''Master of Bankdam'' (called ''The Master of Bankdam'' in its own credits) is a 1947 British

historical film A historical drama (also period drama, costume drama, and period piece) is a work set in a past time period, usually used in the context of film and television. Historical drama includes historical fiction and romances, adventure films, and swa ...

directed by

Walter Forde Walter Forde (born Thomas Seymour Woolford, 21 April 1898 – 7 January 1984) was a British actor, screenwriter and Film director, director. Born in Lambeth, south London in 1898, he directed over fifty films between 1919 from the silent era ...

and based on the 1940 novel ''

The Crowthers of Bankdam ''The Crowthers of Bankdam'' is a 1940 historical novel by the British writer Thomas Armstrong (author), Thomas Armstrong. His debut novel, it is a family saga following the fortunes of the Crowther family of Yorkshire Textile manufacturing, mil ...

'' by Thomas Armstrong. It stars

Anne Crawford Imelda Anne Crawford (22 November 1920 – 17 October 1956) was a British film actress, born in Palestine of a Scottish father and an English mother, and brought up in Edinburgh. Biography A contemporary of Margaret Lockwood and Phyllis Calver ...

Dennis Price Dennistoun Franklyn John Rose Price (23 June 1915 – 6 October 1973) was an English actor, best remembered for his role as Louis Mazzini in the film '' Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) and for his portrayal of the omnicompetent valet Jeeve ...

Tom Walls Thomas Kirby Walls (18 February 1883 – 27 November 1949) was an English stage and film actor, producer and director, best known for presenting and co-starring in the Aldwych farces in the 1920s and for starring in and directing the film adapt ...

, Stephen Murray,

Linden Travers Florence Lindon-Travers, known professionally as Linden Travers (27 May 1913 – 23 October 2001Ronald Bergan ), was a British actress. Life and career Travers was born in Houghton-le-Spring, County Durham, the daughter of Florence (née ...

and

David Tomlinson David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson (7 May 1917 – 24 June 2000) was an English stage, film, and television actor and comedian. Having been described as both a leading man and a character actor, he is primarily remembered for his roles as authorit ...

. The story concerns two generations of brothers who struggle for control of the family business in 19th century

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a Historic counties of England, historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other Eng ...

Plot

The film begins in the 1850s at the time of the

Crimean War The Crimean War, , was fought from October 1853 to February 1856 between Russia and an ultimately victorious alliance of the Ottoman Empire, France, the United Kingdom and Piedmont-Sardinia. Geopolitical causes of the war included the de ...

. Bankdam is a small

mill run by the Crowther family. It prospers and grows under its patriarch owner, Simeon Crowther. After family upheavals the firm goes through several crises under the management of his sons Zebediah and Joshua, who tend to oppose one another. Joshua dies with many others in a mill collapse, partially blamed on his brother Zebediah. Joshua's role is taken over by his son Simeon (junior). Later, the old patriarch, Simeon (senior), dies. Zebediah is diagnosed with a rare heart condition and retires to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

for specialist treatment, leaving his son, Lancelot Handel, with

power of attorney A power of attorney (POA) or letter of attorney is a written authorization to represent or act on another's behalf in private affairs (which may be financial or regarding health and welfare), business, or some other legal matter. The person auth ...

in his absence. Things at the mill deteriorate due to the new American

McKinley Tariff The Tariff Act of 1890, commonly called the McKinley Tariff, was an act of the United States Congress, framed by then Representative William McKinley, that became law on October 1, 1890. The tariff raised the average duty on imports to almost fift ...

and mismanagement. Lancelot reacts by firing men indiscriminately. Anger grows in the community. In the final scene a fatally ill Zebediah returns and, with a mob outside the door, chastises Lancelot for squandering money and ruining the family firm. Zebediah talks down an angry mob outside. Simeon Junior then promises to reopen the mills. Zebediah hears Simeon's speech to the crowd and decides Simeon must be the new Master of Bankdam and entrusts Bankdam.

Cast

as Annie Pickersgill *

as Joshua Crowther *

as Simeon Crowther Senior * Stephen Murray as Zebediah Crowther *

as Clara Baker *

Jimmy Hanley Jimmy Hanley (22 October 1918 – 13 January 1970) was an English actor who appeared in the popular Huggetts film series, and in ITV's most popular advertising magazine programme, ''Jim's Inn'', from 1957 to 1963. Early life Born in Norwich, No ...

as Simeon Crowther Junior *

Nancy Price Nancy Price, CBE (3 February 1880 – 31 March 1970), was an English actress on stage and screen, author and theatre director. Her acting career began in a repertory theatre company before progressing to the London stage, silent films, talkies and ...

as Lydia Crowther *

as Lancelot Handel Crowther *

Patrick Holt Patrick Holt (31 January 1912 – 12 October 1993) was an English film and television actor. Biography Born Patrick G. Parsons in Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, Holt spent some of his childhood in India with his uncle, after which he was sent ...

as Lemuel Pickersgill * Herbert Lomas as Tom France *

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 Ben Pickersgill *

Beatrice Varley Beatrice Evelyn Varley (11 July 1896 – 4 July 1964) was an English actress who appeared in television and film roles between 1936 and 1964. She made her screen debut in the 1936 film ''Tomorrow We Live'' and began to portray a variety of ch ...

as Mrs Pickersgill *Raymond Rollett as Handel Baker *April Stride as Sophie Teresa Crowther *

Avis Scott Avis Scott (22 February 1918 – 31 May 2010) was a British film and theatre actress. She was born in London as Avis F Scutt, daughter of Arthur Octavius Scutt and Freda May Palmer. She emigrated to the U ...

as Mary Crowther *

Nicholas Parsons Christopher Nicholas Parsons (10 October 1923 – 28 January 2020) was an English actor, straight man and radio and television presenter. He was the long-running presenter of the comedy radio show '' Just a Minute'' and hosted the game show '' ...

as Edgar Hoylehouse *Maria Var as The Singer *

Shelagh Fraser Sheila Mary Fraser (25 November 1920 – 29 August 2000) was an English actress. She is best known for her roles in the television serial '' A Family at War'' (1970–1971) and as Luke Skywalker's aunt Beru in '' Star Wars'' (1977). Early life S ...

as Alice France *Edgar K. Bruce as Ezra Hoylehouse *Frank Henderson as Doctor Clough *

Aubrey Mallalieu Aubrey Mallalieu (8 June 1873 – 28 May 1948) was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s. Mallalieu began life as George William Mallalieu, the son of William Mallalieu (c. 1845–1927), a ...

as Doctor Bouviere * Kenneth Buckley as Brough *Lyn Evans as Shires *Bertram Shuttleworth as Shires *

Amy Veness Amy Veness (26 February 1876 – 22 September 1960) was an English film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in ''The Huggetts Trilogy'' and was sometimes credited as Amy Van Ness. Veness was born Amy Clarice Beart in Aldeburgh, Suff ...

as Mrs Pilling

Production

The film was produced by

and

Edward Dryhurst Edward Dryhurst (1904–1989) was an English screenwriter, film producer and director. Selected filmography Screenwriter * ''Three Men in a Cart'' (1929) * '' Find the Lady'' (1936) * ''The End of the Road'' (1936) * ''Jennifer Hale'' (1937 ...

, and directed by Walter Forde. It was adapted for the screen by Edward Dryhurst with additional dialogue by Moie Charles. The music was by

Arthur Benjamin Arthur Leslie Benjamin (18 September 1893, in Sydney – 10 April 1960, in London) was an Australian composer, pianist, conductor and teacher. He is best known as the composer of '' Jamaican Rumba'' (1938) and of the '' Storm Clouds Cantata'' ...

, performed by

London Philharmonic The London Philharmonic Orchestra (LPO) is one of five permanent symphony orchestras based in London. It was founded by the conductors Sir Thomas Beecham and Malcolm Sargent in 1932 as a rival to the existing London Symphony and BBC Symphony ...

and conducted by

Muir Mathieson James Muir Mathieson, OBE (24 January 19112 August 1975) was a Scottish conductor and composer. Mathieson was almost always described as a "Musical Director" on many British films. Career Mathieson was born in Stirling, Scotland, in 1911. A ...

. There is also evidence that it was produced by

Ernest G. Roy Ernest G. Roy (1892–1977) was a British film producer who was managing director of Kay (West End) Laboratories, Kay Carlton Hill Studios Ltd and Nettlefold Studios. Roy was born in Clerkenwell, London, in 1892, son of Charles (1857–1932) and ...

of Nettlefold Studios, according to his death notices. The film was made by Holbein Films at

Nettlefold Studios Walton Studios, previously named Hepworth Studios and Nettlefold Studios, was a film production studio in Walton-on-Thames in Surrey, England.Rank Films The Rank Organisation was a British entertainment conglomerate founded by industrialist J. Arthur Rank in April 1937. It quickly became the largest and most vertically integrated film company in the United Kingdom, owning production, distribut ...

and distributed by Prestige Films.

References

External links

*
Hal Erickson's review at allmovie.com

Review of film
at ''Variety'' {{Walter Forde 1947 films Films based on British novels Films set in the 1850s Films set in the 1860s Films set in the 1870s Films set in the 1880s Films set in the 1890s Films set in England British historical films 1940s historical films Films with screenplays by Edward Dryhurst British black-and-white films Films shot at Nettlefold Studios Films produced by Ernest G. Roy Films directed by Walter Forde 1940s English-language films 1940s British films