Woman Hater
Encyclopedia
Woman Hater is a 1948 British romantic comedy film
directed by Terence Young and starring Stewart Granger
, Edwige Feuillère
and Ronald Squire
. Lord Datchett invites a French
film star to stay as his house but pretends to be one of his employees while he tries to romance her with the help of his butler. When she discovers his subterfuge she decides to turn the tables on him.
and takes the table in a restaurant
he wanted to sit at. He is scathing of her claims in the newspaper that she is tired of publicity and of men pursuing her, believing it to be an attempt to get more attention. He predicts that if she were really left alone she would throw herself at the first man that she met. After being challenged by a man at his club, Datchett decides to invite her to stay at his house aiming to stage a "scientific experiment" and prove his theory right.
In real life Marly is genuinely weary of her publicity agent|publicity-seeking agent and is besieged by autograph hunters and journalists. When she receives Datchett's invitation to stay at his house she accepts in the hope of some solitude. After travelling down to his country house with her maid
Clair, she is greeted by the butler Jameson and Lord Datchett, now pretending to be Henry Dodds, the estate manager. The other staff have all been roped in to help maintain the deception.
Datchett tries to discover more about Marly, but she is at first unforthcoming. Slowly they begin to bond, after they go out riding together and when they are locked in a cellar for several hours and get drunk on brandy
. Clair meanwhile flirts with both Jameson and Patrick, the Irish gardener provoking them into jealousy and rivalry.
When the Reverend Meadows turns up at the house with a Christening
party for whom Datchett has agreed to be a Godfather
, Marly discovers who Datchett really is in spite of his efforts to deceive her. At first she plans to leave in a fury, but then decides to play along with Datchett's pretence intending to teach him a lesson. While out boating
on a lake
, she pretends to be in distress so that he can be a gallant
rescuer, but when he knocks himself out it is she who has to rescue him.
When Datchett’s elderly mother Lady Datchett arrives he persuades her to join in the ploy which she tries to do without much success. Eventually Marly reveals to Datchett that she knows who he really is. They are both forced to confront their feelings for each other, and he admits he is in love with her. He asks her to marry him, but she reveals it has all been intended to teach him a lesson. He goes away, crestfallen, and she then realises she is in love with.
At the suggestion of Clair, Marly stages her drowning for a second time. Datchett is about to return to London after admitting the experiment was a failure when he hears her cries for help. He comes to rescue her, but once again it is she who ends up rescuing him. Once safely on the bank, they end up embracing.
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
directed by Terence Young and starring Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger
Stewart Granger was an English-American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.-Early life:He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old...
, Edwige Feuillère
Edwige Feuillère
Edwige Feuillère was a distinguished French stage and film actress....
and Ronald Squire
Ronald Squire
Ronald Squire was an English character actor.Born in Tiverton, Devon, England, he spent his early acting career in Liverpool repertory theatre in light comedy roles, before moving on to films...
. Lord Datchett invites a French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
film star to stay as his house but pretends to be one of his employees while he tries to romance her with the help of his butler. When she discovers his subterfuge she decides to turn the tables on him.
Plot
Lord Datchett is a misogynist who persuades his friend not to get married. He believes woman are vain, trivial and dull. He is irritated when a French film star Colette Marly arrives in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
and takes the table in a restaurant
Restaurant
A restaurant is an establishment which prepares and serves food and drink to customers in return for money. Meals are generally served and eaten on premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services...
he wanted to sit at. He is scathing of her claims in the newspaper that she is tired of publicity and of men pursuing her, believing it to be an attempt to get more attention. He predicts that if she were really left alone she would throw herself at the first man that she met. After being challenged by a man at his club, Datchett decides to invite her to stay at his house aiming to stage a "scientific experiment" and prove his theory right.
In real life Marly is genuinely weary of her publicity agent|publicity-seeking agent and is besieged by autograph hunters and journalists. When she receives Datchett's invitation to stay at his house she accepts in the hope of some solitude. After travelling down to his country house with her maid
Maid
A maidservant or in current usage housemaid or maid is a female employed in domestic service.-Description:Once part of an elaborate hierarchy in great houses, today a single maid may be the only domestic worker that upper and even middle-income households can afford, as was historically the case...
Clair, she is greeted by the butler Jameson and Lord Datchett, now pretending to be Henry Dodds, the estate manager. The other staff have all been roped in to help maintain the deception.
Datchett tries to discover more about Marly, but she is at first unforthcoming. Slowly they begin to bond, after they go out riding together and when they are locked in a cellar for several hours and get drunk on brandy
Brandy
Brandy is a spirit produced by distilling wine. Brandy generally contains 35%–60% alcohol by volume and is typically taken as an after-dinner drink...
. Clair meanwhile flirts with both Jameson and Patrick, the Irish gardener provoking them into jealousy and rivalry.
When the Reverend Meadows turns up at the house with a Christening
Christening
Christening is a naming ceremony associated with:*Baptism*Infant baptism*Ship naming and launching...
party for whom Datchett has agreed to be a Godfather
Godfather
A godfather is a male godparent in the Christian tradition.Godfather may also refer to:*A male arranged to be legal guardian of a child if untimely demise is met by the parentsPeople:* Capo di tutti capi, a Mafia crime boss...
, Marly discovers who Datchett really is in spite of his efforts to deceive her. At first she plans to leave in a fury, but then decides to play along with Datchett's pretence intending to teach him a lesson. While out boating
Boating
Boating is the leisurely activity of travelling by boat, or the recreational use of a boat whether powerboats, sailboats, or man-powered vessels , focused on the travel itself, as well as sports activities, such as fishing or water skiing...
on a lake
Lake
A lake is a body of relatively still fresh or salt water of considerable size, localized in a basin, that is surrounded by land. Lakes are inland and not part of the ocean and therefore are distinct from lagoons, and are larger and deeper than ponds. Lakes can be contrasted with rivers or streams,...
, she pretends to be in distress so that he can be a gallant
Gallant
-People with the surname Gallant:* A. Ronald Gallant , leading American econometrician* Cheryl Gallant , Conservative Canadian politician* Gerard Gallant , Canadian ice hockey coach and former NHL player...
rescuer, but when he knocks himself out it is she who has to rescue him.
When Datchett’s elderly mother Lady Datchett arrives he persuades her to join in the ploy which she tries to do without much success. Eventually Marly reveals to Datchett that she knows who he really is. They are both forced to confront their feelings for each other, and he admits he is in love with her. He asks her to marry him, but she reveals it has all been intended to teach him a lesson. He goes away, crestfallen, and she then realises she is in love with.
At the suggestion of Clair, Marly stages her drowning for a second time. Datchett is about to return to London after admitting the experiment was a failure when he hears her cries for help. He comes to rescue her, but once again it is she who ends up rescuing him. Once safely on the bank, they end up embracing.
Cast
- Stewart GrangerStewart GrangerStewart Granger was an English-American film actor, mainly associated with heroic and romantic leading roles. He was a popular leading man from the 1940s to the early 1960s rising to fame through his appearances in the Gainsborough melodramas.-Early life:He was born James Lablache Stewart in Old...
- Lord Datchett - Edwige FeuillèreEdwige FeuillèreEdwige Feuillère was a distinguished French stage and film actress....
- Colette Marly - Ronald SquireRonald SquireRonald Squire was an English character actor.Born in Tiverton, Devon, England, he spent his early acting career in Liverpool repertory theatre in light comedy roles, before moving on to films...
- Jameson - Jeanne De CasalisJeanne de CasalisJeanne de Casalis was an African-born British actress of stage, radio, and film.Born in Basutoland as Casalis de Pury, she was educated in France - where her father owned one of the largest corset retailers, Charneaux - and began her career in music before working in London.She appeared on stage...
- Clair - Michael Medwin - Harris
- Miles MallesonMiles MallesonWilliam Miles Malleson was an English actor and dramatist, particularly known for his appearances in British comedy films of the 1930s to 1960s. Towards the end of his career he also appeared in cameo roles in several Hammer horror films, with a fairly large role in The Brides of Dracula as the...
- Reverend Meadows - James Hayter - Burrell the gatekeeper
- Dandy NicholsDandy Nichols-References:* Dandy Nichols at screenonline.* Dandy Nichols at The Museum of Broadcast Communications.-External links:...
- Mrs Burrell - Mary JerroldMary JerroldMary Jerrold was a British actress. She was married to actor Hubert Harben and mother of celebrity chef Philip Harben.-Selected filmography:* The Great Defender * Jack of All Trades * Return to Yesterday...
- Lady Datchett - David HutchesonDavid Hutcheson-Selected filmography:* The Sky's the Limit * A Gentleman's Gentleman * The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp * Theatre Royal * School for Secrets * Sleeping Car to Trieste * Woman Hater...
- Robert - W.A. Kelly - Patrick
- Georgina CooksonGeorgina CooksonAntoinette Georgina Cookson was a British film, stage and television actress. She died in Sydney, aged 92, on 1 October 2011.-Family:...
- Julia - Henry EdwardsHenry Edwards (actor)Henry Edwards was an English actor and film director. He appeared in 81 films between 1915 and 1952. He also directed 67 films between 1915 and 1937...
- Major - 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...
- Colonel Weston - Valentine DyallValentine DyallValentine Dyall was an English character actor, the son of veteran actor Franklin Dyall. Dyall was especially popular as a voice actor, due to his very distinctive sepulchral voice, he was known for many years as "The Man in Black", narrator of the BBC Radio horror series Appointment With Fear.In...
- Spencer - Graham MoffattGraham MoffattGraham Moffatt was a British character actor and comedian.Born in Hammersmith, London, he is best known for a number of films where he appeared with Will Hay and Moore Marriott as 'Albert': an insolent, overweight, overgrown-schoolboy type character, loosely reminiscent of Billy Bunter.His first...
- Autograph hunter - Davy BurnabyDavy BurnabyDavy Burnaby was a British actor who appeared in more than thirty films between 1929 and 1948. He was born in Buckland, Hertfordshire and made his screen debut in the 1929 film The Devil's Maze. He died in 1949....
- Grandfather - Vi KaleyVi Kaley-Selected filmography:* Lloyd of the C.I.D. * Love on the Dole * Fanny by Gaslight * The Fool and the Princess * Woman Hater * My Brother Jonathan * The Mudlark -External links:...
- Grandmother - Peter BullPeter BullPeter Cecil Bull, DSC was a British character actor.- Biography :He was the fourth and youngest son of Hammersmith MP Sir William James Bull, 1st Bt..Bull was educated at Winchester College...
- Fletcher - 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...
- Mrs Fletcher - Eddie Sutch - Harry Fletcher