The Root of All Evil (1947 film)
Encyclopedia
The Root of All Evil is a 1947 British drama film, directed by Brock Williams
for Gainsborough Pictures
and starring Phyllis Calvert
and Michael Rennie
. The film was the first directorial assignment for Williams, who was better known as a screenwriter, and also produced the screenplay based on a novel by J. S. Fletcher
.
), but takes him for granted and feels that he lacks the spark or ambition to match her determination to make something of herself. Instead she pursues Albert Grice (Hubert Gregg
), son of a wealthy grocery store owner, and believes they have an understanding. She is horrified when Albert goes on holiday, and returns newly married to another woman.
Seeing a possible payday as compensation for her disappointment, Jeckie sues Albert for breach of promise and emotional distress, and after she plays up her status as jilted victim in court she is awarded a considerable sum in damages. Seeing the chance for revenge, she uses her windfall to set up her own grocery store, directly opposite that of the Grice emporium. By undercutting on prices and offering customer perks, she soon succeeds in poaching nearly all of their business and starts to accumulate a tidy sum in profits. Her ambition however stretches beyond a grocery store and its relatively modest financial potential. She is intigued to meet a handsome stranger Charles Mortimer (Rennie), who tells her that there are large deposits of oil on the edge of town and he is looking for a financial backer to help him exploit them.
Jeckie agrees to throw her lot in with Charles to get their hands on the land under which the oil can be drilled. It belongs to an elderly man Scholes (Moore Marriott
), who is of the opinion that it is a stony, barren and useless plot, and is happy to sell for what seems on the surface a generous price. The oil operation quickly proves to have huge financial potential, and soon becomes a sizeable industry raking in vast profits. Now a wealthy woman, Jeckie buys the grandest house in the area and lives a life of luxury. She has fallen in love with Charles, but when she learns that he has misled her and is in fact married, she orders him to leave and says he will get no more share of the profits.
Meanwhile Scholes' resentment at being swindled had been simmering in the background, and finally explodes when he decides to set fire to the refinery to exact his revenge. The whole operation is destroyed in a spectacular blaze. Faced with losing everything, Jeckie finally starts to analyse her own ruthlessness and avarice. She realises that she has made many enemies and has few real friends. But the faithful Joe has never criticised or judged her, and she finally sees that he was the man for her all along.
Brock Williams (screenwriter)
Brock Williams was a prolific English screenwriter with over 100 films to his credit between 1930 and 1962. He also had a brief directorial career, and later also worked in television.-Career:...
for Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures
Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London. Gainsborough Studios were active between 1924 and 1951. Built as a power station for the Great Northern & City Railway it...
and starring Phyllis Calvert
Phyllis Calvert
Phyllis Calvert was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s....
and Michael Rennie
Michael Rennie
Michael Rennie was an English film, television, and stage actor, perhaps best known for his starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the 1951 classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. However, he appeared in over 50 other films since 1936, many with Jean Simmons and other...
. The film was the first directorial assignment for Williams, who was better known as a screenwriter, and also produced the screenplay based on a novel by J. S. Fletcher
J. S. Fletcher
Joseph Smith Fletcher was a British journalist and writer. He wrote about 200 books on a wide variety of subjects, both fiction and non-fiction. He was one of the leading writers of detective fiction in the "Golden Age"....
.
Plot
Jeckie Farnish (Calvert) has grown up in a grindingly poor household, and as she reaches adulthood she resolves to do whatever is necessary to claw her way out of poverty. She is loved by her childhood playmate Joe Bartle (John McCallumJohn McCallum (actor)
John Neil McCallum, AO, CBE was an Australian theatre and film actor. He was also a television producer.McCallum was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1918, son of theatre owner and entrepreneur John Neil McCallum Sr., who built and for many years ran the 2,000 seat Cremorne Theatre on the banks of...
), but takes him for granted and feels that he lacks the spark or ambition to match her determination to make something of herself. Instead she pursues Albert Grice (Hubert Gregg
Hubert Gregg
Hubert Gregg was a BBC broadcaster, writer and stage actor. At the end of his life he was probably best known for the BBC Radio 2 'oldies' shows A Square Deal and Thanks For The Memory...
), son of a wealthy grocery store owner, and believes they have an understanding. She is horrified when Albert goes on holiday, and returns newly married to another woman.
Seeing a possible payday as compensation for her disappointment, Jeckie sues Albert for breach of promise and emotional distress, and after she plays up her status as jilted victim in court she is awarded a considerable sum in damages. Seeing the chance for revenge, she uses her windfall to set up her own grocery store, directly opposite that of the Grice emporium. By undercutting on prices and offering customer perks, she soon succeeds in poaching nearly all of their business and starts to accumulate a tidy sum in profits. Her ambition however stretches beyond a grocery store and its relatively modest financial potential. She is intigued to meet a handsome stranger Charles Mortimer (Rennie), who tells her that there are large deposits of oil on the edge of town and he is looking for a financial backer to help him exploit them.
Jeckie agrees to throw her lot in with Charles to get their hands on the land under which the oil can be drilled. It belongs to an elderly man Scholes (Moore Marriott
Moore Marriott
Moore Marriott was a British character actor most notable for a series of films he made with Will Hay in the 1930s.-Career:...
), who is of the opinion that it is a stony, barren and useless plot, and is happy to sell for what seems on the surface a generous price. The oil operation quickly proves to have huge financial potential, and soon becomes a sizeable industry raking in vast profits. Now a wealthy woman, Jeckie buys the grandest house in the area and lives a life of luxury. She has fallen in love with Charles, but when she learns that he has misled her and is in fact married, she orders him to leave and says he will get no more share of the profits.
Meanwhile Scholes' resentment at being swindled had been simmering in the background, and finally explodes when he decides to set fire to the refinery to exact his revenge. The whole operation is destroyed in a spectacular blaze. Faced with losing everything, Jeckie finally starts to analyse her own ruthlessness and avarice. She realises that she has made many enemies and has few real friends. But the faithful Joe has never criticised or judged her, and she finally sees that he was the man for her all along.
Cast
- Phyllis CalvertPhyllis CalvertPhyllis Calvert was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1940s....
as Jeckie Farnish - Michael RennieMichael RennieMichael Rennie was an English film, television, and stage actor, perhaps best known for his starring role as the space visitor Klaatu in the 1951 classic science fiction film The Day the Earth Stood Still. However, he appeared in over 50 other films since 1936, many with Jean Simmons and other...
as Charles Mortimer - John McCallumJohn McCallum (actor)John Neil McCallum, AO, CBE was an Australian theatre and film actor. He was also a television producer.McCallum was born in Brisbane, Queensland, in 1918, son of theatre owner and entrepreneur John Neil McCallum Sr., who built and for many years ran the 2,000 seat Cremorne Theatre on the banks of...
as Joe Bartle - Brefni O'RorkeBrefni O'Rorke-Filmography:* The Ghost of St. Michael's * Love on the Dole * This Man Is Dangerous * Jeannie * Cottage to Let * Hatter's Castle * The Black Sheep of Whitehall...
as Farnish - Moore MarriottMoore MarriottMoore Marriott was a British character actor most notable for a series of films he made with Will Hay in the 1930s.-Career:...
as Scholes - Hazel CourtHazel CourtHazel Court was an English actress best known for her roles in horror films during the 1950s and early 1960s.-Early life:...
as Rushie Farnish - Hubert GreggHubert GreggHubert Gregg was a BBC broadcaster, writer and stage actor. At the end of his life he was probably best known for the BBC Radio 2 'oldies' shows A Square Deal and Thanks For The Memory...
as Albert Grice - Arthur YoungArthur Young (actor)Arthur Young was an English actor, notable for roles including Gladstone in the 1951 The Lady with the Lamp....
as George Grice - Reginald PurdellReginald PurdellReginald Purdell was an English actor and screenwriter who appeared in over 40 films between 1930 and 1951...
as Perkins - Stewart RomeStewart RomeStewart Rome was a British actor who appeared in more than 150 films between 1913 and 1950. He was born in Newbury, Berkshire in 1886 as Wernham Ryott Gifford but took the stage name of Stewart Rome which was later unsuccessfully contested by Cecil Hepworth who also used the name...
as Sir George - 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 Bowser - 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 Landlord - Ellis IrvingEllis IrvingEllis Irving was an Australian film actor who appeared in a number of British films. He was married to the actress Sophie Stewart.-Selected filmography:* The Bermondsey Kid * Murder at Monte Carlo * The Black Mask...
as Auctioneer
External links
- The Root of All Evil at BFI Film & TV Database