If Winter Comes
Encyclopedia
If Winter Comes is a 1947 drama film released by MGM. The movie was directed by Victor Saville
, based on the novel by A.S.M. Hutchinson. The film tells the story of an English textbook writer who takes in a pregnant girl. The novel had previously been made into the 1923 film If Winter Comes.
in 1939, the film focuses on Mark Sabre, an author and publisher who is unhappily married to Mabel, a humorless and cold woman who usually spends her days gossiping with the townspeople. When Mark finds out his former sweetheart Nona Tybar is returning to Penny Green, Mark, unlike his wife, is delighted. Nona is married to a man names Tony Tyber, but is still in love with Mark. Mabel is aware of Mark's feelings for Nona, and encourages him to spend time with her, thinking he will eventually decide with whom he wants to spend his life.
As the war starts, Tony is called into the military, while Mark attempts to join up but a doctor finds a heart condition and prevents him. Nona leaves Penny Green in order to join the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
. Life becomes quiet for Mark, until Effie Bright, who is denounced by her family for having become pregnant, turns to Mark for help.
Mark helps Effie, and lets her live in his home while he looks for a better situation for her. This causes a great scandal
. His boss had been looking for a way to fire Mark, and, as a result of the morals clause at his place of employment, he loses his job. Mabel leaves Mark, under the delusion that Mark is the cause of Effie's pregnancy. The townspeople soon denounce Mark and when Effie, who was already mentally unstable because of the pregnancy, finds out about what she has caused, she commits suicide
by poisoning herself. Mark appears at an inquest to determine the cause of death. Numerous witnesses give anecdotal incomplete evidence suggesting a sexual relationship between Mark and Effie. Nona appears, having just learned of Tony's death, and makes a short speech in support of Mark's character. The inquest determines that Effie's cause of death was suicide, though they censure Mark for his behavior.
Returning home, a distraught Mark finds a note addressed to him from Effie. In it, Effie gives the name of the young man who impregnated her. It happens to be the son of one of Mark's coworkers at the publishing company. Mark furiously heads to the company to confront the young man's father, but when he gets there, the man is grief-stricken, just having received the news that his son has been killed in the war. Mark decides not to share the letter with him, but, just as he is about the burn the letter, he has a cardiovascular event, and passes out.
Weeks pass as Mark convalesces. Nona returns to Mark, and they burn Effie's letter together.
producer David O. Selznick
bought the rights of the novel in 1939 and intended on casting either Joan Fontaine
or Vivien Leigh
in the female lead roles and Leslie Howard
or Laurence Olivier
in the male leads. Furthermore, John Cromwell
was assigned as the film's director. Production was supposed to start on March 1, 1940, but Selznick eventually abandoned the project and sold the rights to Alexander Korda
.
In 1943, Robert Donat
was set to star and the production, which was still under direction of Korda, was set to be filmed on location. Donat was supposed to reteam with Greer Garson
, with whom he previously starred in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
(1939). However, when Donat suddenly became unavailable, he was replaced by Walter Pidgeon
in October 1943. Because the reteaming collapsed, Garson's part went to Deborah Kerr
, whose participation was confirmed in April 1947. Direction eventually went to Victor Saville
, who had no interest in the project but agreed to direct it in order to work with Kerr.
Impressed by her performance in The Picture of Dorian Gray
(1945), Saville assigned Angela Lansbury
as Mabel Sabre. The casting of Janet Leigh
followed in the summer of 1947. Her accent in the film was taught by the niece of C. Aubrey Smith.
Saville, determined on making films visually more realistic, introduced indirect lighting, a new form of lighting, in the film.
Victor Saville
Victor Saville was an English film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954...
, based on the novel by A.S.M. Hutchinson. The film tells the story of an English textbook writer who takes in a pregnant girl. The novel had previously been made into the 1923 film If Winter Comes.
Plot
Set in the English village Penny GreenBelph
Belph is a village or hamlet in the District of Bolsover, Derbyshire, England. It is part of the Welbeck Abbey Estate, on the edge of Sherwood Forest. The village is located south-east of Hodthorpe, south-east of Whitwell and south-west of Worksop....
in 1939, the film focuses on Mark Sabre, an author and publisher who is unhappily married to Mabel, a humorless and cold woman who usually spends her days gossiping with the townspeople. When Mark finds out his former sweetheart Nona Tybar is returning to Penny Green, Mark, unlike his wife, is delighted. Nona is married to a man names Tony Tyber, but is still in love with Mark. Mabel is aware of Mark's feelings for Nona, and encourages him to spend time with her, thinking he will eventually decide with whom he wants to spend his life.
As the war starts, Tony is called into the military, while Mark attempts to join up but a doctor finds a heart condition and prevents him. Nona leaves Penny Green in order to join the Women's Auxiliary Air Force
Women's Auxiliary Air Force
The Women's Auxiliary Air Force , whose members were invariably referred to as Waafs , was the female auxiliary of the Royal Air Force during World War II, established in 1939. At its peak strength, in 1943, WAAF numbers exceeded 180,000, with over 2,000 women enlisting per week.A Women's Royal Air...
. Life becomes quiet for Mark, until Effie Bright, who is denounced by her family for having become pregnant, turns to Mark for help.
Mark helps Effie, and lets her live in his home while he looks for a better situation for her. This causes a great scandal
Scandal
A scandal is a widely publicized allegation or set of allegations that damages the reputation of an institution, individual or creed...
. His boss had been looking for a way to fire Mark, and, as a result of the morals clause at his place of employment, he loses his job. Mabel leaves Mark, under the delusion that Mark is the cause of Effie's pregnancy. The townspeople soon denounce Mark and when Effie, who was already mentally unstable because of the pregnancy, finds out about what she has caused, she commits suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
by poisoning herself. Mark appears at an inquest to determine the cause of death. Numerous witnesses give anecdotal incomplete evidence suggesting a sexual relationship between Mark and Effie. Nona appears, having just learned of Tony's death, and makes a short speech in support of Mark's character. The inquest determines that Effie's cause of death was suicide, though they censure Mark for his behavior.
Returning home, a distraught Mark finds a note addressed to him from Effie. In it, Effie gives the name of the young man who impregnated her. It happens to be the son of one of Mark's coworkers at the publishing company. Mark furiously heads to the company to confront the young man's father, but when he gets there, the man is grief-stricken, just having received the news that his son has been killed in the war. Mark decides not to share the letter with him, but, just as he is about the burn the letter, he has a cardiovascular event, and passes out.
Weeks pass as Mark convalesces. Nona returns to Mark, and they burn Effie's letter together.
Cast
- Walter PidgeonWalter PidgeonWalter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
as Mark Sabre - Deborah KerrDeborah KerrDeborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
as Nona Tybar - Angela LansburyAngela LansburyAngela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as Mabel Sabre - Binnie BarnesBinnie BarnesGertrude Maud "Binnie" Barnes was an English-American actress. She was born in Islington to a Jewish father and an Italian mother and was brought up Jewish, although she converted to Catholicism later in life....
as Natalie Bagshaw - Janet LeighJanet LeighJanet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
as Effie Bright - Dame May Whitty as Mrs. Perch
- René RayRené RayRené Ray, Countess of Midleton was a British film and stage actress of the 1930s and 1940s who appeared in over forty films....
as Sarah 'Low Jinks' - Virginia Keiley as Rebecca 'High Jinks'
Production
20th Century Fox20th Century Fox
Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation — also known as 20th Century Fox, or simply 20th or Fox — is one of the six major American film studios...
producer David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick
David O. Selznick was an American film producer. He is best known for having produced Gone with the Wind and Rebecca , both of which earned him an Oscar for Best Picture.-Early years:...
bought the rights of the novel in 1939 and intended on casting either Joan Fontaine
Joan Fontaine
Joan de Beauvoir de Havilland , known professionally as Joan Fontaine, is a British American actress. She and her elder sister Olivia de Havilland are two of the last surviving leading ladies from Hollywood of the 1930s....
or Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh
Vivien Leigh, Lady Olivier was an English actress. She won the Best Actress Academy Award for her portrayal of Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire , a role she also played on stage in London's West End, as well as for her portrayal of the southern belle Scarlett O'Hara, alongside Clark...
in the female lead roles and Leslie Howard
Leslie Howard (actor)
Leslie Howard was an English stage and film actor, director, and producer. Among his best-known roles was Ashley Wilkes in Gone with the Wind and roles in Berkeley Square , Of Human Bondage , The Scarlet Pimpernel , The Petrified Forest , Pygmalion , Intermezzo , Pimpernel Smith...
or 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...
in the male leads. Furthermore, John Cromwell
John Cromwell (director)
Elwood Dager Cromwell , known as John Cromwell, was an American film actor, director and producer.-Biography:...
was assigned as the film's director. Production was supposed to start on March 1, 1940, but Selznick eventually abandoned the project and sold the rights to Alexander Korda
Alexander Korda
Sir Alexander Korda was a Hungarian-born British producer and film director. He was a leading figure in the British film industry, the founder of London Films and the owner of British Lion Films, a film distributing company.-Life and career:The elder brother of filmmakers Zoltán Korda and Vincent...
.
In 1943, Robert Donat
Robert Donat
Robert Donat was an English film and stage actor. He is best-known for his roles in Alfred Hitchcock's The 39 Steps and Goodbye, Mr...
was set to star and the production, which was still under direction of Korda, was set to be filmed on location. Donat was supposed to reteam with Greer Garson
Greer Garson
Greer Garson, CBE was a British-born actress who was very popular during World War II, being listed by the Motion Picture Herald as one of America's top ten box office draws in 1942, 1943, 1944, 1945, and 1946. As one of MGM's major stars of the 1940s, Garson received seven Academy Award...
, with whom he previously starred in Goodbye, Mr. Chips
Goodbye, Mr. Chips (1939 film)
Goodbye, Mr. Chips is a 1939 British film based on the novel of the same name by James Hilton. It was directed by Sam Wood, and starred Robert Donat, Greer Garson, Terry Kilburn, John Mills, and Paul Henreid. The screenplay was adapted from the novel by R. C. Sherriff, Claudine West and Eric...
(1939). However, when Donat suddenly became unavailable, he was replaced by Walter Pidgeon
Walter Pidgeon
Walter Davis Pidgeon was a Canadian actor, who starred in many motion pictures, including Mrs...
in October 1943. Because the reteaming collapsed, Garson's part went to Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr
Deborah Kerr, CBE was a Scottish film and television actress from Glasgow. She won the Sarah Siddons Award for her Chicago performance as Laura Reynolds in Tea and Sympathy, a role which she originated on Broadway, a Golden Globe Award for the motion picture The King and I, and was a three-time...
, whose participation was confirmed in April 1947. Direction eventually went to Victor Saville
Victor Saville
Victor Saville was an English film director, producer and screenwriter. He directed 39 films between 1927 and 1954...
, who had no interest in the project but agreed to direct it in order to work with Kerr.
Impressed by her performance in The Picture of Dorian Gray
The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945 film)
The Picture of Dorian Gray is an American horror-drama film based on Oscar Wilde's 1891 novel of the same name. Released in March 1945 by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, the film is directed by Albert Lewin and stars George Sanders as Lord Henry Wotton and Hurd Hatfield as Dorian Gray...
(1945), Saville assigned Angela Lansbury
Angela Lansbury
Angela Brigid Lansbury CBE is an English actress and singer in theatre, television and motion pictures, whose career has spanned eight decades and earned her more performance Tony Awards than any other individual , with five wins...
as Mabel Sabre. The casting of Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh
Janet Leigh , born Jeanette Helen Morrison, was an American actress. She was the wife of actor Tony Curtis from June 1951 to September 1962 and the mother of Kelly Curtis and Jamie Lee Curtis....
followed in the summer of 1947. Her accent in the film was taught by the niece of C. Aubrey Smith.
Saville, determined on making films visually more realistic, introduced indirect lighting, a new form of lighting, in the film.