Hangover Square (film)
Encyclopedia
Hangover Square is a film noir
directed by John Brahm
, based on the novel Hangover Square
(1941
) by Patrick Hamilton
. The screenplay was written by Barré Lyndon
who made a number of changes to the novel, including the transformation of George Harvey Bone into a classical composer-pianist and filming the story as a turn-of-the-century period piece.
The movie was released in New York City
on February 7, 1945, two months after its star, Laird Cregar
, suffered a fatal heart attack.
London (the date 1899 is shown in the opening scene), the police suspect that a composer who suffers from periods of amnesia may be a murderer.
The period setting creates a dark mood, especially in the key scene when Bone (portrayed by Laird Cregar
), having strangled Netta (Linda Darnell
) on Guy Fawkes Night
, carries her wrapped body through streets filled with revelers and deposits it on top of the biggest bonfire.
The final scene shows Cregar
as Bone, playing his piano concerto (composed by Bernard Herrmann
), unmindful of the conflagration around him, as flames consume all.
has cited Herrmann's score for Hangover Square as a major influence on his musical Sweeney Todd
.
magazine liked the film and wrote, "Hangover Square is eerie murder melodrama of the London gaslight era - typical of Patrick Hamilton yarns, of which this is another. And it doesn't make any pretense at mystery. The madman-murderer is known from the first reel...Production is grade A, and so is the direction by John Brahm, with particular bows to the music score by Bernard Herrmann." But the New York Times claimed, "There is not a first-class shiver in the whole picture."
(1941).
The "Concerto Macabre" (11 minutes) was also released on the Koch Classics label as part of a CD of movie music in 1996 with David Sedares and the New Zealand Orchestra, and pianist David Buechner.
Film noir
Film noir is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and sexual motivations. Hollywood's classic film noir period is generally regarded as extending from the early 1940s to the late 1950s...
directed by John Brahm
John Brahm
John Brahm was a film and television director possibly best known today for directing a dozen of the original Twilight Zone episodes including the now classic "Time Enough at Last"...
, based on the novel Hangover Square
Hangover Square
Hangover Square is a 1941 novel by English playwright and novelist Patrick Hamilton . Subtitled A tale of Darkest Earl's Court it is set in that area of London in 1939....
(1941
1941 in literature
The year 1941 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*Frank Herbert marries Flora Parkinson.*F. Scott Fitzgerald's unfinished work, The Last Tycoon, is edited and published by Edmund Wilson.-New books:...
) by Patrick Hamilton
Patrick Hamilton (dramatist)
Patrick Hamilton was an English playwright and novelist.He was well regarded by Graham Greene and J. B. Priestley and study of his novels has been revived recently because of their distinctive style, deploying a Dickensian narrative voice to convey aspects of inter-war London street culture...
. The screenplay was written by Barré Lyndon
Barré Lyndon
Barré Lyndon was a British playwright and screenwriter. The pseudonym was presumably taken from the title character of Thackeray's novel....
who made a number of changes to the novel, including the transformation of George Harvey Bone into a classical composer-pianist and filming the story as a turn-of-the-century period piece.
The movie was released in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
on February 7, 1945, two months after its star, Laird Cregar
Laird Cregar
-Early life and career:Samuel Laird Cregar was the youngest of six sons of Edward Matthews Cregar, a cricketer and member of a team called the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. They toured internationally in the late 1890s and early 1900s...
, suffered a fatal heart attack.
Plot
In VictorianVictorian era
The Victorian era of British history was the period of Queen Victoria's reign from 20 June 1837 until her death on 22 January 1901. It was a long period of peace, prosperity, refined sensibilities and national self-confidence...
London (the date 1899 is shown in the opening scene), the police suspect that a composer who suffers from periods of amnesia may be a murderer.
The period setting creates a dark mood, especially in the key scene when Bone (portrayed by Laird Cregar
Laird Cregar
-Early life and career:Samuel Laird Cregar was the youngest of six sons of Edward Matthews Cregar, a cricketer and member of a team called the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. They toured internationally in the late 1890s and early 1900s...
), having strangled Netta (Linda Darnell
Linda Darnell
Linda Darnell was an American film actress.Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s...
) on Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night
Guy Fawkes Night, also known as Guy Fawkes Day, Bonfire Night and Firework Night, is an annual commemoration observed on 5 November, primarily in England. Its history begins with the events of 5 November 1605, when Guy Fawkes, a member of the Gunpowder Plot, was arrested while guarding...
, carries her wrapped body through streets filled with revelers and deposits it on top of the biggest bonfire.
The final scene shows Cregar
Laird Cregar
-Early life and career:Samuel Laird Cregar was the youngest of six sons of Edward Matthews Cregar, a cricketer and member of a team called the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. They toured internationally in the late 1890s and early 1900s...
as Bone, playing his piano concerto (composed by Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
), unmindful of the conflagration around him, as flames consume all.
Cast
- Laird CregarLaird Cregar-Early life and career:Samuel Laird Cregar was the youngest of six sons of Edward Matthews Cregar, a cricketer and member of a team called the Gentlemen of Philadelphia. They toured internationally in the late 1890s and early 1900s...
as George Harvey Bone - Linda DarnellLinda DarnellLinda Darnell was an American film actress.Darnell was a model as a child, and progressed to theater and film acting as an adolescent. At the encouragement of her mother, she made her first film in 1939, and appeared in supporting roles in big budget films for 20th Century Fox throughout the 1940s...
as Netta Longdon - George SandersGeorge SandersGeorge Sanders was a British actor.George Sanders may also refer to:*George Sanders , Victoria Cross recipient in World War I...
as Dr. Allan Middleton - Glenn Langan as Eddie Carstairs
- Faye Marlowe as Barbara Chapman
- Alan NapierAlan NapierAlan William Napier-Clavering was an English actor, best known for portraying Alfred Pennyworth in the 1960s live-action Batman television series.-Early life and career:...
as Sir Henry Chapman
Production
American composer Stephen SondheimStephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
has cited Herrmann's score for Hangover Square as a major influence on his musical Sweeney Todd
Sweeney Todd (musical)
Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street is a 1979 musical thriller with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and libretto by Hugh Wheeler. The musical is based on the 1973 play Sweeney Todd, the Demon Barber of Fleet Street by Christopher Bond....
.
Critical reception
The film received mixed reviews. The staff at VarietyVariety (magazine)
Variety is an American weekly entertainment-trade magazine founded in New York City, New York, in 1905 by Sime Silverman. With the rise of the importance of the motion-picture industry, Daily Variety, a daily edition based in Los Angeles, California, was founded by Silverman in 1933. In 1998, the...
magazine liked the film and wrote, "Hangover Square is eerie murder melodrama of the London gaslight era - typical of Patrick Hamilton yarns, of which this is another. And it doesn't make any pretense at mystery. The madman-murderer is known from the first reel...Production is grade A, and so is the direction by John Brahm, with particular bows to the music score by Bernard Herrmann." But the New York Times claimed, "There is not a first-class shiver in the whole picture."
CD release of Herrmann's music
In 2010, the British label Chandos released a CD that includes a 17-minute concert suite from Hangover Square, put together by Stephen Hogger, and a Concerto Macabre for piano and orchestra which was pieced together in 1992 by Norma Shepherd and based on manuscript sources for Hangover Square. The disc also includes Stephen Hogger's extended suite based on Herrmann's manuscript for the soundtrack to Citizen KaneCitizen Kane
Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film, directed by and starring Orson Welles. Many critics consider it the greatest American film of all time, especially for its innovative cinematography, music and narrative structure. Citizen Kane was Welles' first feature film...
(1941).
The "Concerto Macabre" (11 minutes) was also released on the Koch Classics label as part of a CD of movie music in 1996 with David Sedares and the New Zealand Orchestra, and pianist David Buechner.