The Woman in the Hall
1947 British film
- 28 October 1947 (1947-10-28)
Running time
The Woman in the Hall is a 1947 British drama film directed by Jack Lee and starring Ursula Jeans, Jean Simmons, Cecil Parker. The screenplay was written by Jack Lee, Ian Dalrymple and Gladys Bronwyn Stern, from Stern's 1939 novel of the same title.
It was made by Wessex Film Productions at Pinewood Studios, with sets designed by Peter Proud.
It was the film debut of actress Susan Hampshire, as a young child.
Plot
Lorna Blake (Ursula Jeans) is a widow with two daughters. She augments her slender income by using her children to extort money, visiting the houses of the rich to tell a pathetic story and beg for help.
Lorna makes a rich capture when Sir Halmar Bernard (Cecil Parker) proposes marriage to her. She tells him that she has only one daughter, Molly (Jill Raymond). When her other daughter, Jay (Jean Simmons), is arrested for forging a cheque, Lorna refuses to help her.
Cast
- Ursula Jeans as Lorna Blake
- Jean Simmons as Jay
- Cecil Parker as Sir Halmar
- Edward Underdown as Neil Ingelfield
- Joan Miller as Susan
- Jill Freud as Molly Blake
- Nigel Buchanan as Toby
- Ruth Dunning as Shirley Dennison
- Russell Waters as Alfred
- Terry Randall as Ann
- Lily Khan as Baroness Von Soll
- Barbara Shaw as Mrs. Maddox
- Martin Walker as Judge
- Totti Truman Taylor as Miss Gardiner
- Hugh Pryse as Counsel for the Defense
- Everley Gregg as Lady Cloy
- Alexis France as Miss Mounce
- Hugh Miller as Mr. Walker
- Susan Hampshire as Young Jay
- Campbell Singer as Von Soll's servant
- Grace Denbeigh-Russell as Mrs. Phillimore
- June Elvin as Daffy
- Joan Sterndale-Bennett as Shop assistant
Production
Jack Lee later recalled the experience of working for Wessex "revolted me" because "it reminded me of when I was a child and my mother would send me out on begging expeditions because she never had any money. It was a bloody awful novel and a terrible film."[2]
Reception
The producer's receipts in the UK were £97,900 and £19,900 overseas.[1]
References
- ^ a b c Chapman, J. (2022). The Money Behind the Screen: A History of British Film Finance, 1945-1985. Edinburgh University Press p 353. Income is in terms of producer's share.
- ^ Brian MacFarlane, An Autobiography of British Cinema, Methueun 1997 p 356
External links
- The Woman in the Hall at IMDb
- Jack Lee at the BFI's Screenonline
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Films directed by Jack Lee
- The Pilot is Safe (1941)
- By Sea and Land (1944)
- The Woman in the Hall (1947)
- Once a Jolly Swagman (1948)
- The Wooden Horse (1950)
- South of Algiers (1953)
- Turn the Key Softly (1953)
- A Town Like Alice (1956)
- Robbery Under Arms (1957)
- The Captain's Table (1959)
- Circle of Deception (1960)
- From the Tropics to the Snow (1964)
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