Suggestions were made at the time of the film's release, that it was a fiction inspired by the early career of the jockey Sir Gordon Richards. Starring Jeremy Spenser, Googie Withers and real life husband John McCallum with support from those omni-present stalwarts of British Cinema, Sam Kydd, Meredith Edwards and Liam Redmond, it's a tale of a 15 year old (Spenser) from Wigan who leaves the coal mines and the pit ponies to make it good 'down south' as a jockey. The acting is professional as one would expect but the story is pretty slight and the monochrome photography doesn't help with jockey identification in the race sequences. Also the mores of the time were not as now and there are a couple of scenes leaving one wincing a little at what was acceptable then. A good tunefully horsey score by the ever reliable Malcolm Arnold keeps things galloping along.
Reviews
9 Reviews
Man of Africa
(1953)
Rare? One showing in fifty years!
22 December 2012
'Man of Africa' was shown at the BFI London in November 2011 in the presence of Cyril Frankel who wrote the original story and directed the movie. The nonagenarian Mr Frankel treated the appreciative audience to an erudite after screening Q & A during which he stated his ambition to have the film shown in East Africa as he would "love to see the reaction of audiences there". I do not know what the odds are of Mr Frankel fulfilling this objective but if the rarity of showings in the UK is any indication, my guess is they are just about nil. According to an informative BFI leaflet distributed at the showing, the film was shown at the 1954 Edinburgh Film Festival and in limited release the same year in the USA in the director's 74 minute version. It was then mutilated (Mr Frankel's word) to a 44 minute version without the knowledge or approval of the director and shown as a support film in some UK cinemas in 1955/6. While the Edinburgh showing was well received this was not the case with the 44 minute version and the film then languished unseen until this single 74 minute BFI showing.
In 1952 some of the Bagika people of the Kigezi region of Uganda were persuaded to migrate from their over-cultivated highland home to a more fertile but uncultivated lowland region. What started life as a planned documentary of this event evolved into a dramatisation. The film was shot on a very tight budget entirely on location using a British crew of just seven including the director. The film was cast entirely from the local population none of whom had acted previously and because some lacked English the decision was taken to utilise a narrator, also black. This was the first film made by the British film industry featuring an all black cast and the first to film them naturalistically rather than as a butt of humour or in servitude and as such was unique at the time. Indeed it is much to Frankel's credit that he managed to avoid virtually all of the cinema clichés of the day, not only concerning race but also of filming in Africa. For the music, the services of Malcolm Arnold, who had previously scored 'Devil on Horseback' for Frankel, were called upon. There are some musical threads connecting with Arnold's later score for the John Huston movie 'The Roots of Heaven', also set in Africa.
In 1952 some of the Bagika people of the Kigezi region of Uganda were persuaded to migrate from their over-cultivated highland home to a more fertile but uncultivated lowland region. What started life as a planned documentary of this event evolved into a dramatisation. The film was shot on a very tight budget entirely on location using a British crew of just seven including the director. The film was cast entirely from the local population none of whom had acted previously and because some lacked English the decision was taken to utilise a narrator, also black. This was the first film made by the British film industry featuring an all black cast and the first to film them naturalistically rather than as a butt of humour or in servitude and as such was unique at the time. Indeed it is much to Frankel's credit that he managed to avoid virtually all of the cinema clichés of the day, not only concerning race but also of filming in Africa. For the music, the services of Malcolm Arnold, who had previously scored 'Devil on Horseback' for Frankel, were called upon. There are some musical threads connecting with Arnold's later score for the John Huston movie 'The Roots of Heaven', also set in Africa.
The Boy and the Bridge
(1959)
A rarity deserving of circulation.
26 April 2008
The Boy and the Bridge is a charming, haunting, oddity of a film, almost as much a tourist information film of Tower Bridge and the area of London in that vicinity as it is a story of the naïve innocence that childhood was in the fifties.
Lovingly filmed, the travelogue part is now, in many respects, an historical document, showing in some detail a comparatively small area of London as it was around 50 years ago.
It is something of a rarity for the star of a film to be a boy aged around 11 but this is the case here. Young Tommy Doyle, very well played by Ian Maclaine in his only acting role mentioned in this site, lives with his father, a stereotypical, hard drinking, heart-of-gold Irishman played by Liam Redmond. As a result of a drunken fracas, a grandfather clock gets "smashed in the face" by the father and when, the following day, he is sought by the police, young Tommy puts two and two together and believes his father has killed a man.
Shame over what his father has done and fear of being taken into custody cause Tommy to go on the run and by fortune he finds access to Tower Bridge where he manages to set up home in a disused room in one of the towers. Befriended only by Sammy the Seagull, he goes about the task of setting up home and fending for himself. There are many shots of the behind-the-scenes workings of the bridge which are as interesting now as when filmed.
For the first half of the film there is minimal dialogue, indeed Tommy, who had been on screen for most of the time, doesn't say a word. One of the joys of The Boy and the Bridge is a musical score of considerable charm and invention by Malcolm Arnold and, by virtue of the lack of dialogue he has more time than is usual in movies to develop his ideas. In Whistle Down the Wind, another film dealing with childhood perceptions, Arnold lightened proceedings by the use of a tuneful and lilting score and he was able to do the same for The Boy and the Bridge.
That other reviewers are recalling this film from decades earlier is ample testimony both to the haunting quality of this movie and its rarity. It is high time it received the recognition and circulation it deserves.
Update May 2017. This film is now available to view from the BFI. Googling 'BFI Boy and the Bridge' will get you there.
Further update May 2023. There is a fascinating major article on this movie (and others scored by Malcolm Arnold) in a new book "The Film Music of Malcolm Arnold" by Alan Poulton and David Dunstan and published by The Malcolm Arnold Society ISBN 9798781218080.
Lovingly filmed, the travelogue part is now, in many respects, an historical document, showing in some detail a comparatively small area of London as it was around 50 years ago.
It is something of a rarity for the star of a film to be a boy aged around 11 but this is the case here. Young Tommy Doyle, very well played by Ian Maclaine in his only acting role mentioned in this site, lives with his father, a stereotypical, hard drinking, heart-of-gold Irishman played by Liam Redmond. As a result of a drunken fracas, a grandfather clock gets "smashed in the face" by the father and when, the following day, he is sought by the police, young Tommy puts two and two together and believes his father has killed a man.
Shame over what his father has done and fear of being taken into custody cause Tommy to go on the run and by fortune he finds access to Tower Bridge where he manages to set up home in a disused room in one of the towers. Befriended only by Sammy the Seagull, he goes about the task of setting up home and fending for himself. There are many shots of the behind-the-scenes workings of the bridge which are as interesting now as when filmed.
For the first half of the film there is minimal dialogue, indeed Tommy, who had been on screen for most of the time, doesn't say a word. One of the joys of The Boy and the Bridge is a musical score of considerable charm and invention by Malcolm Arnold and, by virtue of the lack of dialogue he has more time than is usual in movies to develop his ideas. In Whistle Down the Wind, another film dealing with childhood perceptions, Arnold lightened proceedings by the use of a tuneful and lilting score and he was able to do the same for The Boy and the Bridge.
That other reviewers are recalling this film from decades earlier is ample testimony both to the haunting quality of this movie and its rarity. It is high time it received the recognition and circulation it deserves.
Update May 2017. This film is now available to view from the BFI. Googling 'BFI Boy and the Bridge' will get you there.
Further update May 2023. There is a fascinating major article on this movie (and others scored by Malcolm Arnold) in a new book "The Film Music of Malcolm Arnold" by Alan Poulton and David Dunstan and published by The Malcolm Arnold Society ISBN 9798781218080.
Three Women
(1936)
An unknown Shostakovich score
25 October 2006
Podrugi (Girlfriends) is the story of the friendship between three girls, who start the film aged around 10 and who grow up together, eventually becoming nurses at the Russian front during the First World War. It was directed by Lev Arnshtam and featured a music score by Dmitri Shostakovich, their third collaboration following on from The Golden Mountains (1931) and Counterplan (1932) for which Arnshtam wrote the screenplay.
The narrative is straightforward and the storyline only mildly interesting but it is for the music that the film holds interest today, especially as it remains unrecorded apart from three preludes released on a rare Russian Melodiya LP in 1988 (C10 26307 004). The score is unusual in that much of the music is for string quartet although piano, trumpet and timpani are sometimes utilised. There are also passages for organ and later an electronic instrument, probably a Theremin, played in a drunken fashion and a couple of cues for full orchestra. Altogether there a significant amount of musical material contained within the film and a new recording would certainly be an interesting and valuable addition to the catalogue and much overdue.
For a more detailed discussion on this and other films with music by Shostakovich see Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film, written by John Riley and published by I. B. Tauris, London and New York in the series Kinofiles Film Companion, 2004.
The narrative is straightforward and the storyline only mildly interesting but it is for the music that the film holds interest today, especially as it remains unrecorded apart from three preludes released on a rare Russian Melodiya LP in 1988 (C10 26307 004). The score is unusual in that much of the music is for string quartet although piano, trumpet and timpani are sometimes utilised. There are also passages for organ and later an electronic instrument, probably a Theremin, played in a drunken fashion and a couple of cues for full orchestra. Altogether there a significant amount of musical material contained within the film and a new recording would certainly be an interesting and valuable addition to the catalogue and much overdue.
For a more detailed discussion on this and other films with music by Shostakovich see Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film, written by John Riley and published by I. B. Tauris, London and New York in the series Kinofiles Film Companion, 2004.
Shame
(1932)
Contains Shostakovich's biggest hit!
19 November 2005
Vstrechnyy, usually interpreted as Counterplan, also known by the alternative titles Passer-by, Encounter and Turbine No. 50,000 was made for the Leningrad Rosfilm studio and co-directed by Fridrikh Ermler and Sergei Yutkevich.
The plot concerns the foiling of an attempt by 'wreckers' to sabotage the Leningrad turbine factory in which they work, though on the evidence of this film, there is more talking, vodka consumption and meetings than actual work taking place.
Interest today will mainly lie in the music score to the film, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, his fourth effort in the genre and following on from New Babylon, Alone and The Golden Mountains, this last also directed by Ermler and Yutkevich and also co-starring Boris Tenin.
Two songs were especially composed, 'Song of the Meeting initially played over the film's opening credits and 'How Long will my Heart Ache'. 'Song of the Meeting' proved enormously popular, equally so in the West as well as the Soviet Union and it was later arranged as 'United Nations on the March' with new words by Harold Rome and climaxed the Hollywood film 'Thousands Cheer' (MGM, 1943).
Shostakovich recycled the tune in a number subsequent compositions, including the films Michurin (1949) and Moscow, Cheryomushki (1962). 'Song of the Meeting' has been recorded (Delos DE 3313, Mikhail Lukonin, baritone and Yuri Serov, piano - 2004) also the three known orchestral excerpts (Russian Disc RD CD 10 018, Byelorussian Radio & TV Symphony Orchestra conducted by Walter Mnatsakanov - 1997).
For a more detailed discussion on this and other films with music by Shostakovich, see Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film, written by John Riley and published by I. B. Tauris, London and New York in the series Kinofiles Film Companion, 2004.
The plot concerns the foiling of an attempt by 'wreckers' to sabotage the Leningrad turbine factory in which they work, though on the evidence of this film, there is more talking, vodka consumption and meetings than actual work taking place.
Interest today will mainly lie in the music score to the film, composed by Dmitri Shostakovich, his fourth effort in the genre and following on from New Babylon, Alone and The Golden Mountains, this last also directed by Ermler and Yutkevich and also co-starring Boris Tenin.
Two songs were especially composed, 'Song of the Meeting initially played over the film's opening credits and 'How Long will my Heart Ache'. 'Song of the Meeting' proved enormously popular, equally so in the West as well as the Soviet Union and it was later arranged as 'United Nations on the March' with new words by Harold Rome and climaxed the Hollywood film 'Thousands Cheer' (MGM, 1943).
Shostakovich recycled the tune in a number subsequent compositions, including the films Michurin (1949) and Moscow, Cheryomushki (1962). 'Song of the Meeting' has been recorded (Delos DE 3313, Mikhail Lukonin, baritone and Yuri Serov, piano - 2004) also the three known orchestral excerpts (Russian Disc RD CD 10 018, Byelorussian Radio & TV Symphony Orchestra conducted by Walter Mnatsakanov - 1997).
For a more detailed discussion on this and other films with music by Shostakovich, see Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film, written by John Riley and published by I. B. Tauris, London and New York in the series Kinofiles Film Companion, 2004.
Pirogov
(1947)
A Russian biopic with Shostakovich score
5 May 2005
During the last years of Stalin's life Russian film directors had to be careful (to put it mildly) in their choice of subject matter and the historical biopic was thought an uncontroversial and fairly safe topic for the times. Shostakovich contributed musical scores to three such films; Michurin (1948) based on the life of Ivan Michurin the soviet agronomist, or more accurately on his pupil Trofim Lysenko, Belinsky (1950) on the eponymous literary critic and the earlier Pirogov (1947) on the surgeon Nikolai Pirogov.
Pirogov, directed by Grigori Kozintsev for Lenfilm and with scenario by Yuri German is, unsurprisingly given the constraints of the time, no masterpiece and its main interest now lies in its music. In common with Belinsky also directed by Kozintsev the score is generally low-key or non-existent through the film and only on two or three occasions rises to prominence in the proceedings. Those hoping for new musical experiences outside of the suite later assembled by Lev Atovmyan (Citadel CTD 88135 Belarus RTV Symphony Orchestra, Walter Mnatsakanov 1999) are likely to be disappointed, indeed the suite expands many of the musical cues finally included in the film.
For a more detailed discussion on this and other films with music by Shostakovich see Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film, written by John Riley and published by I. B. Tauris, London and New York in the series Kinofiles Film Companion, 2004.
Pirogov, directed by Grigori Kozintsev for Lenfilm and with scenario by Yuri German is, unsurprisingly given the constraints of the time, no masterpiece and its main interest now lies in its music. In common with Belinsky also directed by Kozintsev the score is generally low-key or non-existent through the film and only on two or three occasions rises to prominence in the proceedings. Those hoping for new musical experiences outside of the suite later assembled by Lev Atovmyan (Citadel CTD 88135 Belarus RTV Symphony Orchestra, Walter Mnatsakanov 1999) are likely to be disappointed, indeed the suite expands many of the musical cues finally included in the film.
For a more detailed discussion on this and other films with music by Shostakovich see Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film, written by John Riley and published by I. B. Tauris, London and New York in the series Kinofiles Film Companion, 2004.
Belinskiy
(1953)
For those interested in how Stalin stifled Russian cinema.
3 May 2005
Belinsky, directed by Grigory Kozintsev by now split with long-term collaborator Leonid Trauberg, was made in 1950 but not released until 1953 following the reshooting of various scenes as demanded by Stalin. Ostensibly a biopic of the nineteenth century literary critic Vissarion Belinsky, in fact we learn little of this gentleman's life. In a particularly verbose production the character of Belinsky is used as a means of bringing together various literary figures of the time, Gogol, Lermontov, Turgenev and so on, presumably to lend authenticity to proceedings. The moral of the film, that when in doubt, let the people be your guide is hammered home with subtlety of a sledge-hammer.
The music by Dmitri Shostakovich, which will probably be the draw for most people these days is used only sparingly throughout the film, generally as accompaniment to the comparatively few outdoor scenes, where the very Russian main Overture theme is perhaps overused. There is little or no Shostakovich music contained within the film, which will be new to those familiar with the suite (Citadel CTD 88135 Belarus RTV Symphony Orchestra, Walter Mnatsakanov 1999).
For a more detailed discussion on this and other films with music by Shostakovich see Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film, written by John Riley and published by I. B. Tauris, London and New York in the series Kinofiles Film Companion, 2004.
The music by Dmitri Shostakovich, which will probably be the draw for most people these days is used only sparingly throughout the film, generally as accompaniment to the comparatively few outdoor scenes, where the very Russian main Overture theme is perhaps overused. There is little or no Shostakovich music contained within the film, which will be new to those familiar with the suite (Citadel CTD 88135 Belarus RTV Symphony Orchestra, Walter Mnatsakanov 1999).
For a more detailed discussion on this and other films with music by Shostakovich see Dmitri Shostakovich: A Life in Film, written by John Riley and published by I. B. Tauris, London and New York in the series Kinofiles Film Companion, 2004.
Das Lied der Ströme
(1954)
Cold War Documentary
3 May 2005
"Song of the Great Rivers", also known as "Unity" or "Seven Rivers" is a documentary film by the Dutch director Joris Ivens for the East German DEFA Studio from 1954, filmed with an English commentary by Alex McCrindle.
An overtly propaganda production extolling Socialist methods and achievements it is, at the same time witheringly critical of capitalism and capitalist countries. Its message is for workers of the world to choose between fun holidays on the Black Sea or strikes and lockouts in the UK or France. Between brotherly inter-racial support or the Klu Klux Klan. Between peace or war.
In cinema terms an interesting reminder of the cold war and of how the world worked, at least according to the Soviets, a couple of generations back. Musically though the film is of great interest boasting an original score of considerable invention by Dmitri Shostakovich and with the title song, with words of Bertolt Brecht (in translation by S. Kirsanov), sung by Paul Robeson episodically through the film. Although a certain amount of music will be familiar to Shostakovich enthusiasts, with quotations from Song of the Forests and Symphony No. 8 among other works, much is as yet unrecorded.
An overtly propaganda production extolling Socialist methods and achievements it is, at the same time witheringly critical of capitalism and capitalist countries. Its message is for workers of the world to choose between fun holidays on the Black Sea or strikes and lockouts in the UK or France. Between brotherly inter-racial support or the Klu Klux Klan. Between peace or war.
In cinema terms an interesting reminder of the cold war and of how the world worked, at least according to the Soviets, a couple of generations back. Musically though the film is of great interest boasting an original score of considerable invention by Dmitri Shostakovich and with the title song, with words of Bertolt Brecht (in translation by S. Kirsanov), sung by Paul Robeson episodically through the film. Although a certain amount of music will be familiar to Shostakovich enthusiasts, with quotations from Song of the Forests and Symphony No. 8 among other works, much is as yet unrecorded.
Golden Mountains
(1931)
An early talkie of Russian cinema
27 December 2004
Most people will be drawn to The Golden Mountains (1931) because of its music score by Dmitri Shostakovich, the composer's third effort for the cinema. Earlier films were New Babylon (1929), composed for a pit ensemble giving live accompaniment to this silent film and Alone (1931), filmed silent but with a soundtrack, largely comprising sound effects (alarm clocks, loudspeaker announcements, traffic and so on) and the important musical score which were added later. Both of these films have been restored and exist with newly recorded orchestral accompaniments.
Golden Mountains was Shostakovich's first conventional talkie and in common with many other films made during the transitional phase from the silent era includes scene-setting captions and was made with minimal dialogue. This enabled Shostakovich to develop extended musical ideas, often along symphonic lines. Those familiar with the Suite Op.30a, of which there are umpteen recordings, may be puzzled by the omission of the fugue for organ and orchestra but this was cut, along with around one third of the film, for a re-release in 1936. So far as I'm aware no print of the original 1931 version exists. The suite, assembled by the composer shortly after original composition, excludes the song "If Only I Had Mountains of Gold" which forms a pivotal part in the film's development. Thus we have the anomalous situation where the suite includes music not in the film and film includes (important) music not in the suite. There are no recordings to date of the complete score.
The film itself, needless to say, is an historic document and concerns a country peasant, Pyotr, forced by poverty to the city (Petrograd) to earn a living in an Iron Foundry. His naïvety is exploited by the corrupt factory management and he is "bought" for the price of a musical watch to spy on the workers and to deflect an impending strike. Eventually he comes to see the error of his ways.
Golden Mountains was Shostakovich's first conventional talkie and in common with many other films made during the transitional phase from the silent era includes scene-setting captions and was made with minimal dialogue. This enabled Shostakovich to develop extended musical ideas, often along symphonic lines. Those familiar with the Suite Op.30a, of which there are umpteen recordings, may be puzzled by the omission of the fugue for organ and orchestra but this was cut, along with around one third of the film, for a re-release in 1936. So far as I'm aware no print of the original 1931 version exists. The suite, assembled by the composer shortly after original composition, excludes the song "If Only I Had Mountains of Gold" which forms a pivotal part in the film's development. Thus we have the anomalous situation where the suite includes music not in the film and film includes (important) music not in the suite. There are no recordings to date of the complete score.
The film itself, needless to say, is an historic document and concerns a country peasant, Pyotr, forced by poverty to the city (Petrograd) to earn a living in an Iron Foundry. His naïvety is exploited by the corrupt factory management and he is "bought" for the price of a musical watch to spy on the workers and to deflect an impending strike. Eventually he comes to see the error of his ways.
Tell Your Friends