''If Winter Comes'' is a 1947 drama film released by

MGM Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Studios Inc., also known as Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures and abbreviated as MGM, is an American film, television production, distribution and media company owned by Amazon through MGM Holdings, founded on April 17, 1924 a ...

. The movie was directed by

Victor Saville Victor Saville (25 September 1895 – 8 May 1979) was an English film director, producer, and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954. He also produced 36 films between 1923 and 1962. Biography Saville produced his first f ...

and based on the 1921 novel by A.S.M. Hutchinson. The film tells the story of an English textbook writer who takes in a pregnant girl. The novel had previously been made into the 1923 film '' If Winter Comes''.

Plot

Set in the English village Penny Green in 1939, the film focuses on Mark Sabre (

Walter Pidgeon Walter Davis Pidgeon (September 23, 1897 – September 25, 1984) was a Canadian-American actor. He earned two Academy Award for Best Actor nominations for his roles in '' Mrs. Miniver'' (1942) and ''Madame Curie'' (1943). Pidgeon also starred in ...

), an author and publisher who is unhappily married to Mabel (

Angela Lansbury Dame Angela Brigid Lansbury (October 16, 1925 – October 11, 2022) was an Irish-British and American film, stage, and television actress. Her career spanned eight decades, much of it in the United States, and her work received a great deal ...

), a cold, humorless woman who usually spends her days gossiping with the townspeople. When Mark learns his former sweetheart Nona Tybar ( Deborah Kerr) is returning to Penny Green, Mark, unlike his wife, is delighted. Nona is married to Tony Tybar (Hugh French), but she is still in love with Mark. Mabel is aware of Mark's feelings for Nona, and encourages him to spend time with her, thinking he will decide with whom he wants to spend his life. As the war starts, Tony is called into the military; Mark attempts to enlist, but a doctor finds a heart condition and prevents him. Nona leaves Penny Green to join the

Women's Auxiliary Air Force The Women's Auxiliary Air Force (WAAF), whose members were referred to as WAAFs (), was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II. Established in 1939, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000 at its peak strength in 1943, with over 2 ...

. Life becomes quiet for Mark until Effie Bright (

Janet Leigh Jeanette Helen Morrison (July 6, 1927 – October 3, 2004), known professionally as Janet Leigh, was an American actress, singer, dancer, and author. Her career spanned over five decades. Raised in Stockton, California, by working-class parents, ...

), who has been disowned by her father for becoming pregnant, turns to him for help. Mark helps Effie and lets her live in his home while he looks for a better situation for her. This causes a great scandal, and the townspeople soon denounce Mark. He loses his job as a result of the morals clause at his place of employment. Mabel leaves Mark, believing that he has fathered Effie's baby, and serving Effie with the notice that she is co-respondent in the divorce. Effie, who was already under mental stress because the real father of the baby had not written her, commits suicide by poisoning herself. At the inquest to determine Effie's cause of death, numerous witnesses give anecdotal evidence suggesting a sexual relationship between Mark and Effie. Nona appears, having just learned of Tony's death, and makes a short speech in support of Mark's character. The inquest determines that Effie's cause of death was suicide, and they censure Mark for his behavior. Returning home, a distraught Mark finds a note addressed to him from Effie. In it, Effie names her lover: Harold Twyning, the son of Mark's former coworker. Mark furiously goes to confront young Twyning's father, but when he gets there, the man is grief-stricken, just having received the news that his son has been killed in the war. Mark decides not to share the letter with him, but just as he is about to burn the letter, he has a heart attack and passes out. Weeks pass as Mark convalesces. Nona returns to Mark, and they burn Effie's letter together.

Cast

as Mark Sabre * Deborah Kerr as Nona Tybar *

as Mabel Sabre *

Binnie Barnes Gertrude Maud Barnes (25 March 1903 – 27 July 1998), known professionally as Binnie Barnes, was an English actress whose career in films spanned from 1923 to 1973. Early life Barnes was born in Islington, London, the daughter of Rosa Enoy ...

as Natalie Bagshaw *

as Effie Bright * Dame May Whitty as Mrs. Perch *

Reginald Owen John Reginald Owen (5 August 1887 – 5 November 1972) was a British actor. He was known for his many roles in British and American films and television programs. Career The son of Joseph and Frances Owen, Reginald Owen studied at Sir Herbert ...

as Mr. Fortune *

Virginia Keiley Virginia Keiley (1918–1990) was a British actress. She began her career at Gainsborough Pictures appearing in a number of glamorous but small, sometimes uncredited roles in the studio's comedies and melodramas. After the Second World War she g ...

as Rebecca 'High Jinks' *

Rene Ray Irene Lilian Brodrick, Countess of Midleton (née Creese, known as Rene Ray, 22 September 1911 – 28 August 1993) was a British stage and screen actress of the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and also a novelist. Acting career Ray made her screen début ...

as Sarah 'Low Jinks' * Hugh French as Tony Tyber *

Hughie Green Hugh Hughes Green (2 February 1920 – 3 May 1997) was an English radio and television presenter, game show host and actor. Early life Green was born in Marylebone, London, to a Scottish father, Hugh Aitchison Green, a former British Army offic ...

as Freddie Perch * Rhys Williams as Effie's puritanical father * Owen McGiveney as Uncle Fouraker

Production

Producer David O. Selznick bought the rights of the novel in 1939 and intended on casting either

Joan Fontaine Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland (October 22, 1917 – December 15, 2013), known professionally as Joan Fontaine, was a British-American actress who is best known for her starring roles in Hollywood films during the "Golden Age". Fontaine appeared ...

or Vivien Leigh in the female lead roles and

Leslie Howard Leslie Howard Steiner (3 April 18931 June 1943) was an English actor, director and producer.Obituary ''Variety'', 9 June 1943. He wrote many stories and articles for ''The New York Times'', ''The New Yorker'', and ''Vanity Fair'' and was one o ...

or Laurence Olivier in the male leads. Furthermore, John Cromwell was assigned as the film's director. Production was supposed to start on March 1, 1940, but Selznick eventually abandoned the project and sold the rights to

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956) In 1943,

Robert Donat Friedrich Robert Donat (18 March 1905 – 9 June 1958) was an English actor. He is best remembered for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's '' The 39 Steps'' (1935) and '' Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' (1939), winning for the latter the Academy Award f ...

was set to star, and the production, which was still under direction of Korda, was set to be filmed on location. Donat was supposed to reteam with

Greer Garson Eileen Evelyn Greer Garson (29 September 1904 – 6 April 1996) was an English-American actress and singer. She was a major star at Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer who became popular during the Second World War for her portrayal of strong women on the hom ...

, with whom he previously starred in ''

Goodbye, Mr. Chips ''Goodbye, Mr. Chips'' is a novella about the life of a school teacher, Mr. Chipping, written by English writer James Hilton and first published by Hodder & Stoughton in October 1934. It has been adapted into two feature films and two televi ...

'' (1939). When Donat suddenly became unavailable, he was replaced by Walter Pidgeon in October 1943. Because the reteaming collapsed, Garson's part went to Deborah Kerr, whose participation was confirmed in April 1947. Direction eventually went to

, who had no interest in the project, but agreed to direct it to work with Kerr. Impressed by her performance in ''

The Picture of Dorian Gray ''The Picture of Dorian Gray'' is a philosophical novel by Irish writer Oscar Wilde. A shorter novella-length version was published in the July 1890 issue of the American periodical '' Lippincott's Monthly Magazine''.''The Picture of Dorian G ...

'' (1945), Saville assigned Angela Lansbury as Mabel Sabre. The casting of Janet Leigh followed in the summer of 1947. Her accent in the film was coached by the niece of

C. Aubrey Smith Sir Charles Aubrey Smith (21 July 1863 – 20 December 1948) was an English Test cricketer who became a stage and film actor, acquiring a niche as the officer-and-gentleman type, as in the first sound version of ''The Prisoner of Zenda'' (1937) ...

. Saville, determined on making films visually realistic, introduced "indirect lighting" in the film.''Evergreen: Victor Saville in his own words'' by Victor Saville and Roy Moseley. p.172

Reception

The film earned $1,115,000 in the U.S. and Canada and $834,000 in other markets, resulting in a loss of $465,000.

References

External links

* * * * {{Victor Saville 1947 films 1940s war drama films Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer films American romantic drama films American black-and-white films Films based on British novels Films directed by Victor Saville Films scored by Herbert Stothart Films set in England Films about writers Films set in 1939 1947 romantic drama films American war drama films 1940s American films