''Penn of Pennsylvania'' is a 1941 British historical

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

Lance Comfort Lance Comfort (11 August 1908 – 25 August 1966) was an English film director. In a career spanning over 25 years, he became one of the most prolific film directors in Britain, though he never gained critical attention and remained on the ...

and starring Deborah Kerr, Clifford Evans,

Dennis Arundell Dennis Drew Arundell OBE (22 July 1898 in Finchley, London – 10 December 1988 in Camden, London

Henry Oscar Henry Wale (14 July 1891 – 28 December 1969), known professionally as Henry Oscar, was an English stage and film actor. He changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Dram ...

, Herbet Lomas and

Edward Rigby Edward Coke MC (5 February 1879 – 5 April 1951), known professionally as Edward Rigby, was a British character actor. Early life Rigby was born at Ashford, Kent, England, the second son of Dr William Harriott Coke and his wife, Mary Elizabe ...

. The film depicts the life of the

Quaker Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of Christian denomination, denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belie ...

founder of

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

William Penn William Penn ( – ) was an English writer and religious thinker belonging to the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), and founder of the Province of Pennsylvania, a North American colony of England. He was an early advocate of democracy a ...

. It is also known by the

alternative title An alternative title is a media sales device most prominently used in film distribution. Books and films are commonly released under a different title when they are screened or sold in a different country. This can vary from small change to the ...

''Courageous Mr. Penn''.

Story

The film portrays his struggle to be granted a

colonial charter A charter is a document that gives colonies the legal rights to exist. Charters can bestow certain rights on a town, city, university, or other institution. Colonial charters were approved when the king gave a grant of exclusive powers for the go ...

in London and attracting settlers to his new colony as well as his adoption a radical new approach with regard to the treatment of the Native Americans.

Cast

* Clifford Evans as William Penn * Deborah Kerr as Gulielma Maria Springett *

Dennis Arundell Dennis Drew Arundell OBE (22 July 1898 in Finchley, London – 10 December 1988 in Camden, London

as Charles II *

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 Chaplain * D.J. Williams as Lord Arlington *

O. B. Clarence Oliver Burchett Clarence (25 March 1870, Hampstead, London – 2 October 1955, Hove, Sussex) was an English actor. Following his education at Dover College and University College Hospital, he made his stage debut in 1890. His experience includ ...

as Lord Cecil *

James Harcourt James Harcourt (20 April 187318 February 1951) was an English character actor. Harcourt was born in Headingley, Leeds, West Riding of Yorkshire. He started work as a cabinet maker, and drifted into amateur dramatics. He appeared as a stage act ...

as George Fox * Charles Carson as Admiral Penn *

as Samuel Pepys *

Max Adrian Max Adrian (born Guy Thornton Bor; 1 November 1903 – 19 January 1973) was an Irish stage, film and television actor and singer. He was a founding member of both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the National Theatre. In addition to his succ ...

as Elton * John Stuart as Bindle *

Maire O'Neill Maire O'Neill (born Mary Agnes Allgood; 11 January 1886 – 2 November 1952) was an Irish actress of stage and film. She holds a place in theatre history as the first actress to interpret the lead character of Pegeen Mike Flaherty in John Mill ...

as Cook *

as Bushell * Mary Hinton as Lady Castlemaine *

Joss Ambler Joss Ambler (23 June 1900 – 1959) was an Australian-born British film and television actor. He usually played somewhat pompous and irascible figures of authority, particularly in comedy films. He was an effective foil to George Formby in both ...

as Lord Mayor *

Edmund Willard Edmund Willard (19 December 1884 – 6 October 1956) was a British actor of the 1930s and 1940s. Born in Brighton, Sussex in 1884, the nephew of Victorian era actor Edward Smith Willard, in 1920 Willard appeared in the plays of William Shak ...

as Captain *

Percy Marmont Percy Marmont (25 November 1883 – 3 March 1977) was an English film actor. Biography Marmont appeared in more than 80 films between 1916 and 1968. A veteran film actor by 1923, he scored a big hit that year in ''If Winter Comes'', later rem ...

as Holme *

Gibb McLaughlin George McLoughlin (19 July 1879 – 30 June 1961), known professionally as Gibb McLaughlin, was an English film and stage actor. Early days McLaughlin was born in Sunderland, County Durham, England in 1879. For about 10 years he was a sales ...

as Indian Chief * Herbert Lomas as Captain Cockle *

Gus McNaughton Gus McNaughton (29 July 1881 – 18 November 1969), also known as Augustus Le Clerq and Augustus Howard, was an English film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1930 and 1947. He was born in London and died in Castor, Cambridgeshire. He ...

as Mate

Production

The idea of a film about Penn was developed by the producer

Richard Vernon Richard Evelyn Vernon (7 March 1925 – 4 December 1997) was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles. Prematurely balding and greying, Vernon settled into playi ...

.Capua, p. 15 After listening to a radio broadcast by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Vernon had been struck by how similar his views were to the Quaker philosophy of William Penn the next morning he approached bosses at British National Films and pitched the idea of a Penn biopic to them, securing their support.

Anatole de Grunwald Anatole "Tolly" de Grunwald (25 December 1910 – 13 January 1967) was a Russian British film producer and screenwriter. Biography De Grunwald was born in Saint Petersburg, Russia, the son of a diplomat (Constantin de Grunwald) in the se ...

hastily wrote a screenplay and the film began production at

Elstree Studios Elstree Studios is a generic term which can refer to several current and demolished British film studios and television studios based in or around the town of Borehamwood and village of Elstree in Hertfordshire, England. Production studios ha ...

on 10 February 1941. Deborah Kerr, a rising star, although not yet 20 years old, was given equal billing with Clifford Evans, who played Penn, but had far less screen time as the film primarily focused on Penn rather than her portrayal of his wife. The film concentrates of Penn's emblematic importance rather than simply as a historic individual, and he serves as a broader depiction of a freedom-loving Englishman.McFarlane, p. 22 The musical score was written by

William Alwyn William Alwyn (born William Alwyn Smith; 7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985), was an English composer, conductor, and music teacher. Life and music William Alwyn was born William Alwyn Smith in Northampton, the son of Ada Tyler (Tompkins ...

, the first time he had written for a

feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...

. His score is generally considered far superior to the film itself. Made during the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

the film was intended in part as a

propaganda Propaganda is communication that is primarily used to influence or persuade an audience to further an agenda, which may not be objective and may be selectively presenting facts to encourage a particular synthesis or perception, or using loaded ...

effort to stir the United States out of isolationism and persuade it into joining the war on Britain's side, and was one of a series of historical films including '' The Prime Minister'', '' The Young Mr. Pitt'' and ''

The Great Mr. Handel ''The Great Mr. Handel'' is a 1942 British Technicolor historical film directed by Norman Walker and starring Wilfrid Lawson, Elizabeth Allan and Malcolm Keen. The film is a biopic of the 18th-century German-British composer Georg Friedrich H ...

'' which were made at the same time, as well as '' Thunder Rock'' and '' 49th Parallel'' which portrayed a similar message in a contemporary setting.

Reception

The film received universally bad reviews which criticised the lack of vitality in the historical figures who often resembled stereotypes. When it was released in the United States the ''

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 ...

'' observed "''Penn'' is definitely not one of England's better film efforts".Capua, p. 16 Evans's portrayal of Penn was generally praised for his "sympathetic" performance. Shortly afterwards,

directed Kerr in '' Hatter's Castle'', which proved a major success.

References

Bibliography

* Capua, Michelangelo. ''Deborah Kerr: A Biography''. McFarland & Company, 2010. * Johnson, Ian. ''William Alwyn: the art of film music''. The Boydell Press, 2005. * McFarlane, Brian. ''Lance Comfort''. Manchester University Press, 1999. * Wright, Adrian. ''The innumerable dance: the life and work of William Alwyn''. The Boydell Press, 2008.

External links

{{Lance Comfort 1941 films British historical drama films British biographical drama films 1940s biographical drama films 1940s historical drama films Films about Christianity Films about Quakers Films directed by Lance Comfort Films set in the 17th century Films set in the 18th century Films set in Pennsylvania Films set in the Thirteen Colonies Films set in London Films with screenplays by Anatole de Grunwald Films scored by William Alwyn British black-and-white films 1941 directorial debut films 1941 drama films Cultural depictions of Charles II of England Films shot at British National Studios 1940s English-language films 1940s British films