Sons and Lovers (1960)

Director:

Jack Cardiff

Writers:

T.E.B. Clarke (writer)
Gavin Lambert (writer)

Release Date:

29 August 1960 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

You'll never forget the young lovers in...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Trevor Howard	...	Walter Morel
Dean Stockwell	...	Paul Morel
Wendy Hiller	...	Gertrude Morel
Mary Ure	...	Clara Dawes
Heather Sears	...	Miriam Leivers
William Lucas	...	William Morel
Conrad Phillips	...	Baxter Dawes
Ernest Thesiger	...	Henry Hadlock
Donald Pleasence	...	Mr. Puppleworth
Rosalie Crutchley	...	Mrs. Leivers
Sean Barrett	...	Arthur Morel
Elizabeth Begley	...	Mrs. Radford
Edna Morris	...	Mrs. Anthony
Ruth Kettlewell	...	Mrs. Bonner
Anne Sheppard	...	Rose

Also Known As:

D.H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers (Australia)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Trivia:

20th Century Fox wanted Jack Hawkins and Vivien Leigh to play the parents. Leigh turned the part down because she didn't want to look "crummy".

Movie Connections:

Version of Sons & Lovers (2003) (TV)

Ravishing Visually And Often Intense and poignant

Freddie Francis's cinematography is in some ways the star. It is not showy or intrusive. It's totally organic to the unfolding of the plot. Yet it is exquisite -- both with landscapes and with actors. This is especially true with Trevor Howard, very powerful as a boozy miner.

The other star is that great actress Wendy Hiller. Her role is far from entirely sympathetic. She suffocates her favorite son, well played by Dean Stockwell. She is demanding in a quiet way and selfish in a manner passing itself off as martyrdom. But what a gorgeous performance! Mary Ure was a fine actress. Somehow, though, the character she plays doesn't entirely work in my view. It seems more from kitchen-sink realism, like the Shelagh Delaney plays that were filmed around this time. (And where have they gone? Why don't we ever see "A Taste of Honey" or "The Leather Boys" anymore?) Heather Sears is good but I have to admit, to my embarrassment, I found it hard to shake her excellent performance in the tile role of "The Story of Esther Costello" from my mind. Her being a bright young woman taken with Stockwell, therefore, startled me throughout. That is my own failing and surely not hers.

This is a superb movie. All of it is good. But for me, the scenes involving Hiller are the most compelling. Howard, too, is superb. And Stockwell as Paul. The family story is heart-wrenching.