Film

User reviews of this film

• remiss said...

  Posted on Oct 21 2010 21:04 I haven't as yet had the pleasure of a further viewing of a Margaret Lockwood film -why don't they appear on TV?- but well remember -what your critics apparently cannot- the critical dramatic effect they had at the time: I'm 75 years old. Indeed the principal critiques you've provided for these films with few exceptions take on a adverse bias form which reminds me of a comment of my brother's -he was in the fifties first a film editor at Pine wood then a film director- in the sixties that what had served to destroy the British Film industry more than any other single factor was the refusal by American film distributors to take the any all British film arguing their public could not understand the English accent - this was absurd given the number of major Hollywood stars who were English and their accent reflected this -Rathbone, Laughton, Karloff, Niven to mention a few of innumerable male stars: the ban was a restrictive trade practice because the American feared British competition and sadly British Film makers went along with it rather than retaliate in denying American access to our market -today's obnoxious Yankee sycophancy did not begin with Thatcher and Blair to our cost its roots go much deeper (probably to Churchill who, while undoubtedly a patriot, because of his American mother misguidedly thought our two nations shared a common destiny; we've paid an devastating price for that stupidity) In the case of our film industry the appalling attempt by the British film industry to get around the ban resulted in wretched films being made starring ghastly B type American actors acceptable to the American public. Looking at these critiques I sense a similar motive in denigrating them: they should be seen within the context of the technical limitations of the time when they were made - much as we do with Hollywood films of the period..
  I agree however with Peter Wicks comment above about the social similarity of the climate of greed between then and now -once again originating from America- although then we still maintained a justifiable sense of pride in our nation its history and achievements.
  Needless to say give me a good British film of that time -particularly an Ealing Studios production-in preference to virtually anything that has emerged from Hollywood then or since.

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• Peter Wicks said...

  Posted on Aug 30 2010 12:15 As I was born in this time period and as a life long socialist I can see some remarkable similarities to Britain 2010, greed ruled then as it does today

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• BEF said...

  Posted on Jan 20 2008 20:14 Absorbing film of its time, not spoilt by its blatant promotion of nationalisation for the coal industry. Good filming at its location, and it dramatically brings home the despairing moments following the siren indicating a pit accident.

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