''Hindle Wakes'' is a 1927 British

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) or key lines of dialogue may, when ...

drama, directed by

Maurice Elvey Maurice Elvey (11 November 1887 – 28 August 1967) was one of the most prolific film directors in British history. He directed nearly 200 films between 1913 and 1957. During the silent film era he directed as many as twenty films per year. He a ...

and starring

Estelle Brody Estelle Brody (15 August 1900 – 3 June 1995) was an American actress who became one of the biggest female stars of British silent film in the latter half of the 1920s. Her career was then derailed by a series of ill-advised decisions and ...

and John Stuart. The film is adapted from

Stanley Houghton William Stanley Houghton (22 February 1881 – 11 December 1913) was an English playwright. He was a prominent member, together with Allan Monkhouse and Harold Brighouse, of a group known as the Manchester School of dramatists. His best know ...

's 1912 stage play of the same name, and reunites Brody and Stuart following their hugely popular pairing in the previous year's '' Mademoiselle from Armentieres''. The film was also released under the title ''Fanny Hawthorne''. In its time, Houghton's play was considered extremely controversial and provocative in its message. It is seen as proto-feminist in tone, with its assumption that women as well as men could enjoy a brief sexual fling for what it was, without any sense of obligation on either side, and further that a woman was capable of making her own decisions, ignoring familial and societal strictures if necessary. ''Hindle Wakes'' was filmed four times, twice as a silent (the first version, also directed by Elvey, made in 1918) and twice in sound (in 1931 and 1952). The 1927 production was well-budgeted, made extensive use of location filming in

Manchester Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The t ...

and

Blackpool Blackpool is a seaside resort in Lancashire, England. Located on the North West England, northwest coast of England, it is the main settlement within the Borough of Blackpool, borough also called Blackpool. The town is by the Irish Sea, betw ...

, and is generally held by film historians to be the best of the four.

Plot

In the (fictitious)

Lancashire Lancashire ( , ; abbreviated Lancs) is the name of a historic county, ceremonial county, and non-metropolitan county in North West England. The boundaries of these three areas differ significantly. The non-metropolitan county of Lancashi ...

mill town of Hindle, preparations are being made for the annual summer

wakes week The Wakes Week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland. Originally a religious celebration or feast, the tradition of the Wakes Week developed into a secular holiday, particularly in North West England during the Industrial Revolution ...

holiday. Fanny Hawthorn (Brody) is seen packing her suitcase in preparation for her trip to Blackpool with her friend Mary Hollins (Peggy Carlisle). Meanwhile, Allan Jeffcote (Stuart), son of the owner of the mill in which Fanny works, and employed in the offices, has had his own holiday plans disrupted due to his fiancée having to cancel their arrangements at the last minute. After a final day's work, the factory hooter sounds and Fanny and Mary board the excursion train to Blackpool, while Allan and a friend decide to travel there by car. In the bustle and throng of Blackpool in peak season, Fanny and Mary meet up with Allan and his friend and enjoy the excitement of the resort as a foursome. Allan and Fanny are attracted to each other, and Allan persuades Fanny to leave Blackpool and instead accompany him for a stay in the more upmarket resort of Llandudno in North Wales. Knowing what this entails, Fanny agrees and writes a postcard to her parents, which Mary promises to post from Blackpool later in the week. Soon after, Mary is tragically killed in a boating accident. When Fanny's father hears the news he travels to Blackpool, only to find Fanny not there, and the unmailed postcard in Mary's luggage. At the end of the week, Fanny and Allan return separately to Hindle, where Fanny, previously unaware of Mary's death and shocked by the news, is interrogated by her parents and reveals that she has spent the week with Allan in Llandudno. In indignation, the Hawthorns go to the Jeffcote home and confront Allan's parents with his caddish behaviour. To their surprise, they find Allan's father equally appalled by the situation. Mr. Jeffcote determines that Allan must marry Fanny to prevent a scandal. Allan initially opposes his father's demand but explains the situation to his fiancée, who insists that in the circumstances the only decent thing for him to do is to comply with the insistence that he marry Fanny after having compromised her reputation. That evening the Hawthorns visit the Jeffcotes to make arrangements for the marriage. Fanny registers her defiance by refusing to dress up and insisting on wearing her working clothes. Allan makes a formal offer of marriage, and to everyone's amazement Fanny turns him down flat, saying that she is just as entitled to enjoy a "little fancy" as any man. Allan and his fiancée resume their engagement, while Fanny moves out of the family home to get away from the wrath of her mother. She strikes up a friendship with a fellow mill worker, and agrees to a date with him.

Cast

as Fanny Hawthorn * John Stuart as Allan Jeffcote *

Norman McKinnel Norman McKinnel (10 February 1870 – 29 March 1932) was a Scottish stage and film actor and playwright, active from the 1890s until his death. He appeared in many stage roles in the UK and overseas as well as featuring in a number of films, ...

as Nathaniel Jeffcote * Irene Rooke as Mrs. Jeffcote *

Marie Ault Marie Ault (2 September 1870 – 9 May 1951) was a British character actress of stage and film. Biography Born as Mary Cragg, in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester. England. Ault was a star in many British films of the silent era but is ...

as Mrs. Hawthorn * Humberston Wright as Chris Hawthorn * Arthur Chesney as Sir Timothy Farrar * Gladys Jennings as Beatrice Farrar *

Alf Goddard Frank Henry "Alf" Goddard (28 November 1897 in Brentford, Middlesex – 25 February 1981 in Ealing, London) was an English film actor. Brother of a famous boxer, Alf Goddard was once a boxer too. He was also a trained athlete and a professiona ...

as Nobby *

Cyril McLaglen Cyril McLaglen (1899–1987) was a British actor who appeared in a variety of films between 1920 and 1951. He was born in London in 1899 and made his film debut in the 1920 film ''The Call of the Road''. He was the younger brother of the acto ...

as Alf * Peggy Carlisle as Mary Hollins

Reputation

''Hindle Wakes'' proved successful with audiences and critics on its release, and latterly has become much admired as belonging in the top rank of British silent films. Its skilful use of location is considered to give the film a documentary realism feel very unusual in British films of the period, in many ways decades ahead of its time in foreshadowing the

kitchen sink realism Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a British cultural movement that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose protagonists usually could be described as "angry young men" w ...

of the 1950s and 1960s. In an essay on Elvey's career, Lawrence Napper described it as "a particularly successful example of Elvey's blend of realism, melodrama and sense of location." Brody's performance is also admired for its naturalness and spontaneity, and is strikingly modern in execution. An analysis of the film by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

comments: "Fanny makes an enduring heroine. She is a modern miss and, eighty years on, her attitudes and behaviour stand up well."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Hindle Wakes (1927 film) 1927 films 1927 drama films British silent feature films Films directed by Maurice Elvey British black-and-white films British films based on plays Films set in Blackpool British drama films Films produced by Victor Saville Films with screenplays by Victor Saville 1920s British films Silent drama films