So Well Remembered
Encyclopedia
So Well Remembered is a 1947 British film starring John Mills
, Martha Scott
, and Trevor Howard
. The film was based on the James Hilton
novel of the same name and tells the story of a reformer and the woman he marries in a fictional Lancashire mill town. Hilton also narrated. The movie, shot on location in England, is faithful to the novel in many particulars, but the motivations of the main female character and the tone of the ending are considerably altered.
The first screening was in Macclesfield's Majestic Theatre on August 9, 1947, after which the film disappeared. It was only discovered some 60 years later by Macc Lad Muttley (Tristan O'Neill) of The Macc Lads infamy in Tennessee
, USA.
in Europe, town councillor, newspaper editor, and zealous reformer George Boswell (John Mills) recalls the past 26 years of his life. In 1919, he defends Olivia Channing (Martha Scott) when she applies for a library job. Her cotton mill owner father John Channing (Frederick Leister
) had been sent to prison for almost 20 years for speculating with and losing many people's money.
George falls in love with Olivia, though it scandalises the townspeople, and eventually proposes to her. That night, she has an argument with her father. He has Dr. Richard Whiteside (Trevor Howard
) drive him into town to speak to George, but they crash on a washed-out road and John is killed. Olivia then agrees to marry George.
Trevor Mangin (Reginald Tate
), Browdley's most influential businessman, asks George to run for Parliament. Seeing an opportunity to further his reforming efforts, George agrees, much to Olivia's delight.
Whiteside brings George an alarming report about the danger of an epidemic in the town's filthy slums. Mangin, who owns many of them, produces a more optimistic one. Given that Whiteside has taken to drinking heavily since the accident, George accepts Mangin's report, causing the council to vote to do nothing. However, a diphtheria
epidemic breaks out, just as Whiteside feared. A free clinic is opened to inoculate the healthy children and treat the sick. George tells Olivia to take their son there, but she cannot bear to do it, resulting in the child's death.
When George drops out of the election because of Mangin's lies, Olivia tells him that she is leaving him. George realises that she married him solely for his prospects. They go their separate ways. He eventually rises to mayor, while she remarries a rich man and has another son, Charles Winslow (Richard Carlson). Meanwhile, Whiteside takes in a baby girl, Julie Morgan (Patricia Roc
), orphaned at birth. George helps raise her.
Many years pass. A widowed Olivia returns, takes up residence in her father's mansion, and reopens the Channing mill. Her son becomes a flier in the Royal Air Force
in World War II. On leave, he meets Julie and they fall in love. However, Olivia does not want to relinquish her son. Charles is seriously injured in combat, his face disfigured. This enables Olivia to isolate and retain control of him, until George manages to convince him to break free and marry Julie. When Olivia arrives, looking for her son, George reveals that he has figured out that Olivia did nothing to prevent her father from driving to his death, though she must have known that the road was washed out. Whiteside had overheard the Channings' argument; knowing his daughter, John Channing intended to warn George against her.
Mills' daughters Juliet and Hayley
played Julie as a young girl and a baby respectively.
The music for this film was composed by Hanns Eisler.
, Cheshire
, forming the backdrop of a Lancashire
mill town.
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
, Martha Scott
Martha Scott
Martha Ellen Scott was an American actress best known for her roles as mother of the lead character in numerous films and television shows.-Early life:...
, and Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
. The film was based on the James Hilton
James Hilton
James Hilton was an English novelist who wrote several best-sellers, including Lost Horizon and Goodbye, Mr. Chips.-Biography:...
novel of the same name and tells the story of a reformer and the woman he marries in a fictional Lancashire mill town. Hilton also narrated. The movie, shot on location in England, is faithful to the novel in many particulars, but the motivations of the main female character and the tone of the ending are considerably altered.
The first screening was in Macclesfield's Majestic Theatre on August 9, 1947, after which the film disappeared. It was only discovered some 60 years later by Macc Lad Muttley (Tristan O'Neill) of The Macc Lads infamy in Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
, USA.
Plot
At the end of World War IIWorld War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in Europe, town councillor, newspaper editor, and zealous reformer George Boswell (John Mills) recalls the past 26 years of his life. In 1919, he defends Olivia Channing (Martha Scott) when she applies for a library job. Her cotton mill owner father John Channing (Frederick Leister
Frederick Leister
-Filmography:* The Glorious Adventure * The Message * Bracelets * Dreyfus * Down River * The World, the Flesh, the Devil * Evensong * The Iron Duke...
) had been sent to prison for almost 20 years for speculating with and losing many people's money.
George falls in love with Olivia, though it scandalises the townspeople, and eventually proposes to her. That night, she has an argument with her father. He has Dr. Richard Whiteside (Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard
Trevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
) drive him into town to speak to George, but they crash on a washed-out road and John is killed. Olivia then agrees to marry George.
Trevor Mangin (Reginald Tate
Reginald Tate
Reginald Tate was an English actor, veteran of many roles on stage, in film and on television. He is best remembered as the first actor to play the television science-fiction character Professor Bernard Quatermass, in the 1953 BBC Television serial The Quatermass Experiment.-Early life:Reginald...
), Browdley's most influential businessman, asks George to run for Parliament. Seeing an opportunity to further his reforming efforts, George agrees, much to Olivia's delight.
Whiteside brings George an alarming report about the danger of an epidemic in the town's filthy slums. Mangin, who owns many of them, produces a more optimistic one. Given that Whiteside has taken to drinking heavily since the accident, George accepts Mangin's report, causing the council to vote to do nothing. However, a diphtheria
Diphtheria
Diphtheria is an upper respiratory tract illness caused by Corynebacterium diphtheriae, a facultative anaerobic, Gram-positive bacterium. It is characterized by sore throat, low fever, and an adherent membrane on the tonsils, pharynx, and/or nasal cavity...
epidemic breaks out, just as Whiteside feared. A free clinic is opened to inoculate the healthy children and treat the sick. George tells Olivia to take their son there, but she cannot bear to do it, resulting in the child's death.
When George drops out of the election because of Mangin's lies, Olivia tells him that she is leaving him. George realises that she married him solely for his prospects. They go their separate ways. He eventually rises to mayor, while she remarries a rich man and has another son, Charles Winslow (Richard Carlson). Meanwhile, Whiteside takes in a baby girl, Julie Morgan (Patricia Roc
Patricia Roc
Patricia Roc , born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold, was a British film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as Madonna of the Seven Moons and The Wicked Lady , though she only made one film in Hollywood, Canyon Passage...
), orphaned at birth. George helps raise her.
Many years pass. A widowed Olivia returns, takes up residence in her father's mansion, and reopens the Channing mill. Her son becomes a flier in the Royal Air Force
Royal Air Force
The Royal Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the British Armed Forces. Formed on 1 April 1918, it is the oldest independent air force in the world...
in World War II. On leave, he meets Julie and they fall in love. However, Olivia does not want to relinquish her son. Charles is seriously injured in combat, his face disfigured. This enables Olivia to isolate and retain control of him, until George manages to convince him to break free and marry Julie. When Olivia arrives, looking for her son, George reveals that he has figured out that Olivia did nothing to prevent her father from driving to his death, though she must have known that the road was washed out. Whiteside had overheard the Channings' argument; knowing his daughter, John Channing intended to warn George against her.
Cast
- John MillsJohn MillsSir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
as George Boswell - Martha ScottMartha ScottMartha Ellen Scott was an American actress best known for her roles as mother of the lead character in numerous films and television shows.-Early life:...
as Olivia Channing Boswell - Patricia RocPatricia RocPatricia Roc , born Felicia Miriam Ursula Herold, was a British film actress, popular in the Gainsborough melodramas such as Madonna of the Seven Moons and The Wicked Lady , though she only made one film in Hollywood, Canyon Passage...
as Julie Morgan - Trevor HowardTrevor HowardTrevor Howard , born Trevor Wallace Howard-Smith, was an English film, stage and television actor.-Early life:...
as Dr Richard Whiteside - Richard Carlson as Charles Winslow
- Reginald TateReginald TateReginald Tate was an English actor, veteran of many roles on stage, in film and on television. He is best remembered as the first actor to play the television science-fiction character Professor Bernard Quatermass, in the 1953 BBC Television serial The Quatermass Experiment.-Early life:Reginald...
as Trevor Mangin - Beatrice VarleyBeatrice VarleyBeatrice Varley was a British actress who appeared in a variety of television and film roles between 1936 and 1964...
as Annie, George's loyal servant - Frederick LeisterFrederick Leister-Filmography:* The Glorious Adventure * The Message * Bracelets * Dreyfus * Down River * The World, the Flesh, the Devil * Evensong * The Iron Duke...
as John Channing - Ivor BarnardIvor BarnardIvor Barnard was an English film actor. In 1929 he appeared on stage in "Bird In Hand" at the Morosco Theatre in New York City. He appeared in 84 films between 1921 and 1953. He appeared in the Alfred Hitchcock film The 39 Steps in 1935. In 1943, he played the stationmaster in the Ealing war movie...
as Spivey - Julian D'Albie as Wetherall, the outgoing Member of Parliament
Mills' daughters Juliet and Hayley
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
played Julie as a young girl and a baby respectively.
The music for this film was composed by Hanns Eisler.
Production
The film was shot in MacclesfieldMacclesfield
Macclesfield is a market town within the unitary authority of Cheshire East, the county palatine of Chester, also known as the ceremonial county of Cheshire, England. The population of the Macclesfield urban sub-area at the time of the 2001 census was 50,688...
, Cheshire
Cheshire
Cheshire is a ceremonial county in North West England. Cheshire's county town is the city of Chester, although its largest town is Warrington. Other major towns include Widnes, Congleton, Crewe, Ellesmere Port, Runcorn, Macclesfield, Winsford, Northwich, and Wilmslow...
, forming the backdrop of a Lancashire
Lancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
mill town.