For You Alone
Encyclopedia
For You Alone is a 1945
British World War II romance melodrama, one of only two films directed by cinematographer Geoffrey Faithfull
, starring Lesley Brook
, Dinah Sheridan
and Jimmy Hanley
. The film was made by a smaller studio, Butcher's Films – more known for turning out quickly and cheaply-shot B-movies – and had a lack of (at the time) star names, but appears to have been a relatively sophisticated and well-financed production. On its release, three weeks after V-E Day, the film became a huge popular success, seeming to catch the mood of a nation just beginning to emerge from war.
For You Alone is often categorised as a musical, and indeed was promoted as such, but this is somewhat misleading; in crucial concert scenes the film features singers Heddle Nash
and Helen Hill with accompaniment from the London Symphony Orchestra
, however none of the film's actors sing.
where he meets Reverend Peter Britton (G.H. Mulcaster) and his daughter Katherine (Brook). After the concert the three share a taxi, and after seeing her father off on the train to a conference Katherine agrees to have tea with John. They enjoy each other's company and later go to see a film, followed by dinner and a stroll along the Thames Embankment
. John impulsively tells Katherine that he has fallen in love with her, but she reminds him that they hardly know one another, and since her brother's death in the Far East she has to devote herself to her father.
The couple finally part, agreeing to meet again the following day. However Katherine receives a telegram at her hotel, stating that her brother Dennis (Hanley) has turned up alive and will be arriving home the next day. She returns home early the next morning, leaving a note of explanation for John. Unfortunately John forgets the name of Katherine's hotel, so does not receive the note and is distraught when she fails to turn up for their rendezvous. Meanwhile back at home, Katherine finds that Dennis is accompanied by Max Borrow (Manning Whiley), an old admirer who still wants to marry her. He has sustained serious eye injuries while saving Dennis' life, and Katherine as a result feels she must accept him. Dennis himself immediately rekindles his courtship with local schoolteacher Stella White (Sheridan).
John remembers that Katherine's father is due to return to London from the conference and waits at the station until he arrives. They learn from the hotel why Katherine departed so hurriedly, and Rev. Britton invites John back to their village where he knows the local squire is looking for help in cataloguing his library. John is deeply upset to discover Katherine is engaged, and also resentful towards Dennis and Stella for their obvious happiness together. Katherine finally admits to John the reason she and Max are engaged, and John agrees to not pursue matters unless Max can be cured.
Max goes off for a medical examination, and John is recalled to his ship. As he is about to leave, a fire breaks out in a storage shed where children are playing. Max, having been told that his sight is safe, arrives back while the drama is in progress, and John is injured as he rescues the children. Katherine's reaction leaves Max in no doubt as to her feelings. That evening he tells her that he knows the situation, and will release her from her obligation to him so that she may marry John.
has been unable to locate a print for inclusion in the BFI National Archive
and currently classes the film as "missing, believed lost", with only a selection of stills and publicity material known to survive. Due to the film's great box-office appeal in the 1940s and the way in which it appears to have struck a chord with the British cinemagoing public at the time, it is included on the BFI's "75 Most Wanted
" list of missing British feature films.
1945 in film
The year 1945 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* Paramount Studios releases theatrical short cartoon titled The Friendly Ghost, featuring a ghost named Casper.* With Rossellini's Roma Città aperta, Italian neorealist cinema begins....
British World War II romance melodrama, one of only two films directed by cinematographer Geoffrey Faithfull
Geoffrey Faithfull
Geoffrey Faithfull B.S.C., was a British cinematographer who worked on more than 180 feature films from starting in the industry in the 1910s. Faithfull also directed two films: For You Alone and I'll Turn to You .-External links:...
, starring Lesley Brook
Lesley Brook
-Selected filmography:* The Vulture * The Man Who Made Diamonds * The Viper * The Dark Stairway * The Nursemaid Who Disappeared * The Bells Go Down * When We Are Married...
, Dinah Sheridan
Dinah Sheridan
Dinah Sheridan is an English actress who appeared in the films 29 Acacia Avenue and Genevieve .She made her film debut in 1937, and has frequently appeared on television...
and Jimmy Hanley
Jimmy Hanley
Jimmy Hanley was a British actor.Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Hanley began his career as a child actor before becoming popular in juvenile roles...
. The film was made by a smaller studio, Butcher's Films – more known for turning out quickly and cheaply-shot B-movies – and had a lack of (at the time) star names, but appears to have been a relatively sophisticated and well-financed production. On its release, three weeks after V-E Day, the film became a huge popular success, seeming to catch the mood of a nation just beginning to emerge from war.
For You Alone is often categorised as a musical, and indeed was promoted as such, but this is somewhat misleading; in crucial concert scenes the film features singers Heddle Nash
Heddle Nash
William Heddle Nash was an English lyric tenor who appeared in opera and oratorio in the middle decades of the twentieth century. He also made numerous recordings that are still available on CD reissues....
and Helen Hill with accompaniment from the London Symphony Orchestra
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra is a major orchestra of the United Kingdom, as well as one of the best-known orchestras in the world. Since 1982, the LSO has been based in London's Barbican Centre.-History:...
, however none of the film's actors sing.
Plot
John Bradshaw (Robert Griffith), a young naval officer, attends a lunchtime concert at Westminster Central HallWestminster Central Hall
The Westminster Central Hall or Methodist Central Hall is a Methodist church in the City of Westminster. It occupies the corner of Tothill Street and Storeys Gate just off Victoria Street in London, near the junction with The Sanctuary next to the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre and facing...
where he meets Reverend Peter Britton (G.H. Mulcaster) and his daughter Katherine (Brook). After the concert the three share a taxi, and after seeing her father off on the train to a conference Katherine agrees to have tea with John. They enjoy each other's company and later go to see a film, followed by dinner and a stroll along the Thames Embankment
Thames Embankment
The Thames Embankment is a major feat of 19th century civil engineering designed to reclaim marshy land next to the River Thames in central London. It consists of the Victoria and Chelsea Embankment....
. John impulsively tells Katherine that he has fallen in love with her, but she reminds him that they hardly know one another, and since her brother's death in the Far East she has to devote herself to her father.
The couple finally part, agreeing to meet again the following day. However Katherine receives a telegram at her hotel, stating that her brother Dennis (Hanley) has turned up alive and will be arriving home the next day. She returns home early the next morning, leaving a note of explanation for John. Unfortunately John forgets the name of Katherine's hotel, so does not receive the note and is distraught when she fails to turn up for their rendezvous. Meanwhile back at home, Katherine finds that Dennis is accompanied by Max Borrow (Manning Whiley), an old admirer who still wants to marry her. He has sustained serious eye injuries while saving Dennis' life, and Katherine as a result feels she must accept him. Dennis himself immediately rekindles his courtship with local schoolteacher Stella White (Sheridan).
John remembers that Katherine's father is due to return to London from the conference and waits at the station until he arrives. They learn from the hotel why Katherine departed so hurriedly, and Rev. Britton invites John back to their village where he knows the local squire is looking for help in cataloguing his library. John is deeply upset to discover Katherine is engaged, and also resentful towards Dennis and Stella for their obvious happiness together. Katherine finally admits to John the reason she and Max are engaged, and John agrees to not pursue matters unless Max can be cured.
Max goes off for a medical examination, and John is recalled to his ship. As he is about to leave, a fire breaks out in a storage shed where children are playing. Max, having been told that his sight is safe, arrives back while the drama is in progress, and John is injured as he rescues the children. Katherine's reaction leaves Max in no doubt as to her feelings. That evening he tells her that he knows the situation, and will release her from her obligation to him so that she may marry John.
Cast
- Lesley BrookLesley Brook-Selected filmography:* The Vulture * The Man Who Made Diamonds * The Viper * The Dark Stairway * The Nursemaid Who Disappeared * The Bells Go Down * When We Are Married...
as Katherine Britton - Dinah SheridanDinah SheridanDinah Sheridan is an English actress who appeared in the films 29 Acacia Avenue and Genevieve .She made her film debut in 1937, and has frequently appeared on television...
as Stella White - Jimmy HanleyJimmy HanleyJimmy Hanley was a British actor.Born in Norwich, Norfolk, Hanley began his career as a child actor before becoming popular in juvenile roles...
as Dennis Britton - Robert Griffiths as John Bradshaw
- G.H. Mulcaster as Rev. Peter Britton
- Hay PetrieHay PetrieHay Petrie , born David Hay Petrie, was a Scottish actor noted for playing eccentric characters, among them Quilp in The Old Curiosity Shop , the McLaggen in The Ghost Goes West and Uncle Pumblechook in Great Expectations .Hay Petrie went to St Andrew’s Academy, Dundee, and St...
as Sir Henry Markham - Olive Walter as Lady Markham
- Manning Whiley as Max Borrow
- Irene HandlIrene Handl-Life:Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the daughter of an Austrian banker father and French mother. She took to acting at the relatively advanced age of 36, and studied at the acting school run by the sister of Dame Sybil Thorndike...
as Miss Trotter - George MerrittGeorge Merritt (actor)George Merritt was a British film and television actor.-Selected filmography:* The W Plan * The Lodger * I Was a Spy * Crime on the Hill * The Silver Spoon...
as P.C. Blundell - Muriel GeorgeMuriel GeorgeMuriel George was an English singer and film actress. She appeared in some 55 films between 1932 and 1955.She also appeared on the variety stage and sang on radio with her husband, Ernest Butcher for thirty years...
as Mrs. Johns - Aubrey MallalieuAubrey MallalieuAubrey Mallalieu was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s....
as Eye Specialist - Heddle NashHeddle NashWilliam Heddle Nash was an English lyric tenor who appeared in opera and oratorio in the middle decades of the twentieth century. He also made numerous recordings that are still available on CD reissues....
as Himself - Helen Hill as Herself
Later history
For You Alone proved to be a major box-office hit on its original release, and again when re-released to cinemas in 1948 and 1949. It is known that prints of the film were available to hire from a now-defunct film rental company until at least the late 1960s, but then the trail goes cold. The British Film InstituteBritish Film Institute
The British Film Institute is a charitable organisation established by Royal Charter to:-Cinemas:The BFI runs the BFI Southbank and IMAX theatre, both located on the south bank of the River Thames in London...
has been unable to locate a print for inclusion in the BFI National Archive
BFI National Archive
The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was originally set up as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955 its name became the National Film Archive, and in 1992, the...
and currently classes the film as "missing, believed lost", with only a selection of stills and publicity material known to survive. Due to the film's great box-office appeal in the 1940s and the way in which it appears to have struck a chord with the British cinemagoing public at the time, it is included on the BFI's "75 Most Wanted
BFI 75 Most Wanted
The BFI 75 Most Wanted is a list compiled by the British Film Institute of their most sought-after British feature films not currently held in the BFI National Archive, and classified as "missing, believed lost". The films chosen range from quota quickies and B-movies to lavish prestige...
" list of missing British feature films.