Turn of the Tide
Turn of the Tide (1935) is a British drama film directed by Norman Walker and starring John Garrick, Geraldine Fitzgerald, and Wilfrid Lawson. It was the first feature film made by J. Arthur Rank.[1][2] Lacking a distributor for his film, Rank set up his own distribution and production company which subsequently grew into his later empire.[3]
| Turn of the Tide | |
|---|---|
.jpg.webp) British trade ad | |
| Directed by | Norman Walker |
| Produced by | John Corfield |
| Written by | Leo Walmsley (book) L. du Garde Peach J.O.C. Orton |
| Starring | John Garrick Geraldine Fitzgerald Wilfrid Lawson Moore Marriott |
| Music by | Arthur Benjamin |
| Cinematography | Franz Planer |
| Edited by | Ian Dalrymple Stephen Harrison David Lean |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | Gaumont British Distributors |
Release date | 1935 |
Running time | 80 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
The film is set in the fictional Yorkshire fishing village of Bromwick, and relates the rivalry between two fishing families. It is filmed mainly around Whitby (evidenced in the WY identity codes on the fishing boats).
The characters speak in the local Yorkshire accent and dialect. Rivalry between the lobster fishermen begins when one boat is fitted with a new diesel engine. Ropes are cut so the lobsters cannot be retrieved. The feuding comes to an end when a man from one family says he wants to marry a girl from the other famiily.
The work is based on the 1932 novel Three Fevers by Leo Walmsley.[4]
Cast
- John Garrick as Marney Lunn
- J. Fisher White as Isaac Fosdyck
- Geraldine Fitzgerald as Ruth Fosdyck
- Wilfrid Lawson as Luke Fosdyck
- Moore Marriott as Tindal Fosdyck
- Sam Livesey as Henry Lunn
- Niall MacGinnis as John Lunn
- Joan Maude as Amy Lunn
- Derek Blomfield as Steve Lunn
- Hilda Davies as Mrs. Lunn
Reception
Writing for The Spectator in 1935, Graham Greene remarked that the film was "unpretentious and truthful", and "one of the best English films [he] ha[d] yet seen". Rejecting contemporary critical comparison of the film to Man of Aran, Greene suggested that where Man of Aran had featured sentimentality, Turn of the Tide's director "Norman Walker is concerned with truth, [...] and the beauty his picture catches is that of exact statement".[5]
Although the film was originally considered a box-office disappointment it was eventually voted the sixth best British movie of 1936.[6]
Britmovie called it a "refreshingly compassionate drama that benefits from being filmed on location at Robin Hood's Bay and Whitby."[3]
References
- "Turn of the Tide (1935)". BFI. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012.
- "BFI Screenonline: Fitzgerald, Geraldine (1914-2005) Biography". screenonline.org.uk.
- "Turn of the Tide". britmovie.co.uk.
- Logan, Mr Philip C. (28 July 2013). Humphrey Jennings and British Documentary Film: A Re-assessment. google.co.uk. ISBN 9781409482284.
- Greene, Graham (25 October 1935). "Joan of Arc/Turn of the Tide/Top Hat/She". The Spectator. (reprinted in: Taylor, John Russell, ed. (1980). The Pleasure Dome. pp. 29–30. ISBN 0192812866.)
- "BEST FILM PERFORMANCE LAST YEAR". The Examiner (LATE NEWS EDITION and DAILY ed.). Launceston, Tasmania. 9 July 1937. p. 8. Retrieved 4 March 2013 – via National Library of Australia.
External links
- Turn of the Tide at IMDb
- Walmsley Society | http://www.walmsleysoc.org/TurnOfTheTide.html