''The Barber of Stamford Hill'' is a 1962

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

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

Casper Wrede Baron Casper Gustaf Kenneth Wrede af Elimä, known as Caspar Wrede (8 February 1929 in Viipuri, Finland – 25 September 1998 in Helsinki, Finland), was a Finnish theatre director, theatre and film director. He was long active in the English theat ...

from a screenplay adapted by

Ronald Harwood Sir Ronald Harwood ( né Horwitz; 9 November 1934 – 8 September 2020) was a South African-born British author, playwright, and screenwriter, best known for his plays for the British stage as well as the screenplays for ''The Dresser'' (for w ...

from his own 1960 television play of the same name, made at

Shepperton Studios Shepperton Studios is a film studio located in Shepperton, Surrey, England, with a history dating back to 1931. It is now part of the Pinewood Studios Group. During its early existence, the studio was branded as Sound City (not to be confused w ...

. Actor John Bennett (then aged thirty-four) plays Mr. Figg, a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

barber about to turn fifty, as he contemplates middle age and expresses regrets at never having started a family.

Plot

The film opens in Mr. Figg’s barbershop in

Stamford Hill Stamford Hill is an area in Inner London, England, about 5.5 miles north-east of Charing Cross. The neighbourhood is a sub-district of Hackney, the major component of the London Borough of Hackney, and is known for its Hasidic community, the l ...

, in which he discusses his family life with his customers. Upon his arrival home, however, it is revealed that he is a bachelor and his stories of family life are inventions he concocts because he believes they are what his customers want to hear. In fact, he lives on his own in a flat in

Stepney Stepney is a district in the East End of London in the London Borough of Tower Hamlets. The district is no longer officially defined, and is usually used to refer to a relatively small area. However, for much of its history the place name appl ...

and on Friday nights lights the

Shabbat candles Shabbat candles ( he, נרות שבת) are candles lit on Friday evening before sunset to usher in the Jewish Sabbath. Lighting Shabbat candles is a rabbinically mandated law. Candle-lighting is traditionally done by the woman of the household ...

before his mute friend Dober comes to visit and they spend the evening eating and playing chess. As he sits with Dober, Mr. Figg discusses his sadness at not having had a family and subsequently decides to propose to Mrs. Werner, a widowed neighbour with two children, so, leaving Dober in the flat, visits her in the hope of doing so. However, as he sits in her kitchen he is not only surprised by her admitting she does not follow Jewish tradition by lighting the candles but is unsure how to respond to domestic conflicts that take place between Mrs. Werner and her children, as her son noisily plays the drums in the front room and her daughter argues with her about being allowed to go out. Before he can get round to proposing, Mrs. Werner mentions that she recently received an offer of marriage from the local butcher only to laugh the idea off as preposterous, leading Mr. Figg to abandon his plan and return to his flat. The film ends with Mr. Figg back in his barbershop, chatting to a customer and relating the story of Mrs Werner’s son playing the drums as if it is a story about his own, fictional, family.

Cast

* Mr. Figg… John Bennett * Mrs. Werner…

Megs Jenkins Muguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins (21 April 1917 – 5 October 1998) was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes. Life and career Jenkins was born in Birkenhead, Cheshire, the daughter of a construction ...

* Dober…

Maxwell Shaw Maxwell Shaw (21 February 1929 - 21 August 1985 in London, England) was an actor, known for ''The Barber of Stamford Hill'' (1962), '' Once More, with Feeling!'' (1960) and ''BBC Sunday-Night Theatre'' (1950). He is best remembered for his televis ...

* Mr. O…

Wensley Pithey Wensley Ivan William Frederick Pithey (21 June 1914 – 10 November 1993) was a South African character actor who had a long stage and film career in Britain. Biography Pithey was born in Cape Town, South Africa. A graduate of the Univers ...

* Lister… John Graham * Willy…

Trevor Peacock Trevor Edward Peacock (19 May 1931 – 8 March 2021) was an English actor, screenwriter and songwriter. He made his name as a theatre actor, later becoming known for his Shakespearean roles. Later in his career, he became best known for playing ...

* 1st Customer…

Eric Thompson Eric Norman Thompson (9 November 1929 – 30 November 1982) was an English actor, scriptwriter and stage director. He is best remembered for creating and performing the English narration for ''The Magic Roundabout'', which he adapted from ...

* 2nd Customer… Barry Keegan * Marilyn… Judi Bloom * Lennie…David Franks

Trivia

Originally a TV play made for

ITV Television Playhouse ''ITV Television Playhouse'', often simplified to ''Television Playhouse'', was a British anthology television series produced by and airing on the ITV ITV or iTV may refer to: ITV *Independent Television (ITV), a British television network, ...

in 1960, (series 5, episode 47, with Danny Green, as Mr. O. The film version was also directed by Caspar Wrede and written by Ronald Harwood, though the only actor to appear in both was Maxwell Shaw as Dober.

External links

* https://player.bfi.org.uk/free/film/watch-the-barber-of-stamford-hill-1962-online * https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a4a0180

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Barber of Stamford Hill, The 1962 films British drama films 1962 drama films 1960s English-language films Films based on television plays 1960s British films