The Holly and the Ivy (film)
Encyclopedia
The Holly and the Ivy is a 1952
drama film
about an English clergyman whose neglect of his grown offspring, in his zeal to tend to his parishioners, comes to the surface at a Christmas family gathering. It stars Ralph Richardson
, Celia Johnson
, and Margaret Leighton. It was adapted from a play by Wynyard Browne
with Margaret Halstan as Aunt Lydia and Maureen Delaney as Aunt Bridget repeating their roles from the stage.
imbues this poignant adaptation of Wynward Browne's West End
stage hit with Chekhov
's spirit and relocates the Russian's genius for deftly drawn characters to a rambling Norfolk
parsonage on Christmas Eve. Apart from a few introductory scenes in the capital, director George More O'Ferrall does little to hide the story's stage origins. But the family's confinement in a remote, snowy village reinforces the sense of detachment that Richardson's offspring have mistakenly imposed upon him and allows the screenplay to focus on such Chekhovian themes as the vagaries of emotion, the agony of disillusion, the breakdown of communication and the desecration of authority. The performances and clipped enunciation may seem antiquated to those reared on the kitchen sink realism that was about to transform British filmmaking. But to austerity audiences, a clergyman accepting his daughter drowning her sorrows [in alcohol] after personal tragedy would have seemed daring in both its honesty and its humanism. So while The Holly and The Ivy now radiates a nostalgic glow, it is actually a revealing record of a country on the cusp of the dramatic social, economic and cultural change that has, sadly, made faith, fidelity and family feel like relics of a distant past."
1952 in film
The year 1952 in film involved some significant events.-Events:* January 10 - Cecil B. DeMille's circus epic, The Greatest Show on Earth, premieres at Radio City Music Hall in New York City....
drama film
Drama film
A drama film is a film genre that depends mostly on in-depth development of realistic characters dealing with emotional themes. Dramatic themes such as alcoholism, drug addiction, infidelity, moral dilemmas, racial prejudice, religious intolerance, poverty, class divisions, violence against women...
about an English clergyman whose neglect of his grown offspring, in his zeal to tend to his parishioners, comes to the surface at a Christmas family gathering. It stars Ralph Richardson
Ralph Richardson
Sir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
, Celia Johnson
Celia Johnson
Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson DBE was an English actress.She began her stage acting career in 1928, and subsequently achieved success in West End and Broadway productions. She also appeared in several films, including the romantic drama Brief Encounter , for which she received a nomination for the...
, and Margaret Leighton. It was adapted from a play by Wynyard Browne
Wynyard Browne
Wynyard Barry Browne was an English playwright.He was born in London in 1911, and educated at Marlborough and Christ's College, Cambridge. His plays include 'The Holly and the Ivy', which was first produced at the Duchess Theatre in London in 1950 and was later made into a film, for which he wrote...
with Margaret Halstan as Aunt Lydia and Maureen Delaney as Aunt Bridget repeating their roles from the stage.
Cast
- Ralph RichardsonRalph RichardsonSir Ralph David Richardson was an English actor, one of a group of theatrical knights of the mid-20th century who, though more closely associated with the stage, also appeared in several classic films....
as Reverend Martin Gregory - Celia JohnsonCelia JohnsonDame Celia Elizabeth Johnson DBE was an English actress.She began her stage acting career in 1928, and subsequently achieved success in West End and Broadway productions. She also appeared in several films, including the romantic drama Brief Encounter , for which she received a nomination for the...
as Jenny Gregory - Margaret Leighton as Margaret Gregory
- Denholm ElliottDenholm ElliottDenholm Mitchell Elliott, CBE was an English film, television and theatre actor with over 120 film and television credits...
as Michael Gregory - Hugh WilliamsHugh WilliamsHugh Williams was an English actor and dramatist of Welsh descent.-Personal life:...
as Richard Wyndham - John GregsonJohn GregsonJohn Gregson was an English actor.He was born Harold Thomas Gregson, of Irish descent, and grew up in Wavertree, Liverpool, where he was educated at Greenbank Road primary school, later St Francis Xavier School...
as David Patterson - Margaret Halstan as Aunt Lydia
- Maureen Delaney as Aunt Bridget
- William HartnellWilliam HartnellWilliam Henry Hartnell was an English actor. During 1963-66, he was the first actor to play the Doctor in the long-running BBC science fiction television series Doctor Who.-Early life:...
as Company Sergeant Major - Robert FlemyngRobert FlemyngRobert Flemyng OBE, MC was a British film and stage actor.Flemyng was born in Liverpool, the son of a doctor, and was educated at Haileybury. He began his career as a medical student before abandoning medicine to become an actor. Flemyng made his stage debut in the early 1930s, and worked steadily...
as Major - Roland CulverRoland CulverRoland Culver OBE was a British stage, film, and television actor.-Life and career:...
as Lord B.
Criticism
"Russian screen writer Anatole de GrunwaldAnatole de Grunwald
Anatole "Tolly" de Grunwald was a British film producer and screenwriter.Anatole de Grunwald was born in Petrograd , Russia, the son of a diplomat in the service of Tsar Nicholas II. He was seven years old when his father was forced to flee with his family to England during the 1917 Bolshevik...
imbues this poignant adaptation of Wynward Browne's West End
West End theatre
West End theatre is a popular term for mainstream professional theatre staged in the large theatres of London's 'Theatreland', the West End. Along with New York's Broadway theatre, West End theatre is usually considered to represent the highest level of commercial theatre in the English speaking...
stage hit with Chekhov
Anton Chekhov
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov was a Russian physician, dramatist and author who is considered to be among the greatest writers of short stories in history. His career as a dramatist produced four classics and his best short stories are held in high esteem by writers and critics...
's spirit and relocates the Russian's genius for deftly drawn characters to a rambling Norfolk
Norfolk
Norfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast and to the north-west the county is bordered by The Wash. The county...
parsonage on Christmas Eve. Apart from a few introductory scenes in the capital, director George More O'Ferrall does little to hide the story's stage origins. But the family's confinement in a remote, snowy village reinforces the sense of detachment that Richardson's offspring have mistakenly imposed upon him and allows the screenplay to focus on such Chekhovian themes as the vagaries of emotion, the agony of disillusion, the breakdown of communication and the desecration of authority. The performances and clipped enunciation may seem antiquated to those reared on the kitchen sink realism that was about to transform British filmmaking. But to austerity audiences, a clergyman accepting his daughter drowning her sorrows [in alcohol] after personal tragedy would have seemed daring in both its honesty and its humanism. So while The Holly and The Ivy now radiates a nostalgic glow, it is actually a revealing record of a country on the cusp of the dramatic social, economic and cultural change that has, sadly, made faith, fidelity and family feel like relics of a distant past."