Love on the Dole (film)
Love on the Dole is a 1941 British drama film starring Deborah Kerr and Clifford Evans. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by Walter Greenwood.[1] It was the first English-made feature film to show English police wielding batons against a crowd.[2]
| Love on the Dole | |
|---|---|
 DVD cover | |
| Directed by | John Baxter |
| Produced by | John Baxter |
| Written by | Walter Greenwood (novel and adaptation) Ronald Gow (play) Barbara K. Emary Rollo Gamble |
| Starring | Deborah Kerr Clifford Evans |
| Music by | Richard Addinsell Orchestrated, Roy Douglas Direction, Muir Mathieson |
| Cinematography | James Wilson |
| Edited by | Michael C. Chorlton |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Anglo-American Film Corporation (UK) United Artists (USA) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 94 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
The film is set in Hanky Park, part of Salford, in 1930 at the height of the Great Depression.
The film centres on the Hardcastle family. Mr Hardcastle is a miner; his son, Harry, is an apprentice at a local engineering firm and Sally, his daughter, works at a cotton mill.
As the depression takes hold, Mr Hardcastle's mine is put on a three-day week and Harry becomes unemployed when his apprenticeship ends.
The family’s plight is made worse by reductions in means tested unemployment benefits (the dole), while the unexpected pregnancy of Harry’s girlfriend, Helen, causes further tensions.
Sally has met factory worker and Labour Party activist Larry Meath, but their marriage plans are put in doubt when Larry loses his job. Larry is fatally injured when he tries to restore calm in a clash with the police during an unemployment march. Sally, reluctantly at first, becomes the mistress of a wealthy local bookmaker to help keep her unemployed family.
Cast
- Deborah Kerr as Sally
- Clifford Evans as Larry
- George Carney as Mr. Hardcastle
- Mary Merrall as Mrs. Hardcastle
- Geoffrey Hibbert as Harry
- Joyce Howard as Helen
- Frank Cellier as Sam Grundy
- Martin Walker as Ned Narkey
- Maire O'Neill as Mrs. Dorbell
- Iris Vandeleur as Mrs. Nattle
- Marie Ault as Mrs. Jike
- Marjorie Rhodes as Mrs. Bull
- Ben Williams as Factory Worker (uncredited)
Critical reception
Although the book was successful, a proposed film version was rejected by the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) in 1936 as it was a "very sordid story in very sordid surroundings".[3] However, in 1940 the BBFC approved a similar proposal, with the film finally released in June 1941.[4]
In a contemporary review, The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "Here is a film that ranks with the best we have ever produced. The direction is excellent, the photography admirable, and the casting particularly good."[5]
References
- "British Film Institute: Love on the Dole (1941)". British Film Institute.
- Emsley, Clive (2005). Hard Men: The English and Violence since 1750. London: Hambledon. p. 141. ISBN 1852855029.
- Thane, Pat (2018). Divided Kingdom: A History of Britain, 1900 to the Present. Cambridge, United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press. p. 124. ISBN 9781107040915.
- Love on the Dole at the BFI's Screenonline
- "Monthly Film Bulletin review". www.screenonline.org.uk.
External links
- Love on the Dole at IMDb
- Love on the Dole at the BFI's Screenonline