''Bartleby'' is a 1970
British
British may refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies.
** Britishness, the British identity and common culture
* British English, ...
drama film
In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...
directed by Anthony Friedman and starring
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Awards, Academy Award, Emmy Award, Emmy, and Tony Award, Tony for his ...
,
John McEnery
John McEnery (1 November 1943 – 12 April 2019) was an English actor and writer.
Born in Birmingham, he trained (1962–1964) at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, playing, among others, Mosca in Ben Jonson's ''Volpone'' and Gaveston ...
and
Thorley Walters
Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English character actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in ''Two-Way Stretch'' and '' Carlton-Browne of the FO''.
Early life
Walters was born in Tei ...
. It is an adaptation of the short story "
Bartleby, the Scrivener; A Story of Wall-street" by
Herman Melville
Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...
. The film relocates the narrative from
New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
in the 1850s to
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
in the 1970s.
It was shot at
Twickenham Studios
Twickenham Studios (formerly known as Twickenham Film Studios) is a film studio in St Margarets, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, that is used by various motion picture and television companies. It was established in 1913 by Ralph ...
and
on location around
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
. The sets were designed by the
art director
Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games.
It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...
Simon Holland.
Plot
Bartleby, a young audit clerk, is defeated by the pressures of modern life; he gradually opts out of all forms of social engagement and withdraws into his own world.
Cast
*
Paul Scofield
David Paul Scofield (21 January 1922 – 19 March 2008) was a British actor. During a six-decade career, Scofield achieved the US Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Awards, Academy Award, Emmy Award, Emmy, and Tony Award, Tony for his ...
- The Accountant
*
John McEnery
John McEnery (1 November 1943 – 12 April 2019) was an English actor and writer.
Born in Birmingham, he trained (1962–1964) at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School, playing, among others, Mosca in Ben Jonson's ''Volpone'' and Gaveston ...
- Bartleby
*
Thorley Walters
Thorley Swinstead Walters (12 May 1913 – 6 July 1991) was an English character actor. He is probably best remembered for his comedy film roles such as in ''Two-Way Stretch'' and '' Carlton-Browne of the FO''.
Early life
Walters was born in Tei ...
- The Colleague
*
Colin Jeavons
Colin Abel Jeavons (born 20 October 1929) is a retired British television actor.
Career
Jeavons' earliest television role was as Jules Neraud in an episode of the 1956 anthology series of teleplays ''Nom-de-Plume''. Broadcast live, it is unkno ...
- Tucker
* Raymond Mason - Landlord
* Charles Kinross - Tenant
* Neville Barber - First Client
*
Robin Askwith
Robin Mark Askwith (born 12 October 1950) is an English actor and singer who has appeared in a number of film, television and stage productions.
Making his film debut as Keating in the film '' if....'' (1968), a role he would reprise in ''Brita ...
- Office Boy
* Hope Jackman - Hilda - Tealady
* John Watson - Doctor
* Christine Dingle - Patient
* Rosalind Elliot - Miss Brown - Secretary
* Tony Parkin - Dickinson - Clerk
Critical reception
The ''
TV Guide
TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program
Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or t ...
'' reviewer commented that "the film is brooding, slow, and annoying at times, but the vision of McEnery as Bartleby is not easily forgotten. Scofield...gives a supremely intelligent portrayal of a man caught between logic and emotion."
Stanley Kauffmann
Stanley Kauffmann (April 24, 1916 – October 9, 2013) was an American writer, editor, and critic of film and theater.
Career
Kauffmann started with ''The New Republic'' in 1958 and contributed film criticism to that magazine for the next fifty ...
of
The New Republic
''The New Republic'' is an American magazine of commentary on politics, contemporary culture, and the arts. Founded in 1914 by several leaders of the progressive movement, it attempted to find a balance between "a liberalism centered in hum ...
wrote about Bartleby- "a poor film but with superb acting in it".
References
External links
*
1970 films
1970 drama films
British drama films
Films based on works by Herman Melville
Films set in London
Films shot at Twickenham Film Studios
1970s English-language films
1970s British films
{{1970s-UK-film-stub