''Give Us This Day'' is a 1949 British film, directed by

Edward Dmytryk Edward Dmytryk (September 4, 1908 – July 1, 1999) was an American film director. He was known for his 1940s films noir, noir films and received an Academy Award for Best Director, Oscar nomination for Best Director for ''Crossfire (film), Cros ...

. This film was released in the United States as ''Christ in Concrete''. Another alternate title was ''Salt to the Devil''. The film was based on the 1939 novel''

Christ in Concrete ''Christ in Concrete'' is a 1939 novel by Pietro Di Donato about Italian-American construction workers. The book, which made Di Donato famous overnight, was originally published by ''Esquire Magazine'' as a short story in 1937, and subsequently e ...

'' by Pietro Di Donato. The title is taken from the

Lord's Prayer The Lord's Prayer, also called the Our Father or Pater Noster, is a central Christian prayer which Jesus taught as the way to pray. Two versions of this prayer are recorded in the gospels: a longer form within the Sermon on the Mount in the Gosp ...

Plot

''Geremio'' is an Italian

bricklayer A bricklayer, which is related to but different from a mason, is a craftsman and tradesman who lays bricks to construct brickwork. The terms also refer to personnel who use blocks to construct blockwork walls and other forms of masonry. ...

living with his family. The film depicts how Geremio and his family endure the struggles of living in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

Cast

Sam Wanamaker Samuel Wanamaker, (born Wattenmacker; June 14, 1919 – December 18, 1993) was an American actor and director who moved to the United Kingdom after becoming fearful of being blacklisted in Hollywood due to his communist views. He is credited as ...

....''.Geremio'' *Lea Padovani.....''Annunziata'' *Kathleen Ryan.....''Kathleen'' *Charles Goldner.....''Luigi'' *

Bonar Colleano Bonar Sullivan (14 March 192417 August 1958), also known by the stage name Bonar Colleano, was an American stage and film actor based in the United Kingdom. Biography Early life Colleano was born Bonar Sullivan in New York City. He had childhood ...

.....''Giulio'' *

William Sylvester William Sylvester (January 31, 1922 – January 25, 1995) was an American television and film actor. His most famous film credit was Dr. Heywood Floyd in Stanley Kubrick's '' 2001 A Space Odyssey'' (1968). Life and career William Sylves ...

.....''Giovanni'' *

George Pastell George Pastell (13 March 1923 – 4 April 1976) was a Cypriot character actor in British films and television programmes. Sources vary as to whether his real name was Nino (IMDb) or George Pastellides (BFI). His marriage record gives his name a ...

.....''The Lucy'' (as ''Nino Pastellides'') *Philo Hauser.....Head of Pig *

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mid ...

.....''Murdin'' *

Karel Stepanek Karel may refer to: People * Karel (given name) * Karel (surname) * Charles Karel Bouley, talk radio personality known on air as Karel * Christiaan Karel Appel, Dutch painter Business * Karel Electronics, a Turkish electronics manufacturer * Gr ...

.....''Jaroslav'' *

Ina De La Haye Ina De La Haye (1906–1972) was a Russian Empire born actress and singer known for her performances in Britain on stage, film and television. She was also known as Ina Delahaye.Wearing p.56 She was married to Colonel J. V. Delahaye from 1930 to ...

.....''Dame Catarina'' *

Rosalie Crutchley Rosalie Sylvia Crutchley (4 January 1920 – 28 July 1997) was a British actress. Trained at the Royal Academy of Music, Crutchley was perhaps best known for her television performances, but had a long and successful career in theatre and films, ...

.....Giulio's wife

Production

Red Scare

At the time this movie was made, Dmytryk had been blacklisted as a member of the

Hollywood Ten The Hollywood blacklist was an entertainment industry blacklist, broader than just Hollywood, put in effect in the mid-20th century in the United States during the early years of the Cold War. The blacklist involved the practice of denying empl ...

. Wanamaker had also been blacklisted. The movie was filmed entirely in London due to this.

Reception

The film received a mixed review from ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' film critic

Bosley Crowther Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...

. He called it "a film drama of considerable graphicness but of oddly limited power." While praising the movie for its "careful and earnest attempt to capture the hard yet wistful quality of Mr. di Donato's tale", Crowther said that "the spirit and compulsion of this deeply distressing tale of poverty and frustration are absent from the film." The film was a commercial failure in America.

References

External links

* * * 1949 films British drama films 1949 drama films Films directed by Edward Dmytryk British black-and-white films Eagle-Lion Films films Films scored by Benjamin Frankel Films set in Brooklyn British films set in New York City Films with screenplays by Hans Székely 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-film-stub