merrie Men is a 1952 action-adventure film produced by RKO-Walt Disney British Productions, based on the Robin Hood legend, made in Technicolor and filmed in Buckinghamshire, England. It was written by Lawrence Edward Watkin and directed by Ken Annakin. It is the second of Disney's complete live-action films, after Treasure Island (1950), and the first of four films Annakin directed for Disney.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ronald Neame</span> English film producer, director, cinematographer and screenwriter (1911–2010)

Ronald Neame CBE, BSC was an English film producer, director, cinematographer, and screenwriter. Beginning his career as a cinematographer, for his work on the British war film One of Our Aircraft Is Missing (1943) he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Special Effects. During a partnership with director David Lean, he produced Brief Encounter (1945), Great Expectations (1946), and Oliver Twist (1948), receiving two Academy Award nominations for writing.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mary Ure</span> British actress

Eileen Mary Ure was a British actress. She was the second Scottish-born actress to be nominated for an Academy Award, for her role in the 1960 film Sons and Lovers.

<i>Great Expectations</i> (1946 film) 1946 film by David Lean

Great Expectations is a 1946 British drama film directed by David Lean, based on the 1861 novel by Charles Dickens and starring John Mills and Valerie Hobson. The supporting cast included Bernard Miles, Francis L. Sullivan, Anthony Wager, Jean Simmons, Finlay Currie, Martita Hunt and Alec Guinness.

<i>Tunes of Glory</i> 1960 British film by Ronald Neame

Tunes of Glory is a 1960 British drama film directed by Ronald Neame, starring Alec Guinness and John Mills, featuring Dennis Price, Kay Walsh, John Fraser, Duncan MacRae, Gordon Jackson and Susannah York. It is based on the 1956 novel and screenplay by James Kennaway. The film is a psychological drama focusing on events in a wintry Scottish Highland regimental barracks in the period immediately following the Second World War. Writer Kennaway served with the Gordon Highlanders, and the title refers to the bagpiping that accompanies every important action of the battalion.

<i>The Million Pound Note</i> 1954 film

The Million Pound Note is a 1954 British comedy film directed by Ronald Neame and starring Gregory Peck, Ronald Squire, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Jane Griffiths. It is based on the 1893 Mark Twain short story "The Million Pound Bank Note", and is a precursor to the 1983 film Trading Places. It was shot at Pinewood Studios and on location around London. The film's sets were designed by the art directors John Box and Jack Maxsted. It was released by Rank's General Film Distributors. The American release was handled by United Artists under the alternative title Man with a Million.

<i>The Horses Mouth</i> (film) 1958 British film

The Horse's Mouth is a 1958 film directed by Ronald Neame and filmed in Technicolor. Alec Guinness wrote the screenplay, which was based on the 1944 novel The Horse's Mouth by Joyce Cary. Guinness also played the lead role of Gulley Jimson, a London artist.

<i>Trouble in Store</i> 1953 film

Trouble in Store is a 1953 British comedy film directed by John Paddy Carstairs and starring Norman Wisdom as a department store clerk in his cinema debut. The film also featured Moira Lister, Margaret Rutherford, Jerry Desmonde and Lana Morris. For his performance, Wisdom won a BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Although it was shown at a West End venue, the film broke box office records at 51 out of the 67 London cinemas in which it played. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios with sets designed by the art director Alex Vetchinsky. It was released by Rank's General Film Distributors and was later released in America by Republic Pictures. The film's success led to Wisdom appearing in a string of films for Rank beginning with One Good Turn.

Oswald Norman Morris, BSC was a British cinematographer. Known to his colleagues by the nicknames "Os" or "Ossie", Morris's career in cinematography spanned six decades.

The 11th British Academy Film Awards, given by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts, were held on 6 March 1958, to honor the best national and foreign films of 1957.

<i>Campbells Kingdom</i> 1957 British film

Campbell's Kingdom is a 1957 British adventure film directed by Ralph Thomas, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Hammond Innes. The film stars Dirk Bogarde and Stanley Baker, with Michael Craig, Barbara Murray, James Robertson Justice and Sid James in support. The story is set in Alberta, Canada, and largely follows the principles of the Northwestern genre of film-making.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alec Guinness</span> English actor (1914–2000)

Sir Alec Guinness was an English actor. After an early career on the stage, Guinness was featured in several of the Ealing comedies, including Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949), in which he played eight different characters; The Lavender Hill Mob (1951), for which he received his first Academy Award nomination; and The Ladykillers (1955). He collaborated six times with director David Lean: Herbert Pocket in Great Expectations (1946); Fagin in Oliver Twist (1948); Col. Nicholson in The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), for which he won both the Academy Award for Best Actor and the BAFTA Award for Best Actor; Prince Faisal in Lawrence of Arabia (1962); General Yevgraf Zhivago in Doctor Zhivago (1965); and Professor Godbole in A Passage to India (1984). In 1970, he played Jacob Marley's ghost in Ronald Neame's Scrooge. He also portrayed Obi-Wan Kenobi in George Lucas's original Star Wars trilogy; for the original 1977 film, he was nominated for Best Supporting Actor at the 50th Academy Awards.

Stephen B. Grimes was an English production designer and art director. He won an Oscar and was nominated for two more in the category Best Art Direction.

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. "

<i>The Card</i> (1952 film) 1952 British film

The Card is a 1952 British comedy film version of the 1911 novel by Arnold Bennett. In America, the film was titled The Promoter. It was adapted by Eric Ambler and directed by Ronald Neame. It stars Alec Guinness, Glynis Johns, Valerie Hobson, and Petula Clark. The film was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Sound.

<i>Robbery Under Arms</i> (1957 film) 1957 British film

Robbery Under Arms is a 1957 British crime film directed by Jack Lee and starring Peter Finch and Ronald Lewis. It is based on the 1888 Australian novel Robbery Under Arms by Thomas Alexander Browne who wrote under the pseudonym Rolf Boldrewood.

<i>A Town Like Alice</i> (film) 1956 British film

A Town Like Alice is a 1956 British drama film produced by Joseph Janni and starring Virginia McKenna and Peter Finch that is based on the 1950 novel of the same name by Nevil Shute. The film does not follow the whole novel, concluding at the end of part two and truncating or omitting much detail. It was partially filmed in Malaya and Australia.

References

  1. ↑ "REVIEWS IN BRIEF". The Sydney Morning Herald . No. 36, 000. 9 May 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 22 September 2017– via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Natives took to Reds after village uprising". The Australian Women's Weekly . Vol. 20, no. 29. 17 December 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 22 September 2017– via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ Wood, Percy (25 May 1952). "It Can Happen--and Has--to Doctors in the Far East". Chicago Daily Tribune. p. c5.
  4. 1 2 3 Rochelle Girson (20 July 1952). "Ullman Wants Down Off Mountain". The Washington Post. p. B7.
  5. ↑ "The Best Sellers". New York Times. 27 July 1952. p. BR8.
  6. ↑ "Pinewood Rank Prod". Variety. 5 January 1955. p. 51.
  7. ↑ British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference by Sue Harper, Vincent Porter Oxford University Press, 2003 pp 43-45
  8. ↑ Nelmes, Jill; Selbo, Jule (2015). Women Screenwriters: An International Guide. Springer. p. 645. ISBN   9781137312372.
  9. ↑ STEPHEN WATTS (23 June 1957). "BRITISH SCREEN SCENE.: Televised Feature Results in Lawsuit --New Projects--Bright Inventory Work in Progress "Comeback" Rebuttal". New York Times. p. 93.
  10. 1 2 Neame p 156
  11. ↑ Brian McFarlane, Autobiography of British Cinema p 433
  12. ↑ Review of film at Variety
  13. ↑ New York Times review of film
  14. ↑ "Windom's Way - IMDb". IMDb .

Bibliography

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.