| The Stars Look Down | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Carol Reed |
| Produced by | Isadore Goldsmith Maurice J. For the New York weathercaster see Carol Reed (weather broadcaster. Wilson |
| Written by | A. J. Cronin (novel & screenplay) J. Archibald Joseph Cronin (19 July 1896–6 January 1981 was B. Williams |
| Narrated by | Lionel Barrymore |
| Starring | Michael Redgrave Margaret Lockwood Emlyn Williams Nancy Price |
| Music by | Hans May |
| Cinematography | Mutz Greenbaum Ernest Palmer |
| Editing by | Reginald Beck |
| Distributed by | Grand National Pictures United KingdomMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer  United States |
| Release date(s) | February 24, 1940 |
| Running time | 110 min. Lionel Barrymore ( April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American Academy Award -winning actor of stage radio Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE ( 20 March, 1908 — 21 March, 1985) was an English actor author director and Margaret Lockwood, CBE ( 15 September, 1916 - 15 July, 1990) was a British Actress, notable for her performance George Emlyn Williams CBE ( 26 November 1905 &ndash 25 September 1987) known as Emlyn Williams, was a Welsh Nancy Price, CBE ( February 03, 1880 &ndash March 31, 1970) born Lilian Nancy Bache Price in Kinver, Staffordshire Mutz Greenbaum ( February 3, 1896 &ndash July 5 1968 sometimes credited as Max Greene or Max Greenbaum was a Berlin, Germany Ernest Palmer (1901-1964 was a British Cinematographer. He worked on nineteen films Grand National Films Inc or Grand National Pictures was an American motion picture company in operation from 1936-1939 The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Events 303 - Galerius, Roman Emperor, publishes his edict that begins the persecution of Christians in his portion of the Year 1940 ( MCMXL) was a Leap year starting on Monday (link will display the full 1940 calendar of the Gregorian calendar. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Allmovie profile | |
| IMDb profile | |
The Stars Look Down is a novel by A. J. Cronin, initially published in 1935. The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom, the UK or Britain,is a Sovereign state located English is a West Germanic language originating in England and is the First language for most people in the United Kingdom, the United States Archibald Joseph Cronin (19 July 1896–6 January 1981 was The year 1935 in literature involved some significant events and new books It was his fourth novel, and one of his most popular. A film version was produced in 1939, and television adaptations include both Italian (1971) and British (1974) versions.
The novel is set in 'Sleescale,' a mining town on the coast of Northumberland, as well as in 'Tynecastle' (Newcastle upon Tyne). Mining is the extraction of valuable Minerals or other geological materials from the earth usually (but not always from an Ore body Northumberland is a county in the North East of England. The non-metropolitan county of Northumberland borders Cumbria to the west Newcastle upon Tyne ( (often shortened to Newcastle) is a city and Metropolitan borough of Tyne and Wear, England 'Sleescale' is fictional, but based on an excellent knowledge of similar places and people. Cronin, a Scot, served as Medical Inspector of Mines in Wales during the 1920s. The Scots people ( Scots Gaelic: Albannaich) are a Nation and an Ethnic group indigenous to Scotland.
Beginning before World War I and extending into the 1930s, the story shows the different careers of several individuals: principally, a miner's son who seeks to qualify as a teacher, a miner who becomes a businessman, and the mine owner's son in conflict with his domineering father. World War I (abbreviated WWI; also known as the First World War, the Great War, and the War to End All
The film version, co-scripted by Cronin and directed by Carol Reed, stars Michael Redgrave as the young, idealistic trainee teacher and Margaret Lockwood as his wife. For the New York weathercaster see Carol Reed (weather broadcaster. Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave CBE ( 20 March, 1908 — 21 March, 1985) was an English actor author director and Margaret Lockwood, CBE ( 15 September, 1916 - 15 July, 1990) was a British Actress, notable for her performance Their love story, which is secondary in the novel, is foregrounded in the film. The American release includes narration by Lionel Barrymore. Lionel Barrymore ( April 28, 1878 – November 15, 1954) was an American Academy Award -winning actor of stage radio It is a New York Times Critics' Pick and is listed in The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.
Contents |
Plot summary
The novel centres on three very different men:
- Davey Fenwick comes from a mining family and aspires to be a teacher. Yet he is also drawn towards politics, hoping to help his people, and he becomes a strong supporter of nationalisation. Nationalization, also spelled nationalisation, is the act of taking an industry or assets into the Public ownership of a national government
- Joe Gowlan begins as a miner, drifts and then becomes upwardly mobile during the years of the First World War.
- Arthur Barras is the son of Richard Barras, owner of the Neptune Colliery. Neptune (Neptūnus is the god of water and the sea in Roman mythology, a brother of Jupiter and Pluto. He is unhappy with his father's values but also feels too weak to do much about it.
Reactions to the failure of industrial action on safety issues in the coal mines are crystallized in the characters of Davey and Joe, who take vastly different routes in escaping from the working class. While Davey becomes an MP in order to fight for nationalisation of the mines, Joe essentially joins the mine owners. A Member of Parliament, or MP, is a representative elected by the voters to a Parliament.
Jenny Sunley is Davey's indifferent wife who craves social status, and other characters have short but distinct tales of their own. Cronin shows a broad sympathy for the workers and a dislike of the bosses, but also allows that at least some of the bosses can be decent at a personal level.
Central to the story is the Neptune coal mine and a catastrophe that occurs there. The Great War is also a factor: do you volunteer to fight, volunteer for non-military duties, use trickery to evade service or openly defy the system by refusing call-up? There is a brief description of one of the tribunals that examined conscientious objectors, often refusing to accept their objection as valid. Tribunal is a generic term for any body acting judicially whether or not it is called a tribunal in its title A conscientious objector (CO is an individual who on religious moral or ethical grounds refuses to participate as a combatant in war or in some cases to take any role that would support There is also a clear commitment to the idea of nationalising the mines, replacing the mass of small private owners that existed at the time.
The novel ends with most of the men much changed, and it is an excellent description of working-class life in the North of England during that period.
Trivia
- The 2000 film Billy Elliot was inspired in part by Cronin's story and similarly focuses on a community of coal miners during a strike in North East England, as well as on a miner's son who goes against the grain[1]. Billy Elliot is a 2000 Film written by Lee Hall and directed by Stephen Daldry. Strike action, often simply called a strike, is a work stoppage caused by the mass refusal by Employees to perform work. North-East England is one of the nine official Regions of England and comprises the combined area of Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear Billy Elliot the Musical 's opening sequence, entitled "The Stars Look Down", pays tribute to Cronin's novel. Billy Elliot the Musical is a musical based on the 2000 film Billy Elliot.
- The Canadian band, Rush, named the fifth track on its 2002 album, Vapor Trails, after Cronin's novel. Rush is a Canadian rock band originally formed in August 1968 in the Willowdale neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, currently comprised of Vapor Trails is the seventeenth studio album by the Canadian rock band Rush, released in 2002 (see 2002 in music)
- In 2004, North Eastern playwright, Alex Ferguson, adapted the novel for NTC Theatre Company. An ensemble of five actors played all the parts: Alan Park (Joe Gowlan/ Arthur Barras), Ross Waiton (Davie Fenwick), Kim Evans (Jenny Sunley, Hughie Fenwick), Jackie Fielding (Martha Fenwick), and Steve Wedd (Robert Fenwick/ Richard Barrass). Directed by Gillian Hambleton, the play met with resounding critical success, breathing new life into Cronin's timeless tale.
References
Notes
Bibliography
- The Great British Films, pp 49-51, Jerry Vermilye, 1978, Citadel Press, ISBN 080650661X
External links
- British Film Institute synopsis
- New York Times overview
- Movie subtitles
- Britmovie website
- Film review and images
- The Stars Look Down at Silver Sirens
- The Stars Look Down at Turner Classic Movies
- The Stars Look Down at the Internet Movie Database
- ...E le stelle stanno a guardare (1971) at the Internet Movie Database
(Italian television miniseries) - The Stars Look Down (1975) at the Internet Movie Database (British television miniseries)
- New York Times overview of British miniseries
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