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Red Ensign (film)
Encyclopedia
Red Ensign is an early work by noted British film-maker Michael Powell
.
's Colpeper in A Canterbury Tale
(1944) and Roger Livesey
's Dr Reeves in A Matter of Life and Death (1946). Indeed the whole film is seen as a parallel with the struggles of a young bold film director, and a plea for a strong British film industry. The strong crusading tone of the film prefigures Powell's wartime propaganda films such as 49th Parallel
and Contraband. A minor character is pointedly called 'Grierson' after the celebrated documentary maker John Grierson
. This character is described as 'the best rivetter in the yard' who 'taught me [Barr] everything I know'. This scene is immediately followed with one of Barr firing a 'militant' worker intent on provoking industrial strife in the yard.
along with The Phantom Light
(1934) and The Upturned Glass
(1947).
Michael Powell (director)
Michael Latham Powell was a renowned English film director, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger...
.
Story
David Barr is the manager and chief designer of a British shipyard who comes up with a radical new design for ships, at a time when the industry as a whole is in recession. He struggles to find financial backing from his company, banks or investors, and is driven to desperate ends to try to complete the ship. As well as technical and financial difficulties Barr also has to struggle against the machinations of rival shipbuilders and infiltrating militants.Production
Powell's 12th film in four years, and perhaps his most memorable one in that period. "It was the first time that Michael Powell himself realised that there was something special about a Michael Powell film, something going on on the screen, or behind the screen, which you couldn't put your finger on, something intriguing, aloof, but in the long run memorable."Analysis
The character of David Barr is seen as an early precursor of Powell's own alter-ego in Michael Powell films such as Eric PortmanEric Portman
Eric Portman was a distinguished English stage and film actor...
's Colpeper in A Canterbury Tale
A Canterbury Tale
A Canterbury Tale is a 1944 British film by the film-making team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It stars Eric Portman, Sheila Sim, Dennis Price and Sgt. John Sweet; Esmond Knight provided narration and played several small roles. For the postwar American release, Raymond Massey narrated...
(1944) and Roger Livesey
Roger Livesey
Roger Livesey was a British stage and film actor. He is most often remembered for the three Powell & Pressburger films in which he starred: The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, I Know Where I'm Going! and A Matter of Life and Death...
's Dr Reeves in A Matter of Life and Death (1946). Indeed the whole film is seen as a parallel with the struggles of a young bold film director, and a plea for a strong British film industry. The strong crusading tone of the film prefigures Powell's wartime propaganda films such as 49th Parallel
49th Parallel (film)
49th Parallel is the third film made by the British writer-director team of Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger. It was released in the United States as The Invaders. Despite the title, no scene in the movie is set at the 49th parallel, which forms much of the U.S.-Canadian border...
and Contraband. A minor character is pointedly called 'Grierson' after the celebrated documentary maker John Grierson
John Grierson
John Grierson was a pioneering Scottish documentary maker, often considered the father of British and Canadian documentary film. According to popular myth, in 1926, Grierson coined the term "documentary" to describe a non-fiction film.-Early life:Grierson was born in Deanston, near Doune, Scotland...
. This character is described as 'the best rivetter in the yard' who 'taught me [Barr] everything I know'. This scene is immediately followed with one of Barr firing a 'militant' worker intent on provoking industrial strife in the yard.
Cast
- Leslie BanksLeslie BanksLeslie Banks, CBE was an English theatre and cinema actor, director and producer, now best remembered playing gruff, menacing characters in black and white movies of the 1930s and 1940s.-Early life:...
as David Barr - Carol GoodnerCarol GoodnerCarol Goodner was an American actress who appeared mostly in British films and television. She was born in New York in 1904 later moving to England where she appeared in her first film Those Who Love in 1929. She retired in 1957.A toe dancer when she was only four years old, she continued to earn...
as June MacKinnon - Frank VosperFrank VosperFrank Vosper was a British actor and playwright.-Stage:Vosper made his stage debut in 1919 and was best known for playing urbane villains....
as Lord Dean - Alfred DraytonAlfred DraytonAlfred Drayton was a British film actor.Drayton worked in a brewery when he was 18 but having a good deal of amateur dramatics experience decided to go on stage. His first appearance on stage was The Beloved Vagabond at Cardiff in 1908 and his London debut was at the Haymarket Theatre the...
as Manning - Donald CalthropDonald CalthropDonald Calthrop was an English stage and film actor. He starred as the title character in the hit musical The Boy in 1917. He then appeared in 63 films between 1916 and 1940, including five films directed by Alfred Hitchcock.He was born in London and died in Eton from a heart attack.He was the...
as MacLeod - Allan JeayesAllan JeayesAllan Jeayes was a British stage and movie actor.He starred as Howard Joyce in the original 1927 Broadway production of The Letter and played Sir Lawrence Wargarve in the 1943 London production of And Then There Were None.Jeayes made his film debut in the 1918 Nelson as Sir William Hamilton...
as Emerson aka Grierson - Campbell GullanCampbell Gullan-Selected filmography:* Far from the Madding Crowd * A Welsh Singer * Doorsteps * The Right Element * A Member of Tattersall's * At the Mercy of Tiberius * Tilly of Bloomsbury...
as Hannay - Percy ParsonsPercy ParsonsPercy Parsons was an American-born actor and singer who worked largely in the British film industry.-Selected filmography:* Suspense * Happy Ever After * The Man from Toronto * Red Wagon...
as Casey - Fewlass LlewellynFewlass Llewellyn-Selected filmography:* Goodbye * The Lady Clare * The Flag Lieutenant * Afterwards * Virginia's Husband * The Outsider * These Charming People * Lloyd of the C.I.D....
as Sir Gregory - Henry OscarHenry OscarHenry Oscar was an English stage and film actor.Born as Henry Wale, he changed his name and began acting in 1911 and appeared in a wide range of films, including Alfred Hitchcock's The Man Who Knew Too Much , Fire Over England , The Four Feathers , Hatter's Castle ,...
as Raglan - John LaurieJohn LaurieJohn Paton Laurie was a British actor born in Dumfries, Scotland. Although he is now probably most recognised for his role as Private James Frazer in the sitcom Dad's Army , he appeared in hundreds of feature films, including films by Alfred Hitchcock, Michael Powell and Laurence Olivier...
as Wages accountant - Henry CaineHenry Caine-Selected filmography:* The Temporary Widow * Dreyfus * The Shadow Between * The Ghost Train * Number Seventeen * Red Ensign * The Price of a Song * Three Maxims...
as Bassett (uncredited) - George CarneyGeorge CarneyGeorge Carney was a British film actor.He worked in the Liverpool Cotton Exchange, in a furniture business, then in the Belfast shipping yards...
as Mr. Lindsey (uncredited) - Jack LambertJack Lambert (British actor)Jack Lambert was a British film and television actor.-Selected filmography:* Red Ensign * The Ghost Goes West * Premiere * Nine Men * Floodtide * The Lost Hours...
as Police Inspector (uncredited) - Frederick PiperFrederick PiperFrederick Piper was an English actor who appeared in over 80 films and many television productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Never a leading player, Piper was usually cast in minor, sometimes uncredited, parts although he also appeared in some more substantial supporting roles...
as Mr. McWilliams (uncredited) - Jack RaineJack RaineJack Raine was a British television and film actor. He was married to actress and musician Binnie Hale.-Selected filmography:* Night Birds * The Middle Watch * Fires of Fate * The House of Trent...
as Testing Official (uncredited)
DVD
The film has been released on DVD by MPIMPI Home Video
MPI Home Video is a home entertainment company that produces and distributes popular documentaries, films and television series on DVD & Blu-ray for the home video market. MPI Home Video is a subsidiary of MPI Media Group which was founded in 1976 by brothers Malik & Waleed Ali...
along with The Phantom Light
The Phantom Light
The Phantom Light is a 1935 British Thriller film directed by Michael Powell and starring Binnie Hale, Gordon Harker, Milton Rosmer and Herbert Lomas. Criminals pose as ghosts to scare a lighthouse keeper on the Welsh coast, in attempt to distract him....
(1934) and The Upturned Glass
The Upturned Glass
The Upturned Glass is a 1947 British drama film directed by Lawrence Huntington and starring James Mason, Rosamund John and Pamela Kellino. A leading surgeon murders a woman he believes to be responsible for the death of the woman he loved.-Cast:...
(1947).
External links
- Red Ensign reviews and articles at the Powell & Pressburger Pages. Full synopsis and film stills (and clips viewable from UK libraries).