England Made Me is a 1973 British drama film directed by Peter Duffell, starring Peter Finch, Michael York, Hildegarde Neil, and Michael Hordern, and based on the 1935 novel England Made Me by Graham Greene.[1][2] Tony Wollard's art direction was nominated for a British BAFTA Award.[3][4] The film changes the novel's setting from Sweden to Nazi Germany. Duffell explained that he changed the location due to his lack of knowledge of Sweden in the 1930s, the use of imagery the audience would recognise and the growing menace in Europe of the time.[5]
| England Made Me | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original British quad poster | |
| Directed by | Peter Duffell |
| Written by | Desmond Cory Peter Duffell |
| Based on | the novel by Graham Greene |
| Produced by | Jack Levin |
| Starring | Peter Finch Michael York Hildegarde Neil |
| Cinematography | Ray Parslow |
| Edited by | Malcolm Cooke |
| Music by | John Scott |
Production companies | |
| Distributed by | Hemdale Film Distribution (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 102 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Plot
editAnthony Farrant is a naive 1930s businessman who pays a visit to Germany on the way home from a business trip, and falls under the politically dubious spell of charismatic financier Erich Krogh. While Anthony was taught to value fairness and decency, in Erich's world opportunism, corruption, and decadence hold sway.
Main cast
edit- Peter Finch as Erich Krogh
- Michael York as Anthony Farrant
- Hildegarde Neil as Kate Farrant
- Joss Ackland as Haller
- Michael Hordern as F. Minty
- Tessa Wyatt as Liz Davidge
- Michael Sheard as Fromm
- Richard Gibson as young Tony
- Lalla Ward as young Kate
- William Baskiville as Stein
- Demeter Bitenc as Reichsminister
- Vladan Živković as Heinrich
- Vlado Bacic as Hartmann
- Mirjana Nikolic as Nikki
Production
editThe film was shot in Yugoslavia.[6][7]
Critical reception
editGeorge Melly, reviewing for The Observer, felt that the change in location was effective, but also had reservations: "That street of Jewish shops, with its broken windows and the Star of David daubed on the walls, is fast becoming as much a cinematic cliché as the Western street, with its saloon bar, bank and Sheriff's office." Nonetheless he praised York's performance as the protagonist, even though the actor's casting evoked memories of the recent Cabaret, and concluded: "This is a worthwhile film, broadly faithful in spirit to Greene's intentions and well acted down to the smallest supporting part."[8]
The New York Times wrote of the film, "England Made Me might have worked, were Mr. Duffell and Mr. Cory less superficial movie makers. They've retained a surprising amount of the Greene plot, even a lot of original dialogue, but the story is no longer comic and rueful, just wildly melodramatic."[9]
Pauline Kael in The New Yorker thought it a lightweight adaptation of an apprentice work by Greene, but entertaining nonetheless. She found the film's nostalgic recreation of 1930s Germany paradoxically enjoyable: "You're not quite sure if it's all right to feel this way, but at times you may find yourself thinking, I'd love to be there." As well as praising the three main players, Kael wrote, "Michael Hordern gives such a marvellously flamboyant seedy performance as Minty that one wants to applaud him."[7]
One admirer of the film was Graham Greene himself, who told The Guardian that it was one of the few screen adaptations of his books that he approved of, and wanted Duffell to write and direct The Honorary Consul.[10]
Film 4 called it "an underrated adaptation of Graham Greene's novel ... Although it received little attention when first released, this fascinating character study is ripe for reappraisal now, with the relationship between the two men making for quietly gripping viewing."[11]
References
edit- ^ "England Made Me". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 26 August 2024.
- ^ "BFI Database entry". BFI. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009.
- ^ Mark Deming (2014). "England-Made-Me – Trailer – Cast – Showtimes – NYTimes.com". Movies & TV Dept. The New York Times. Archived from the original on 4 November 2014.
- ^ "BAFTA | Film | Art Direction in 1974". bafta.org. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ p. 155 Sinyard, N. Graham Greene: A Literary Life Springer, 19 Dec. 2003
- ^ Robinson, David (1 June 1973). "The Greene touch in a compelling anecdote". The Times. No. 58797. p. 12.
- ^ a b Kael, Pauline (1992) [1st pub. Little, Brown 1977]. "Bloodless and Bloody". Reeling: Film Writings 1972-1975. London; New York: Marion Boyars. pp. 203–205. ISBN 0-7145-2582-0.
- ^ Melly, George (3 June 1973). "All change for Nazi Germany". The Observer. p. 35.
- ^ Canby, Vincent (19 November 1973). "Film: 'England Made Me'". The New York Times. p. 53. Retrieved 14 September 2024.
- ^ Cunningham, John (19 December 1983). "Plain thoughts of an Englishman abroad". The Guardian. p. 11.
- ^ "Film4 | Channel 4". www.channel4.com. Retrieved 18 February 2024.
External links
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