''Look Before You Love'' is a 1948 British

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

Harold Huth Harold Huth (20 January 1892 – 26 October 1967) was a British actor, film director and producer. Biography Early life He was born in Huddersfield, Yorkshire, in 1892. He was a nephew of Eva Moore and a cousin of the actor Roland Pertwee. Fo ...

and starring

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was an English actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), ''Night Train to Munich' ...

, Griffith Jones and

Maurice Denham William Maurice Denham OBE (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career. Family Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son ...

Plot summary

A woman working in the British Embassy in Brazil falls in love and marries a man, but soon discovers him to be a drunken wastrel tied up with serious crime. He tries to get her to marry a dying millionaire so he can remarry her.

Cast

as Ann Markham * Griffith Jones as Charles Kent *

Norman Wooland Norman Wooland (16 March 19053 April 1989) was an English character actor who appeared in many major films, including several Shakespearean adaptations. Wooland was born in Düsseldorf, Germany to British parents. During the Second World War he ...

as Ashley Morehouse *

Phyllis Stanley Phyllis Stanley (30 October 1914 – 12 March 1992) was a British actress. Personal life During World War II, she shared a flat in West End of London with the Scottish heiress Jane Corby. Partial filmography * ''Leave It to Blanche'' (1934) ...

as Bettina Colby *

as Fosser *

Frederick Piper Frederick Piper (23 September 1902 – 22 September 1979) was an English actor of stage and screen who appeared in over 80 films and many television productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Piper studied drama under Elsie Fogerty at the ...

as Miller *

Bruce Seton Sir Bruce Lovat Seton, 11th Baronet (29 May 1909 – 28 September 1969) was a British actor and soldier. He is best remembered for his eponymous lead role in ''Fabian of the Yard''. Early life Bruce Lovat Seton was born in Simla, British Ind ...

as Johns *

Michael Medwin Michael Hugh Medwin, OBE (18 July 1923 – 26 February 2020) was an English actor and film producer. Life and career Medwin was born in London. He was educated at Canford School, Dorset, and the Institute Fischer, Montreux, Switzerland. He ...

as Emile Garat *

Violet Farebrother Violet Farebrother (22 August 1888 – 27 September 1969) was an English actress. She appeared in 25 films between 1911 and 1965, including three films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. She was born in Grimsby, Lincolnshire, and died in Eastbo ...

as Dowager *

Peggy Evans Peggy Evans (10 January 1921 – 26 July 2015) was an English actress. She trained at the Rank Organisation's The Company of Youth (a "charm school"). Early years One of four children, Evans was born in Sheffield but grew up in Ealing, west Lo ...

as Typist

Production

The film was originally known as ''I Know You'' and ''Change of Heart''.

had been arguing with the Rank Organisation over what films she should make, and had gone on suspension for refusing ''Roses on Her Pillow'', but agreed to do this. Filming started on 15 March 1948 and took place at Denham Studios under the title ''Change of Heart''. Star Griffith Jones recalled "We hoped for a comedy of wit, and style but it wasn't to be."

Critical reception

In a contemporary review, ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called the film "an overlong and somewhat corny love story that gives Margaret Lockwood a sympathetic role after her many '' Wicked Lady'' characterisations, in which she has been so successfully typed in the past", adding, "it may gratify the out-of-town popular audiences, but its chances of success in any metropolis are scant"; while more recently, ''

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'' rated the film two out of five stars, dismissing it as a "Ridiculous story played straight; as a farce it might have had some chance." The film generally received poor reviews. According to Lockwood's biographer "Few British films of the 1940s received a more devastating barrage of criticism than ''Look Before You Love'' when it was released in October 1948." The film's failure contributed to the decline in Lockwood's popularity. The film was released by Eagle Lion in the US in 1950. It was released without a certificate from the PCA because it thought the film breached it basic theme and detail.

References

Bibliography

External links

*
''Look Before Your Love''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of Atl ...

Review of film
at ''Variety'' 1948 films 1948 drama films Films directed by Harold Huth British drama films British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-film-stub