The Browning Version (1951)

User Rating:

8.0/10   

Director:

Anthony Asquith

Writers:

Terence Rattigan (by)
Terence Rattigan (screenplay)

Release Date:

April 1951 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

Forced to retire from an English public school. a disliked professor must confront his utter failures as a teacher, a husband, and a man.

Plot Keywords:

Teacher | English Public School | Headmaster | Classical Greek | Teaching

Awards:

Nominated for 2 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 6 wins & 1 nomination

Cast

Michael Redgrave	...	Andrew Crocker-Harris
Jean Kent	...	Millie Crocker-Harris
Nigel Patrick	...	Frank Hunter
Wilfrid Hyde-White	...	Frobisher (as Wilfrid Hyde White)
Brian Smith	...	Taplow
Bill Travers	...	Fletcher
Ronald Howard	...	Gilbert
Paul Medland	...	Wilson
Ivan Samson	...	Lord Baxter
Josephine Middleton	...	Mrs. Frobisher
Peter Jones	...	Carstairs
Sarah Lawson	...	Betty Carstairs
Scott Harold	...	Rev. Williamson
Judith Furse	...	Mrs. Williamson

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Certification:

UK:U | France:U | USA:Approved (PCA #15027) | USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | Australia:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:S | Sweden:Btl | Australia:G

Filming Locations:

Dorset, England, UK

Company:

Javelin Films

Trivia:

The title refers to a translation of Agamemnon. Of the many such translations, one of Crocker-Harris's pupils gives him the version written by poet Robert Browning.

Quotes:

Andrew Crocker-Harris: I may have been a brilliant scholar, but I was woefully ignorant of the facts of life.

Movie Connections:

References Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939)

Soundtrack:

Fifth symphony

Fantastic.

Michael Redgrave is wonderful in this film. To watch him in The Lady Vanishes, then to see him in this, it really is a testament to his acting versatility.

The story itself is utterly depressing, and shows little remorse. Though this is why the film is so brilliant. The atmosphere mixes that of the school and that of the Greek tragedy - namely Aeschylus' the Agamemnon. Coker-Harris is slowly broken down by his wife, which is similar to that of Clytemnestra and Agamemnon. However, Coker-Harris has not done much wrong to warrant this hate and spite, which makes him a sympathetic and tragic character.

The film moves at a brisk pace and is not once boring. The acting is superb, the look efficient and makes for a superb film.