Fame is the Spur (film)
Encyclopedia
Fame is the Spur is a 1947
British drama film
directed by Roy Boulting. It stars Michael Redgrave
, Rosamund John
, Bernard Miles
, David Tomlinson
, Maurice Denham
and Kenneth Griffith
. A British politician rises to power, abandoning on the way his radical views for more conservative ones. It is based on the novel Fame is the Spur by Howard Spring
, which was believed to be based on the career of the Labour Party
politician Ramsay MacDonald
.
1947 in film
The year 1947 in film involved some significant events.-Events:*May 22 - Great Expectations is premiered in New York.*November 24 : The United States House of Representatives of the 80th Congress voted 346 to 17 to approve citations for contempt of Congress against the "Hollywood Ten".*November 25...
British 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...
directed by Roy Boulting. It stars Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
, Rosamund John
Rosamund John
Rosamund John , born Nora Rosamund Jones, was an English film and stage actress.She was brought up in Tottenham and became a popular film and stage actress who was known for playing gentle mannered women. John was twice married, first to film editor Russell Lloyd, from 1943–1949, and then to the...
, Bernard Miles
Bernard Miles
Bernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
, David Tomlinson
David Tomlinson
David Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson was an English film actor. He is primarily remembered for his roles as authority figure George Banks in Mary Poppins, fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and as hapless antagonist Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug.-Early life:Born...
, Maurice Denham
Maurice Denham
Maurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...
and Kenneth Griffith
Kenneth Griffith
Kenneth Griffith was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker.-Early life:He was born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Six months after his birth his parents split up and left Tenby, leaving Kenneth with his paternal grandparents, Emily and Ernest, who immediately adopted...
. A British politician rises to power, abandoning on the way his radical views for more conservative ones. It is based on the novel Fame is the Spur by Howard Spring
Howard Spring
Howard Spring was a Welsh author.He began his writing career as a journalist, but from 1934 produced a series of best-selling novels, the most successful of which was Fame is the Spur , which has been both a major film, starring Michael Redgrave, and a BBC television series , starring Tim...
, which was believed to be based on the career of the Labour Party
Labour Party (UK)
The Labour Party is a centre-left democratic socialist party in the United Kingdom. It surpassed the Liberal Party in general elections during the early 1920s, forming minority governments under Ramsay MacDonald in 1924 and 1929-1931. The party was in a wartime coalition from 1940 to 1945, after...
politician Ramsay MacDonald
Ramsay MacDonald
James Ramsay MacDonald, PC, FRS was a British politician who was the first ever Labour Prime Minister, leading a minority government for two terms....
.
Cast
- Michael RedgraveMichael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
- Hamer Radshaw - Rosamund JohnRosamund JohnRosamund John , born Nora Rosamund Jones, was an English film and stage actress.She was brought up in Tottenham and became a popular film and stage actress who was known for playing gentle mannered women. John was twice married, first to film editor Russell Lloyd, from 1943–1949, and then to the...
- Ann - Bernard MilesBernard MilesBernard James Miles, Baron Miles, CBE was an English character actor, writer and director. He opened the Mermaid Theatre in London in 1959, the first new theatre opened in the City of London since the 17th century....
- Tom Hannaway - Carla LehmannCarla LehmannCarla Lehmann was a Canadian film and television actress. She played the role of Lady Mary Hannay in the 1952 television BBC series The Three Hostages.-Selected filmography:* Sailors Three * Once a Crook...
- Lady Lettice - Hugh BurdenHugh BurdenHugh Burden was an English actor and playwright.He was the son of a colonial official and was educated at Beaumont College and trained at the Central School of Speech and Drama and RADA...
- Arnold Ryerson - Marjorie FieldingMarjorie Fielding-Selected filmography:* Quiet Wedding * Spring in Park Lane * Conspirator * The Mudlark * The Lavender Hill Mob * Mandy * The Magic Box...
- Aunt Lizzie - Seymour HicksSeymour HicksSir Arthur Seymour Hicks , better known as Seymour Hicks, was a British actor, music hall performer, playwright, screenwriter, theatre manager and producer. He married the actress Ellaline Terriss in 1893...
- Old Buck - Tony Wager - Hamer as a boy
- Brian WeskeBrian Weske-Selected filmography:* Medal for the General * Quiet Weekend * Fame is the Spur * Just William's Luck * William Comes to Town * Brandy for the Parson * Jazz Boat * On the Fiddle...
- Ryerson as a boy - Gerald Fox - Hannaway as a boy
- Jean Shepeard - Mrs Radshaw
- Guy Verney - Grandpa
- Percy WalshPercy WalshPercy Walsh was a British stage and film actor. His stage work included appearing in the London premieres of R.C.Sherriff's Journey's End and Agatha Christie's And Then There Were None and Appointment with Death .-Partial filmography:*The Diplomatic Lover * Dirty Work * Admirals All...
- Suddaby - David TomlinsonDavid TomlinsonDavid Cecil MacAlister Tomlinson was an English film actor. He is primarily remembered for his roles as authority figure George Banks in Mary Poppins, fraudulent magician Professor Emelius Browne in Bedknobs and Broomsticks and as hapless antagonist Peter Thorndyke in The Love Bug.-Early life:Born...
- Lord Liskead - Charles WoodCharles Wood (singer and actor)Charles Wood was an American singer and actor. After moving to New York City from Redwood City, California, where he grew up, he appeared in five Broadway musicals in the 1940s and 1950s.-Early years:...
- Dai - Milton RosmerMilton RosmerMilton Rosmer was a British actor, film director and screenwriter. He was born in Southport, Lancashire on 4 November 1881. He made his screen debut in the 1916 film The Mystery of a Hansom Cab and continued to act in film and television until 1956...
- Magistrate - Wylie WatsonWylie WatsonWylie Watson was a British actor. Among his best known roles were those of "Mr Memory", an amazing man who commits "50 new facts to his memory every day" in Alfred Hitchcock's 1935 film The 39 Steps, and wily storekeeper Joseph Macroon in the Ealing comedy Whisky Galore!...
- Pendleton - Ronald AdamRonald Adam (actor)Ronald Adam OBE , born Ronald George Hinings Adams, was a British RAF officer, an actor on stage and screen and a successful theatre manager.-Early life:...
- Radshaws' Doctor - Honor BlackmanHonor BlackmanHonor Blackman is an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in The Avengers and Bond girl Pussy Galore in Goldfinger .-Early life:...
- Emma - Campbell Cotts - Meeting chairman
- Maurice DenhamMaurice DenhamMaurice Denham OBE was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 television programmes and films throughout his long career.-Life and career:...
- Prison doctor - Kenneth GriffithKenneth GriffithKenneth Griffith was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker.-Early life:He was born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Six months after his birth his parents split up and left Tenby, leaving Kenneth with his paternal grandparents, Emily and Ernest, who immediately adopted...
- Wartime Miners' Representative - Roddy HughesRoddy HughesRoddy Hughes was a British film and television actor. He appeared in over 80 films between 1932 and 1961.-Selected filmography:* Say It With Flowers * Poison Pen * Saloon Bar...
- Wartime Miners' Spokesman - Vi KaleyVi Kaley-Selected filmography:* Lloyd of the C.I.D. * Love on the Dole * Fanny by Gaslight * The Fool and the Princess * Woman Hater * My Brother Jonathan * The Mudlark -External links:...
- Old Woman in Election Crowd - Laurence Kitchin - Radshaws's secretary
- Philip RayPhilip Ray-Selected filmography:* Head Office * The Perfect Crime * The Man Who Made Diamonds * Send for Paul Temple * Fame is the Spur * No Place for Jennifer * Derby Day * Before I Wake...
- Doctor - Gerald SimGerald SimGerald Grant Sim is an English actor who is perhaps best known for playing the Rector in To the Manor Born. He is the younger brother of actress Sheila Sim and brother-in-law of actor/director Lord Attenborough.- Career :...
- Reporter - Harry TerryHarry TerryHarry Terry was an English film actor. He appeared in 68 films between 1927 and 1952, including two films directed by Alfred Hitchcock. He was born in London.-Selected filmography:* The Ring...
- Man in Election Crowd - Iris Vandeleur - Woman Who Opens Front Door
- H Victor Weske - Wartime Miners' Representative
- Ben Williams - Radical Orator