... starring John Mills as George Boswell, politician and newspaper publisher. The film examines his life in the time between the two world wars - From 1919 to 1945. Boswell was raised in the slums of the mill town of Browdley, and as such he wants to improve the situation of the residents there. It is his passion. As a town councilman in Browdley, he starts out the film arguing that the town should not refuse to hire Olivia Channing (Martha Scott) as one of the town librarians just because her father, once owner of several of the town textile mills, went to prison for embezzlement. He wins the day and she is hired. Later Olivia comes to the newspaper he publishes to thank him and they begin to spend time together, fall in love, and are married. About this same time George's good friend, Dr. Whiteside (Trevor Howard) begins drinking heavily.
George is an observant, thoughtful person who is all about righting social injustice in Browdley, and in particular trying to rebuild the slums of Browdley - "company housing" owned by the mills - into something better. The problem is that he thinks that the enemies of what he is trying to do are far off and ephemeral, when in fact, George is literally sleeping with the enemy.
Suffice it to say that Olivia, over time, shows her true colors of
believing that she is part of the British aristocracy and is willing to do anything and use anyone to get that position back that she lost when her father went to prison and the family lost its money. It is not so much the more identifiable American trait of wanting great wealth. It is the position she wants back and wealth and power are just a couple of the trappings. For example, she is quite tied to the rotting Channing family mansion on the hill - Ferncliff. It represents position to her. She would never think of replacing it with something more modern, comfortable, or convenient.
Rather unexpected here is Martha Scott playing the part of subtle manipulative temptress. She handles this part well, but somehow seems as out of place as that bow she is always wearing in her hair when she is playing young Olivia.
I've been enjoying watching some British films lately, but I will say that they are an acquired taste for this American viewer. British films are not going to spoon feed you themes or character motivations. Take this film for example - George is not trying to be "well remembered", but because he chooses to stay in Browdley and try to fix his home town to the extent that he can, even when overcome by events such as WWII, he probably will be just that.
This is one of my favorite films - I love the mill town atmosphere and the brooding orchestral score, the cups of tea, and most of all John Mills as a good man who needs twenty five years to see clearly the forces arrayed against him and in particular one person that he once loved as a kindred spirit who turned out to be anything but that. Highly recommended.
