No Blade of Grass (film)
Encyclopedia
No Blade of Grass is a 1970 British
-American
apocalyptic
science fiction film directed by Cornel Wilde
and starring Nigel Davenport
, Jean Wallace
and John Hamill
. It is an adaptation of the novel The Death of Grass
by John Christopher
. When London
is overwhelmed by food riots caused by a global famine
, a man tries to lead his family to safety in Scotland
.
Cinema of the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom has had a major influence on modern cinema. The first moving pictures developed on celluloid film were made in Hyde Park, London in 1889 by William Friese Greene, a British inventor, who patented the process in 1890. It is generally regarded that the British film industry...
-American
Cinema of the United States
The cinema of the United States, also known as Hollywood, has had a profound effect on cinema across the world since the early 20th century. Its history is sometimes separated into four main periods: the silent film era, classical Hollywood cinema, New Hollywood, and the contemporary period...
apocalyptic
Apocalyptic and post-apocalyptic fiction
Apocalyptic fiction is a sub-genre of science fiction that is concerned with the end of civilization due to a potentially existential catastrophe such as nuclear warfare, pandemic, extraterrestrial attack, impact event, cybernetic revolt, technological singularity, dysgenics, supernatural...
science fiction film directed by Cornel Wilde
Cornel Wilde
Cornel Wilde was an American actor and film director.-Early life:Kornél Lajos Weisz was born in 1912 in Prievidza, Hungary , although his year and place of birth are usually and inaccurately given as 1915 in New York City...
and starring Nigel Davenport
Nigel Davenport
Nigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...
, Jean Wallace
Jean Wallace
Jean Wallace was an American television and film actress.-Biography:Born Jean Walasek in Chicago to John T. Walasek and Mary A. Walasek , Wallace began her career as a model then got her first small movie role at the age of seventeen...
and John Hamill
John Hamill
John Hamill is an English actor.He had previously been a bodybuilder and one of England's most popular "physique models" in the late 1960s before turning to acting, studying at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and appearing in the stage farce There's a Girl in My Soup.Hamill’s...
. It is an adaptation of the novel The Death of Grass
The Death Of Grass
The Death of Grass is a 1956 post-apocalyptic science fiction novel written by the English author Samuel Youd under the nom de plume John Christopher...
by John Christopher
Samuel Youd
Samuel Youd is a British author, best known for his science fiction writings under the pseudonym John Christopher, including the novel The Death of Grass and the young adult oriented novel series The Tripods...
. When London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
is overwhelmed by food riots caused by a global famine
Famine
A famine is a widespread scarcity of food, caused by several factors including crop failure, overpopulation, or government policies. This phenomenon is usually accompanied or followed by regional malnutrition, starvation, epidemic, and increased mortality. Every continent in the world has...
, a man tries to lead his family to safety in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
.
Cast
- Nigel DavenportNigel DavenportNigel Davenport is an English stage, television and film actor.- Early life :Davenport was born Arthur Nigel Davenport, however he goes by the first name of Nigel. Davenport was born in Shelford, Cambridgeshire, the son of Katherine Lucy and Arthur Henry Davenport. Davenport's father was a bursar...
... John Custance - Jean WallaceJean WallaceJean Wallace was an American television and film actress.-Biography:Born Jean Walasek in Chicago to John T. Walasek and Mary A. Walasek , Wallace began her career as a model then got her first small movie role at the age of seventeen...
... Ann Custance - John HamillJohn HamillJohn Hamill is an English actor.He had previously been a bodybuilder and one of England's most popular "physique models" in the late 1960s before turning to acting, studying at the Webber Douglas Academy of Dramatic Art, and appearing in the stage farce There's a Girl in My Soup.Hamill’s...
... Roger Burnham - Lynne FrederickLynne FrederickLynne Maria Frederick was an English film actress. In a career spanning ten years she made about thirty films or television drama appearances, but she is best remembered as the last wife of Peter Sellers. She was married twice after his death.-Early life:Frederick was born in Hillingdon,...
... Mary Custance - Patrick HoltPatrick HoltPatrick Holt was a British film and television actor.-Biography:Patrick Holt's real name was Patrick G. Parsons. Some of his childhood was spent in India with his Uncle. Patrick was sent to Christ's Hospital, a famous charity school in England, UK...
... David Custance - Ruth KettlewellRuth KettlewellRuth Kettlewell was a noted English actress who, by her own admission, was a “character bag”: that is a recognisable face to regular TV watchers but not a household name.-Life to death of husband:...
... Fat Woman - M.J. Matthews ... George
- Michael Percival ... Police Constable
- Tex Fuller ... Mr. Beaseley
- Simon Merrick ... T.V. Interviewer
- Anthony SharpAnthony SharpAnthony Sharp was an English actor cast for roles on television and film principally from the 1950s onwards....
... Sir Charles Brenner - George CoulourisGeorge CoulourisGeorge Coulouris was a prominent English film and stage actor.-Early life:Coulouris was born in Manchester, England, the son of Abigail and Nicholas Coulouris, a merchant of Greek origin. He was brought up both in Manchester and nearby Urmston and was educated at Manchester Grammar School...
... Mr. Sturdevant - Anthony MayAnthony MayAnthony May is a British stage, television and film actor. He attended Ottershaw School, Surrey. May trained at R.A.D.A. from 1965 to 1967....
... Pirrie - Wendy RichardWendy RichardWendy Richard, MBE was an English actress best known for playing Miss Brahms in Are You Being Served? and Pauline Fowler in EastEnders...
... Clara - Max Hartnell ... Lieutenant
- John Lewis ... Corporal
- Norman Atkyns ... Dr. Cassop
- Nigel Rathbone ... Davey
- Christopher Lofthouse ... Spooks
- John AvisonJohn AvisonJohn Avison, CM was a Canadian conductor and pianist. From 1938 to 1980, he was the founding conductor of the CBC Vancouver Chamber Orchestra . He was a longtime member of the Vancouver Symphony Orchestra and was married to VSO violinist Angelina Avison...
... Yorkshire Sergeant - Jimmy WinstonJimmy WinstonJimmy Winston was the original Keyboard player with Small Faces who rehearsed in the large function room above the Ruskin Arms, Manor Park, of which Jimmy's father Bill Langwith was the landlord. Steve Marriott and the rest of the band replaced Winston with Ian McLagan...
... 1st. Hun - Richard Penny ... 2nd. Hun
- R.C. Driscoll ... 3rd. Hun
- Geoffrey Hooper ... Tweed Jacket
- Christopher Wilson ... Farmer
- William Duffy (actor) ... Murdered Farmer
- Mervyn CummingMervyn CummingMervyn Cumming is a British television director. He has directed multiple episodes of the soap operas Coronation Street., Emmerdale and EastEnders. He also directed Brookside, Family Affairs, and both versions of Crossroads...
... Joe Ashton (as Mervyn Patrick) - Denise Mockler ... Emily Ashton
- Ross Allan ... Alf Parsons
- Karen Terry ... Parson's Daughter
- Joan Ward ... Mrs. Parsons
- Brian Crabtree ... Joe Harris
- Susan Sydney ... Liz Harris
- Michael LandyMichael LandyMichael Landy RA is one of the Young British Artists . He is best known for the performance piece installation Break Down , in which he destroyed all his possessions, and for the Art Bin project at the South London Gallery. On 29 May 2008 Landy was elected a member of the Royal Academy of Arts in...
... Jess Arkwright - Louise Kay ... Susan Arkwright
- Bruce Myers ... Bill Riggs
- Margaret ChapmanMargaret ChapmanMargaret Chapman née Duxbury was a British illustrator and painter. Born in Darwen, Lancashire, she studied at Liverpool College of Art alongside Stuart Sutcliffe and John Lennon...
... Prudence Riggs