Sons and Lovers (1960)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Jack Cardiff

Writers:

T.E.B. Clarke (writer)
Gavin Lambert (writer)

Release Date:

29 August 1960 (Sweden)

Genre:

Drama

Tagline:

You'll never forget the young lovers in...

Plot Keywords:

Based On Novel

Awards:

Won Oscar. Another 6 wins & 14 nominations

Cast

Trevor Howard	...	Walter Morel
Dean Stockwell	...	Paul Morel
Wendy Hiller	...	Gertrude Morel
Mary Ure	...	Clara Dawes
Heather Sears	...	Miriam Leivers
William Lucas	...	William Morel
Conrad Phillips	...	Baxter Dawes
Ernest Thesiger	...	Henry Hadlock
Donald Pleasence	...	Mr. Puppleworth
Rosalie Crutchley	...	Mrs. Leivers
Sean Barrett	...	Arthur Morel
Elizabeth Begley	...	Mrs. Radford
Edna Morris	...	Mrs. Anthony
Ruth Kettlewell	...	Mrs. Bonner
Anne Sheppard	...	Rose

Also Known As:

D.H. Lawrence's Sons and Lovers (Australia)

Runtime:

103 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Westrex Recording System)

Certification:

Australia:PG | UK:A (original rating) | UK:PG (DVD rating) | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Company:

Twentieth Century-Fox Productions

Trivia:

Dean Stockwell was cast at producer 'Jerry Wald''s insistence to help the film's chances of distribution in the United States.

Movie Connections:

Version of "Sons and Lovers" (1981)

excellent Lawrence adaptation, absorbing and detailed

This is perhaps Jack Cardiff's best known film as a director, and it is certainly not a letdown. 'Sons and Lovers' was DH Lawrence's most autobiographical novel, and here, although some aspects have been shorn down or removed, the substance of that novel comes through.

In the main roles we have US actor Dean Stockwell as Paul Morel, the son who is suffocated by his overbearing mother, and derided by his miner father. His parents are played by Wendy Hiller and Trevor Howard, and they are brilliant in difficult roles. Stockwell, less so, although he certainly looks the part.

The women in Paul's life are played by Heather Sears - another annoying part as Miriam which reminds me of her 'Room at the Top' performance a few years earlier - and Mary Ure, who is a little bland but watchable as Clara. Somehow Ure never really found her niche on the screen.

The film looks sumptuous and the black and white photography is exactly right. There are moving scenes and moments of comedy, plus a wicked cameo appearance by Ernest Thiesinger as an art collector.

This film is much less known than more showy Lawrence adaptations such as 'Women in Love', but it is excellent, well-paced, and is far from a disappointment.