Look Back in Anger is a
1958The year 1958 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* February 16- "In the Money" by William Beaudine is released on this date...
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
film starring
Richard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award and was at one time the highest-paid actor in Hollywood...
,
Claire BloomClaire Bloom is an English film and stage actress.-Early life:Bloom was born in the North London suburb of Finchley, the daughter of Elizabeth and Edward Max Blume, who worked in sales...
and
Mary UreEileen Mary Ure was a Scottish actress of stage and film.-Early life:Born in Glasgow where she studied at the School of Drama, Ure was the daughter of civil engineer Colin McGregor Ure and Edith Swinburne...
and directed by
Tony RichardsonCecil Antonio "Tony" Richardson was an English theatre and film director and producer.-Early life:Richardson was born in Shipley, Yorkshire in 1928, the son of Elsie Evans and Clarence Albert Richardson, a chemist...
.
It is based on
John OsborneJohn James Osborne was an English playwright, screenwriter, actor and critic of The Establishment. The success of his 1956 play Look Back in Anger transformed English theatre. In a productive life of more than 40 years, Osborne explored many themes and genres, writing for stage, film and TV...
's
play of the same nameLook Back in Anger is a John Osborne play and 1958 movie about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man , his upper-middle-class, impassive wife , and her haughty best friend . Cliff, an amiable Welsh lodger, attempts to keep the peace...
about a love triangle involving an intelligent but disaffected young man (Jimmy Porter), his upper-middle-class, impassive wife (Alison), and her snooty best friend (Helena Charles). Cliff, an amiable
WelshThe Welsh people are an ethnic group and nation associated with Wales and the Welsh language.John Davies argues that the origin of the "Welsh nation" can be traced to the late 4th and early 5th centuries, following the Roman departure from Britain, although Brythonic Celtic languages seem to have...
lodger, attempts to keep the peace. The character of Ma Tanner, only referred to in the original play, is here brought to life by
Edith EvansDame Edith Mary Evans DBE was an actress who was known for her work on the British stage. She also appeared in a number of films, for which she received three Academy Award nominations, plus a BAFTA and a Golden Globe award.Evans was particularly effective at portraying haughty aristocratic...
as a dramatic device to emphasise the class difference between Jimmy and Alison. The film and play are classic examples of the British cultural movement known as
kitchen sink realismKitchen sink realism is a term coined to describe a British cultural movement which developed in the late 1950s and early 1960s in theatre, art, novels, film and television plays, whose 'heroes' usually could be described as angry young men...
.
Synopsis
The black and white film opens with a close-up on Jimmy Porter sitting in on
trumpetThe trumpet is a musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BC...
in a crowded, smoky
jazzJazz is a musical art form which originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States from a confluence of African and European music traditions....
club (titles over). Having finished to a round of applause, he goes over to his friend Cliff, sitting at a front row table, but his friend waves him off in dumb-show, being more intent on winning the affections of a woman. (The real
Chris BarberDonald Christopher 'Chris' Barber is best known as a jazz trombonist.-Early life:...
jazz band is visible in the background). Scenes of Jimmy walking home through the depressing streets of a Midlands industrial town (
DerbyDerby is a city in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
) serve to give the film its overall visual context.
Arriving home at their attic flat, he surreptitiously goes through his sleeping wife's
handbagA handbag - or purse in American English - is a medium to large bag, often fashionably designed, typically used by women, and used to hold personal items such as wallet/coin purse, keys, tissues, cosmetics, a hairbrush, cellular device or personal digital assistant, feminine hygiene products,...
before getting into bed with her. It is not until seven minutes into the film that the first lines of dialogue are spoken. The next morning, with a
trainA train is a connected series of vehicles for rail transport that move along a track to transport freight or passengers from one place to another. The track usually consists of two rails, but might also be a monorail or maglev guideway....
rattling past the open window, Jimmy wakes up and walks into Cliff's room. He complains that Alison is writing secret letters to her mother — conspiring against him, as he sees it.
The next scene is Sunday morning, and a shortened version of Act I of the play, with Alison at the ironing board and Jimmy and Cliff reading the Sunday papers. Much of Jimmy's tirade against Alison is cut, but his derision of her family is still very evident. Jimmy and Cliff
start the 'where's nobody?'
Music HallMusic hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
sketch from Act III of the play, but Alison doesn't play along and the scene ends in horseplay, with Alison getting a burn as the ironing board is overturned.
Cliff and Alison play a tender scene as he puts soap on her burned arm, establishing that their relationship is affectionate, but not sexual. The scene ends on Alison's line "I'm frightened".
On Monday morning, we see Jimmy and Cliff setting up their sweet stall in the market place. The character of a vindictive market inspector, Hurst, played by Donald Pleasance, is introduced.
Alison, meanwhile, visits her doctor. She tells him her own carelessness caused the burn. The doctor asks whether her husband knows that she is pregnant. She asks if it is "too late to do anything about it", and the doctor replies "I didn't hear that question" (any kind of
abortionAn abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species...
would have been illegal in Britain at the time).
Back at the market, Ma Tanner turns up, in town to take care of her dead husband's grave. Almost a caricature of a cheerful working-class elderly woman, it's obvious that Jimmy has lots of affection and admiration for her. She was once his landlady, and lent him the capital to start the sweet-stall business. They go into a pub for a drink, and Alison comes in. Jimmy does not fail to notice Alison recoiling from Ma Tanner's affectionate hug; the gulf in social class between the two women is enormous and, in the context of the time, it's very plausible that Alison would react that way. Alison is trying to tell Jimmy about her pregnancy but cannot get his attention. Instead she tells Cliff (this scene, originally a continuation of the ironing board scene, is here played at the market).
A brief scene by Ma Tanner's husband's grave continues the theme of Jimmy and Ma Tanner's affection for each other. She asks him what he wants in life and he replies "Everything. Nothing".
Back at the flat, Alison is taking a phone call from her friend Helena, an actress who's in town for an audition and looking for somewhere to crash. Alison invites her to take over Cliff's room, and warns Cliff that Jimmy really hates Helena and all she stands for. The conflict to come is made very obvious.
Jimmy returns, apologises for the burn, and plays one of the only two loving scenes between him and Alison. They play out a game pretending to be stuffed-toy bears and squirrels,
and seem to be on the point of behaving like a normal married couple, when in walks Helena. Jimmy immediately attacks her verbally, but she shrugs it off as though it's just an act.
In several scenes at the flat and back at the jazz club, the expository dialogue from Act II of the play is played out. Alison describes Jimmy as a knight in shining armour, and Helena says "You've got to fight him". Over an afternoon meal, Jimmy's most cruel and vituperative
attacks on both women take place.
At the market, a sub-plot is introduced that was never even referred to in the play. A new stall-owner, an Indian immigrant called Kapoor (played by an actor of the same name) sets up a stall selling cut-price clothing. Kapoor is victimised by everyone except Jimmy and
Cliff and, in a later scene, the market inspector Hurst revokes his licence. Kapoor is literally forced out of business by the prejudice of 'respectable' English people — a not improbable plot device in a portrayal of 1950s England.
Alison goes to a theatre where Helena is rehearsing a particularly nauseating play. Jimmy and Cliff crash in and disrupt the rehearsal, taking over the stage and improvising their silly music-hall act.
At another Sunday tea-table scene, Alison announces that she's going to church with Helena, and Jimmy's scorn and anger reach a new peak. When Jimmy leaves to take a phone call, Helena says "I'm going to call your father and get him to take you home". Alison agrees that she will go. Coming downstairs on the way to church, the women run into Jimmy. The phone call brought the news that Ma Tanner is in hospital after a stroke, and not expected to live. Jimmy says that of course he will go to her, and begs Alison to go with him. Instead, she marches out with Helena.
A brief scene follows of Jimmy with Ma Tanner on her deathbed, in the public ward of a hospital.
Back at the attic, we see Alison's father, Colonel Redfern, who has come to collect her to take her back to her family home. The playwright allows the Colonel to come across as quite a sympathetic character, albeit totally out of touch with the modern world (as he himself admits). "You're hurt because everything's changed," Alison tells him, "and Jimmy's hurt because everything's stayed the same."
Helena arrives to say goodbye, intending to leave very soon herself but obliged to stay another day by the run of her play. Alison leaves, giving Cliff a note for Jimmy. Cliff in turn hands it to Helena and leaves himself, saying "I hope he stuffs it up your
nostrils". Almost immediately, Jimmy bursts in. His contempt at finding a "goodbye" note makes him turn on Helena again, warning her to keep out of his way until she leaves. He now learns for the first time that Alison is expecting a baby, and although he proclaims
that he doesn't care it's clear that he's taken aback. However, his tirade continues. They first come to physical blows, and then suddenly, Jimmy and Helena are kissing passionately and falling on the bed (the dramatic Act II curtain in the original play).
Two external scenes follow before we get to the Act III material. First, a scene of Jimmy in the graveyard at Ma Tanner's burial, searching in vain for any token of sympathy from Alison. Then a scene in Helena's dressing room at the theatre, as Jimmy complains of Alison's callousness and protests the unjust ways of the world in general.
Now comes the scene that repeats the opening scene of the play — a dismal Sunday morning but this time it's Helena at the ironing board. Months have passed. Jimmy is notably more pleasant to Helena than he was to Alison in Act 1. She actually laughs at his jokes, and the men get into another
music hallMusic hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment which was popular between 1850 and 1960. The term can refer to:# A particular form of variety entertainment involving a mixture of popular song, comedy and speciality acts...
comedy routine. This time the horseplay reveals a half-written letter from Helena to Alison, referring to an ongoing correspondence between them. Helena tears it up.
A scene is inserted in the garden of the Redfern family home. Alison is very pregnant, and
some remarks indicate that the pregnancy may be precarious. Alison's mother passes by and has one line of dialogue.
At the market, Cliff announces that he's decided to strike out on his own. Jimmy is visibly disappointed but doesn't try to stop him, only later advising him to "try washing your socks". Jimmy and Helena go to the railway station to see Cliff off — an interesting period scene complete with an authentic steam locomotive of the era. Jimmy reveals his affection for Cliff and tells him he is worth "ten Helenas" to him. When Jimmy and Helena go into the station bar for a drink, they discover Alison sitting disconsolately there. Jimmy snaps over his shoulder "Friend of yours to see you" and abruptly leaves.
The remaining scenes, originally set in the claustrophobic attic flat, are played out at the train station amidst atmospheric steam, smoke, and condensation from the actors' breath in the cold. Helena realises that what she's done is immoral and she in turn decides to leave.
The screenplay ends with a major surprise -- a highly sentimental reconciliation between Jimmy and Alison. They revive the old game of bears and squirrels, and we are left to assume that they live, if not happily, at least in a state of truce in the class warfare, ever after.
Awards
The film was nominated in 4 categories in the 1959 BAFTA Awards. Best British Actor (Richard Burton); Best British Film; Best British Screenplay (Nigel Kneale); Best Film from any Source. The eventual winners in these categories were
Peter SellersRichard Henry Sellers, CBE, commonly known as Peter Sellers was a British comedian and actor best known for his roles in Dr...
(
I'm All Right JackI'm All Right Jack is a British comedy film directed and produced by John and Roy Boulting released in 1959 as a sequel to their 1956 film Private's Progress. Ian Carmichael, Dennis Price, Richard Attenborough, Terry-Thomas and Miles Malleson all reprised their characters from the earlier film...
);
Sapphire;
Frank HarveyThis page is for the younger Frank Harvey . For his father, click here: Frank Harvey Frank Harvey was an English screenwriter who jointly won a BAFTA Award with John Boulting and Alan Hackney for I'm All Right Jack in 1960. He was born 11 August 1912 in Manchester...
, John Boulting and
Alan HackneyAlan Hackney was a British novelist and screenwriter.He was best known for his two novels Private's Progress and Private Life, which were both adapted into films, the former as Private's Progress and the latter as I'm All Right Jack...
for
I'm All Right Jack;
Ben-HurBen-Hur is a 1959 epic film directed by William Wyler, and is the third film version of Lew Wallace's 1880 novel Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ. It premiered at Loew's State Theatre in New York City on November 18, 1959...
.
Burton was also nominated as Best Motion Picture Actor - Drama in the 1959 Golden Globes. The eventual winner was
Anthony FranciosaAnthony Franciosa was an American actor, usually billed as Tony Franciosa during the height of his career....
in
Career.
Locations
Interiors were shot at
Elstree StudiosHistorically, the name "Elstree Studios" refers to any of several film studios that were based in the towns of Borehamwood and Elstree in Hertfordshire, England....
in September 1958. Some establishing shots were shot in
DerbyDerby is a city in the East Midlands region of England. It lies upon the banks of the River Derwent and is located in the south of the ceremonial county of Derbyshire. In the 2001 census, the population of the city was 233,700, whilst that of the Derby Urban Area was 229,407...
, but the market scenes were shot in
DeptfordDeptford is an area on the south bank of the River Thames in south-east London. The area is named after a ford of the River Ravensbourne, and from the mid 16th century to the late 19th was home to Deptford Dockyard, the first of the Royal Dockyards. This was a major shipbuilding dock and attracted...
market, and the railway station was
DalstonDalston is a district in the London Borough of Hackney, England, in Inner London.Its historical borders are Kingsland Road and Kingsland High Street in the west, London Fields in the east, Downs Park Road in the north and the Shoreditch parish boundary in the south...
junction. Both Deptford and Dalston are in fact in the London area.
Staffing & casting
The producer was the Canadian impressario
Harry SaltzmanHarry Saltzman was a Canadian theatre and film producer best known for his mega-gamble which resulted in his co-producing the James Bond film series with Albert R...
— an obvious choice since he was a fanatic enthusiast of the play and it was he who urged Osborne and Richardson to set up Woodfall Films.
Look Back was to be Woodfall's first production.
Osborne insisted, against resistance from Saltzman, that Richardson was the right man to direct the film. He had directed the original theatrical production but had no track record in feature films at all at that time. In fact, the original backers,
J. Arthur RankJoseph Arthur Rank, 1st Baron Rank was a British industrialist and film producer, and founder of the Rank Organisation, now known as The Rank Group Plc.- Family business :...
, pulled out of the deal because of the choice of director.
Saltzman and Richardson between them persuaded
Richard BurtonRichard Burton, CBE was a Welsh actor. He was nominated seven times for an Academy Award and was at one time the highest-paid actor in Hollywood...
to take on the title role, at a much lower fee than his accustomed Hollywood payoff. History does not record what
Kenneth HaighKenneth Haigh is a British actor. He played the central role of Jimmy Porter in the very first production of John Osborne's seminal play Look Back in Anger in 1956. His performance in a 1958 Broadway theatre production of that play so moved one young woman in the audience that she mounted the...
, who had created the role, thought of this. The idea of getting
Nigel KnealeNigel Kneale was a Manx screenwriter who worked mostly in the United Kingdom. Active in television, film, radio drama and prose fiction, he wrote professionally for over fifty years, was a winner of the Somerset Maugham Award and was twice nominated for the British Film Award for Best...
to extend the play into a screenplay is credited to the influential theatre critic
Kenneth TynanKenneth Peacock Tynan was an influential and often controversial British theatre critic and writer well known for being the first person to say "fuck" on the BBC.-Early life:...
(who was in large part responsible for the incredible success of the play). Osborne was relieved not to have to do the job and handed over story rights for a mere ₤2,000.
Some of the minor casting is of historical interest. The part of the doctor was specially created for
George DevineGeorge Alexander Cassady Devine CBE was an extremely influential theatrical manager, director, teacher and actor in London from the late 1940s until his death. He also worked in the media of TV and film.-Biography:...
, the artistic director of the English Stage Company and the one man to whom Osborne most owed his success.
Glen Byam ShawGlen Byam Shaw was an English actor and theatre director.He was born Glencairn Alexander Byam Shaw in London, the son of artist John Liston Byam Shaw. After a youthful relationship with the poet, Siegfried Sassoon , he married the actress, Angela Baddeley...
, a long-time collaborator of Devine's (they created the Young Vic Company together) was handed the role of Colonel Redfern. Two other members of the English Stage Company,
Nigel DavenportNigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridge, Cambridgeshire, England, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. he grew up in an academic family. He was educated at St...
and
Alfred LynchAlfred Cornelius Lynch was a British actor on stage, film and television.Lynch was born in Whitechapel, London, the son of a plumber. After attending a Roman Catholic school, he worked in a draughtsman's office before entering national service...
, were given tiny roles as barflies who attempt to pick up Alison and Helena in the railway station bar. Both went on to have brilliant careers.