''Love on the Dole'' is a 1941 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 ...

starring

Deborah Kerr Deborah Jane Trimmer CBE (30 September 192116 October 2007), known professionally as Deborah Kerr (), was a British actress. She was nominated six times for the Academy Award for Best Actress. During her international film career, Kerr won a G ...

and Clifford Evans. It was adapted from the novel of the same name by

Walter Greenwood Walter Greenwood (17 December 1903 – 13 September 1974) was an English novelist, best known for the socially influential novel ''Love on the Dole'' (1933). Early life Greenwood was born at 56 Ellor Street, his father's house and hairdres ...

. It was the first English-made feature film to show English police wielding batons against a crowd.

Plot

The film is set in Hanky Park, part of

Salford Salford () is a city and the largest settlement in the City of Salford metropolitan borough in Greater Manchester, England. In 2011, Salford had a population of 103,886. It is also the second and only other city in the metropolitan county afte ...

, in 1930 at the height of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. The film centres on the Hardcastle family. Mr Hardcastle is a miner; his son, Harry, is an apprentice at a local engineering firm and Sally, his daughter, works at a cotton mill. As the depression takes hold, Mr Hardcastle's mine is put on a three-day week and Harry becomes unemployed when his apprenticeship ends. The family’s plight is made worse by reductions in

means tested A means test is a determination of whether an individual or family is eligible for government assistance or welfare, based upon whether the individual or family possesses the means to do without that help. Canada In Canada, means tests are use ...

unemployment benefits Unemployment benefits, also called unemployment insurance, unemployment payment, unemployment compensation, or simply unemployment, are payments made by authorized bodies to unemployment, unemployed people. In the United States, benefits are fun ...

(the dole), whilst the unexpected pregnancy of Harry’s girlfriend, Helen, causes further tensions. Sally is courting factory worker and Labour Party activist Larry Meath, but their marriage plans are put in doubt when Larry loses his job. Larry is fatally injured when he tries to restore calm in a clash with the police during an unemployment march. Sally, reluctantly at first, becomes the mistress of a wealthy local

bookmaker A bookmaker, bookie, or turf accountant is an organization or a person that accepts and pays off bets on sporting and other events at agreed-upon odds. History The first bookmaker, Ogden, stood at Newmarket in 1795. Range of events Bookma ...

to help keep her unemployed family.

Cast

as Sally * Clifford Evans as Larry *

George Carney George Carney (21 November 1887 – 9 December 1947) was a British comedian and film actor. Born in Bristol, he worked in the Liverpool Cotton Exchange, in a furniture business, then in the Belfast shipyards. In 1906 he made his debut stage ...

as Mr. Hardcastle *

Mary Merrall Mary Merrall (5 January 1890 – 31 August 1973), born Elsie Lloyd, was an English actress whose career of over 60 years encompassed stage, film and television work. Stage career Merrall's stage career started in her teens, making her first stag ...

as Mrs. Hardcastle *

Geoffrey Hibbert Geoffrey Hibbert (2 June 1922 – 3 February 1969) was an English stage, film and television actor. Biography He made his screen debut with the lead role in John Baxter's ''The Common Touch'' (1941) and appeared in two other Baxter films, ''Lov ...

as Harry *

Joyce Howard Joyce Howard (28 February 1922 in London – 23 November 2010 in Santa Monica, California) was an English actress, writer, and film executive. After studying at RADA, she was spotted by film director Anthony Asquith in a play at London's Emb ...

as Helen * Frank Cellier as Sam Grundy * Martin Walker as Ned Narkey *

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 Mrs. Dorbell *

Iris Vandeleur Iris Vandeleur (1884–1969) was a British stage and film actress. In 1951 she appeared in the BBC television series ''Sherlock Holmes'' as Mrs. Hudson, the landlady. In the West End she appeared in 1939 in Ian Hay's comedy ''Little Ladyship ...

as Mrs. Nattle *

Marie Ault Marie Ault (2 September 1870 – 9 May 1951) was a British character actress of stage and film. Biography Born as Mary Cragg, in Wigan, Lancashire, (now Greater Manchester. England. Ault was a star in many British films of the silent era but is ...

as Mrs. Jike *

Marjorie Rhodes Marjorie Rhodes (9 April 1897 – 4 July 1979) was a British actress. She was born Millicent Wise in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. One of her better-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother in Bill Naughton's play '' All in Good Time''. S ...

as Mrs. Bull * Ben Williams as Factory Worker (uncredited) *

Kenneth Griffith Kenneth Griffith (born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths, 12 October 1921 – 25 June 2006) was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker. His outspoken views made him a controversial figure, especially when presenting documentaries which have been ca ...

as Harry's Pal in Billiard Hall (uncredited) * John Slater as Agitator on Demonstration (uncredited)

Critical reception

Although the book was successful, a proposed film version was rejected by the

British Board of Film Censors The British Board of Film Classification (BBFC, previously the British Board of Film Censors) is a non-governmental organisation founded by the British film industry in 1912 and responsible for the national classification and censorship of fi ...

(BBFC) in 1936 as it was a ''"very sordid story in very sordid surroundings"''. However, in 1940 the BBFC approved a similar proposal, with the film finally released in June 1941. In a contemporary review, ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'' wrote, "Here is a film that ranks with the best we have ever produced. The direction is excellent, the photography admirable, and the casting particularly good."

References

External links

* * {{John Baxter 1941 films British black-and-white films 1941 drama films Films set in Manchester British drama films Films scored by Richard Addinsell Films shot in Greater Manchester Films shot at British National Studios 1940s English-language films 1940s British films