Hindle Wakes
Encyclopedia
Hindle Wakes is a stage play by Stanley Houghton written in 1910.
It has been filmed four times, twice in the silent era
(1918
, 1927
), and twice in the sound era
(1931, 1952) although the film versions have tended to open out the play considerably. There was also a grittier TV movie version of it (1976), starring Donald Pleasence
and co-directed by Laurence Olivier
.
in England
, and concerns two young people who are discovered to have been having what would now be called a "dirty weekend" during their holiday, during the town's wakes week
. Their families pressure them to get married, but the young woman refuses. She is disowned by her people but manages to get her job at the mill back.
It seemed quite a controversial and subversive piece at the time it was written.
The 1931 film
starred Belle Chrystal as the mill girl and John Stuart
as the employer's son, with Sybil Thorndike
, Edmund Gwenn
and Norman McKinnel
. Parts of it were filmed in Blackpool
.
It has been filmed four times, twice in the silent era
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
(1918
Hindle Wakes (1918 film)
Hindle Wakes is a 1918 British silent film drama, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Colette O'Niel and Hayford Hobbs. It is the first of four screen versions of the celebrated and controversial 1912 play by Stanley Houghton, which was a sensation in its time for its daring assertions that a...
, 1927
Hindle Wakes (1927 film)
Hindle Wakes is a 1927 British silent film drama, directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Estelle Brody and John Stuart. The film is adapted from Stanley Houghton's 1912 stage play of the same name, and reunites Brody and Stuart following their hugely popular pairing in the previous year's...
), and twice in the sound era
Sound film
A sound film is a motion picture with synchronized sound, or sound technologically coupled to image, as opposed to a silent film. The first known public exhibition of projected sound films took place in Paris in 1900, but decades would pass before sound motion pictures were made commercially...
(1931, 1952) although the film versions have tended to open out the play considerably. There was also a grittier TV movie version of it (1976), starring Donald Pleasence
Donald Pleasence
Sir Donald Henry Pleasence, OBE, was a British actor who gained more than 200 screen credits during a career which spanned over four decades...
and co-directed by Laurence Olivier
Laurence Olivier
Laurence Kerr Olivier, Baron Olivier, OM was an English actor, director, and producer. He was one of the most famous and revered actors of the 20th century. He married three times, to fellow actors Jill Esmond, Vivien Leigh, and Joan Plowright...
.
Plot
The play is set in the fictional mill town of Hindle in LancashireLancashire
Lancashire is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in the North West of England. It takes its name from the city of Lancaster, and is sometimes known as the County of Lancaster. Although Lancaster is still considered to be the county town, Lancashire County Council is based in Preston...
in England
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
, and concerns two young people who are discovered to have been having what would now be called a "dirty weekend" during their holiday, during the town's wakes week
Wakes week
The wakes week is a holiday period in parts of England and Scotland.- History :Wakes were originally religious festivals that commemorated church dedications...
. Their families pressure them to get married, but the young woman refuses. She is disowned by her people but manages to get her job at the mill back.
It seemed quite a controversial and subversive piece at the time it was written.
The 1931 film
Hindle Wakes (1931 film)
Hindle Wakes is a 1931 British film drama, directed by Victor Saville for Gainsborough Pictures and starring Belle Chrystall and John Stuart. The film is adapted from Stanley Houghton's controversial 1912 stage play of the same name, which had previously been filmed twice as a silent in 1918 and...
starred Belle Chrystal as the mill girl and John Stuart
John Stuart (actor)
John Stuart, born John Alfred Louden Croall , was a Scottish actor, and a very popular leading man in British silent films in the 1920s. He appeared in two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock....
as the employer's son, with Sybil Thorndike
Sybil Thorndike
Dame Agnes Sybil Thorndike CH DBE was a British actress.-Early life:She was born in Gainsborough, Lincolnshire to Arthur Thorndike and Agnes Macdonald. Her father was a Canon of Rochester Cathedral...
, Edmund Gwenn
Edmund Gwenn
Edmund Gwenn was an English theatre and film actor.-Background:Born Edmund John Kellaway in Wandsworth, London , and educated at St. Olave's School and later at King's College London, Gwenn began his acting career in the theatre in 1895...
and Norman McKinnel
Norman McKinnel
Norman McKinnel was a Scottish stage and film actor and playwright, active from the 1890s until his death...
. Parts of it were filmed in Blackpool
Blackpool
Blackpool is a borough, seaside town, and unitary authority area of Lancashire, in North West England. It is situated along England's west coast by the Irish Sea, between the Ribble and Wyre estuaries, northwest of Preston, north of Liverpool, and northwest of Manchester...
.