''Bitter Harvest'' is a 1963 British

kitchen sink drama Kitchen sink realism (or kitchen sink drama) is a British cultural movement that developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose protagonists usually could be described as "angry young men" w ...

film directed by

Peter Graham Scott Peter Graham Scott (27 October 1923 – 5 August 2007) was an English television producer, television and film producer, television director, film director, Film editing, film editor and screenwriter. He was one of the producers and directors wh ...

and starring

Janet Munro Janet Munro (born Janet Neilson Horsburgh; 28 September 1934 – 6 December 1972) was a British actress. She won a Golden Globe Award for her performance in the film ''Darby O'Gill and the Little People'' (1959) and received a BAFTA Film Awar ...

and

John Stride John Edward Stride (11 July 1936 – 20 April 2018) was an English actor best known for his television work in the 1970s. Stride was born in London, the son of Margaret (née Prescott) and Alfred Teneriffe Stride. He attended Alleyn's School, ...

. The plot is about a young woman who rejects marriage to become a

kept woman A mistress is a woman who is in a relatively long-term sexual and romantic relationship with a man who is married to a different woman. Description A mistress is in a long-term relationship with her attached mister, and is often referred to ...

. The film is based on ''The Siege of Pleasure'', the 1932 second volume in the trilogy ''

20,000 Streets Under the Sky ''20,000 Streets Under the Sky'' is a trilogy of semi-autobiographical novels by Patrick Hamilton. The three books are ''The Midnight Bell'' (1929), ''The Siege of Pleasure'' (1932) and ''The Plains of Cement'' (1934). They focus on three of ...

'' by Patrick Hamilton.

Plot

A beautiful but intoxicated woman, Jennie Jones (Janet Munro), returns to her London apartment late one night and begins to destroy its contents in a rage, throwing her purse, keys and many of her expensive gowns out into the street. Her story is then told in flashback. As a young girl, Jennie lives in an economically depressed, former mining town in

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

, where she works in her father's shabby general store and dreams of a more glamorous life. The store is doing poorly, and Jennie is horrified to discover that her father wants her to move to

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

and live with her elderly aunts as a companion and caregiver. While walking through Cardiff, Jennie and her friend Violet meet two well-off older men, Andy and Rex. The men take the girls to a fashionable bar and club for drinks and dancing, and Jennie gets drunk and passes out in Andy's car. She wakes up naked in bed in the men's apartment in London, having lost her

virginity Virginity is the state of a person who has never engaged in sexual intercourse. The term ''virgin'' originally only referred to sexually inexperienced women, but has evolved to encompass a range of definitions, as found in traditional, modern ...

while drunk, and estranged herself from her father by staying out all night. She goes to meet Andy at a London pub, but when he fails to show, she is befriended by the kindly barman, Bob Williams (John Stride), to the chagrin of the barmaid Ella who is attracted to Bob. Not wanting to return to her home, Jennie says to Bob that she is pregnant and accepts his offer of help. Bob moves her into his flat and supports them both on his wages, planning to marry her soon. However, Jennie quickly becomes bored, and accepts an invitation from Bob's actor neighbour to attend a party in honour of a well-known producer, Karl Denny (Alan Badel). Jennie tells Bob she is attending the party to get work as a model or actress, and convinces him to give her a large sum of money to buy a proper party dress. Denny notices Jennie at the party and asks her to see him the following night, ostensibly about an acting role. After the party, a drunken Jennie creates a disturbance when she goes home to Bob's apartment. The next night, when Jennie fails to return from her appointment with Denny, Bob goes to Denny's apartment to find her and they argue, with Jennie revealing that she is not pregnant, does not love Bob and does not want to marry him. Heartbroken, Bob leaves and Jennie becomes Denny's mistress. The flashback ends and the film returns to the scene shown at the start. The morning after Jennie's drunken rampage, she is found dead amidst the wreckage of her apartment (including a smashed framed photograph of Denny), having

overdose A drug overdose (overdose or OD) is the ingestion or application of a drug or other substance in quantities much greater than are recommended.

d on pills. The police find her

address book An address book or a name and address book is a book, or a database used for storing entries called contacts. Each contact entry usually consists of a few standard fields (for example: first name, last name, company name, address, telephone num ...

full of men's numbers, suggesting she had been

promiscuous Promiscuity is the practice of engaging in sexual activity frequently with different Sexual partner, partners or being indiscriminate in the choice of sexual partners. The term can carry a moral judgment. A common example of behavior viewed as pro ...

. The ambulance carrying Jennie's body almost collides with Bob and Ella, now a happy couple oblivious to Jennie's tragic fate.

Cast

as Jennie Jones *

as Bob Williams *

Anne Cunningham Anne Margaret Cunningham (born 1937) is an English actress, best known for her role as an original cast member of ''Coronation Street'', in which she played Linda Cheveski, daughter of Elsie Tanner ( Pat Phoenix). Early life Cunningham, an ...

as Ella *

Alan Badel Alan Fernand Badel (; 11 September 1923 – 19 March 1982) was an English stage actor who also appeared frequently in the cinema, radio and television and was noted for his richly textured voice which was once described as "the sound of tears". ...

as Karl Denny *

Vanda Godsell Vanda Godsell (17 November 1922 – 2 April 1990) was an English actress. Hal Erickson writes in Allmovie, "Vanda Godsell specialised in playing disheveled housewives, busybody landladies and blowsy domestics." She appeared as Mrs Weaver in ...

as Mrs.Pitt *

Terence Alexander Terence Joseph Alexander (11 March 1923 – 28 May 2009) was an English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the British TV drama '' Bergerac'', which ran for nine series on BBC One between 1981 and 1991. ...

as Andy *

Richard Thorp Richard Stanley Thorp (2 January 1932 – 22 May 2013) was an English actor. He was best known for his 30-year tenure portraying Alan Turner in the ITV soap opera ''Emmerdale'' from 1982 to 2013. He also appeared in films such as '' The Dam Bu ...

as Rex *

Barbara Ferris Barbara Gillian Ferris (born 27 July 1942, London) is an English actress and former fashion model. She appeared in a number of films and productions for television and is possibly best remembered as Dinah, the young woman who eloped with Dave ...

as Violet *

Colin Gordon Colin Gordon (27 April 1911 – 4 October 1972) was a British actor born in Ceylon. Biography He was educated at Marlborough College and Christ Church, Oxford. He made his first West End appearance in 1934 as the hind legs of a horse in a ...

as Charles * Francis Matthews as Mike * William Lucas as David Medwin *

Daphne Anderson Daphne Anderson (née Scrutton; 27 April 1922 – 15 January 2013) was an English stage, film, and television actress, as well as a dancer and singer. She made her London theatre debut in 1938 at the Windmill Theatre. Anderson appeared in such f ...

as Nancy Medwin *

Norman Bird John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor. Early life Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End theatre, West End debut in Peter Brook's produ ...

as Mr. Pitt * Allen Cuthbertson as Mr. Eccles *

Derek Francis Derek Francis (7 November 1923 – 27 March 1984) was an English comedy and character actor. Biography Francis was a regular in the Carry On film players, appearing in six of the films in the 1960s and 1970s. He appeared in ''The Tomb of Lige ...

as Mr. Jones *

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 Aunt Louise *May Hallatt as Aunt Sarah *

Nigel Davenport Arthur Nigel Davenport (23 May 1928 – 25 October 2013) was an English stage, television and film actor, best known as the Duke of Norfolk and Lord Birkenhead in the Academy Award-winning films '' A Man for All Seasons'' and ''Chariots of Fir ...

as Police Inspector *

Thora Hird Dame Thora Hird (28 May 1911 – 15 March 2003) was an English actress and comedian, presenter and writer. In a career spanning over 70 years, she appeared in more than 100 film and television roles, becoming a household name and a Briti ...

as Mrs Jessup (Uncredited role) *

Jane Hylton Jane Hylton (16 July 1926 – 28 February 1979, born as Audrey Gwendolene Clark) was an English actress who accumulated 30 film credits, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, before moving into television work in the latter half of her career in the ...

as Carole (Uncredited role)

Reception

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' said the film "would appear to be a further attempt to Italianize the British film industry. The story certainly seems to own a lot to

Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most i ...

" but praised the acting.A newcomer to films makes his mark The Guardian 4 Nov 1963: 4.

Plot

Cast

Reception

References

External links