Helen of Four Gates
Encyclopedia
Helen of Four Gates is a British silent film
melodrama, directed by cinema pioneer Cecil Hepworth
and starring Alma Taylor
(in a dual role as mother and daughter), James Carew
and Gerald Ames
.
and was shot on location on the Pennine
moors
around Heptonstall
and Hebden Bridge
, West Yorkshire
, which Carnie Holdsworth had used as the setting for her novel. The film's intertitles were written in the original Yorkshire dialect of the novel.
For over 80 years Helen of Four Gates was believed to be irretrievably lost
, until an original 35mm print was discovered in a film vault in Canada
in 2007.
The baby (also called Helen) grows up believing Abel to be her father, and subject to his bullying and cruelty. As a young woman she meets Martin Scott (George Dewhurst), a student working as seasonal labour on a local farm. The pair fall in love, but Abel now tells Martin of the supposed madness in the Mason blood and Martin breaks off the engagement as a result. The despairing Helen tries without success to follow him over the moors. She is waylaid by Fielding Day (John MacAndrews), an itinerant acquaintance of Abel, who has entered into an agreement with Abel to marry Helen and make her as unhappy as possible, in return for a share in Abel's farm. Helen reluctantly agrees to the marriage as a means of stopping local gossip about how she was jilted by Martin.
A year passes and Helen finds herself trapped in a nightmare marriage while now also having to care for Abel, who has been paralysed by a stroke. She finally discovers that Abel is not her natural father, and in despair tries to drown herself but is rescued by a local farmer. At his home she finds Martin, who has returned to the area unable to forget her. They renew their courtship, but are seen together by Fielding, who beats Helen severely as punishment. Helen escapes from the house and takes flight with Martin onto the moors. Fielding pursues them and tries to shoot them, but is prevented from doing so by a local farm worker who has witnessed the scene and harbours a previous grudge against Fielding. A struggle ensues, during which Fielding falls from a rock and breaks his neck. Helen determines to leave Abel alone to his fate, as she and Martin start to make plans for their future.
. By 1924 he had over-reached himself financially and, unable to meet the demands of creditors, was declared bankrupt. Administrators called in to wind up the company's affairs, and realise whatever assets they could, took the step of seizing all Hepworth's film stock and melting it down to release its marketable silver nitrate
content.
Almost all of Hepworth's feature film output of the 1910s and early 1920s has for many decades been assumed to be lost forever, but searches and appeals to cinema archive facilities and private collectors worldwide continue to be made, notably by the British Film Institute National Archive
. In the case of Helen of Four Gates, this finally bore fruit in 2007 when an original print was found in the vaults of the Cinémathèque québécoise
in Montreal
. A clip and a panorama of stills were shown to an audience in Hebden Bridge in August 2008, the first known public screening of any of the material since the 1920s. The first showing of the entire film took place in June 2010, again in Hebden Bridge, followed by a screening by the BFI in London in August 2010. The print is now held in the BFI National Archive.
A critical evaluation of the film from a 21st century perspective by Bryony Dixon notes: "Hepworth's penchant for the British picturesque and the location shooting and composition are the film's strongest points. The scenes on the hilltops are stunning, composed with receding skylines in deep focus in the best tradition of Victorian photography." However she also observes: "the film feels slightly old fashioned due to Hepworth's unusual editing style which had not followed what was by then the accepted standards of film grammar. The continuity is occasionally spoiled by Hepworth's refusal to cut on action...despite sterling efforts by Alma Taylor and particularly James Carew, the performers are left floundering and resort to a gestural melodramatic manner on occasions."
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
melodrama, directed by cinema pioneer Cecil Hepworth
Cecil Hepworth
Cecil Milton Hepworth was an English film director, producer and screenwriter. He was among the founders of the British film industry and continued making films into the 1920s....
and starring Alma Taylor
Alma Taylor
- Life :Taylor was born in London. She made her first screen appearance as a child actor in the 1907 film His Daughter's Voice. She went on to appear in more than 150 film roles, appearing in a number of larger-budget films such as Shadow of Egypt which was shot on location in Egypt in 1924. Taylor...
(in a dual role as mother and daughter), James Carew
James Carew
James Carew was an American actor who appeared in many films, mainly in Britain. He was born in Goshen, Indiana in 1876 and began work as a clerk in a publishing firm...
and Gerald Ames
Gerald Ames
Gerald Ames was a British actor, film director and Olympic fencer. Ames was born in Blackheath in 1880 and first took up acting in 1905...
.
Production background
The film was adapted from a popular novel of the same name by Ethel Carnie HoldsworthEthel Carnie Holdsworth
Ethel Carnie Holdsworth, British author lived from 1886 to 1962 .-Childhood:...
and was shot on location on the Pennine
Pennines
The Pennines are a low-rising mountain range, separating the North West of England from Yorkshire and the North East.Often described as the "backbone of England", they form a more-or-less continuous range stretching from the Peak District in Derbyshire, around the northern and eastern edges of...
moors
Moorland
Moorland or moor is a type of habitat, in the temperate grasslands, savannas, and shrublands biome, found in upland areas, characterised by low-growing vegetation on acidic soils and heavy fog...
around Heptonstall
Heptonstall
Heptonstall is a small village and civil parish within the Calderdale borough of West Yorkshire, England. The population of Heptonstall, including the hamlets of Colden and Slack, is 1,448. The town of Hebden Bridge lies directly to the southeast...
and Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge
Hebden Bridge is a market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Calderdale, in West Yorkshire, England. It forms part of the Upper Calder Valley and lies 8 miles west of Halifax and 14 miles north east of Rochdale, at the confluence of the River Calder and the River Hebden .A 2004 profile of...
, West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire
West Yorkshire is a metropolitan county within the Yorkshire and the Humber region of England with a population of 2.2 million. West Yorkshire came into existence as a metropolitan county in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972....
, which Carnie Holdsworth had used as the setting for her novel. The film's intertitles were written in the original Yorkshire dialect of the novel.
For over 80 years Helen of Four Gates was believed to be irretrievably lost
Lost film
A lost film is a feature film or short film that is no longer known to exist in studio archives, private collections or public archives such as the Library of Congress, where at least one copy of all American films are deposited and catalogued for copyright reasons...
, until an original 35mm print was discovered in a film vault in Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
in 2007.
Plot
Helen (Taylor) marries a young man who has poisoned her mind against her other suitor Abel Mason (Carew) by convincing her that there is hereditary madness in the Mason family. Within two years Helen's husband is dead and she is dying. She entrusts her baby daughter to Abel to bring up, as she has no family to call on. Abel agrees to take the baby, but Helen does not realise that it is out of desire to gain revenge on her for rejecting him rather than through any altruistic motive.The baby (also called Helen) grows up believing Abel to be her father, and subject to his bullying and cruelty. As a young woman she meets Martin Scott (George Dewhurst), a student working as seasonal labour on a local farm. The pair fall in love, but Abel now tells Martin of the supposed madness in the Mason blood and Martin breaks off the engagement as a result. The despairing Helen tries without success to follow him over the moors. She is waylaid by Fielding Day (John MacAndrews), an itinerant acquaintance of Abel, who has entered into an agreement with Abel to marry Helen and make her as unhappy as possible, in return for a share in Abel's farm. Helen reluctantly agrees to the marriage as a means of stopping local gossip about how she was jilted by Martin.
A year passes and Helen finds herself trapped in a nightmare marriage while now also having to care for Abel, who has been paralysed by a stroke. She finally discovers that Abel is not her natural father, and in despair tries to drown herself but is rescued by a local farmer. At his home she finds Martin, who has returned to the area unable to forget her. They renew their courtship, but are seen together by Fielding, who beats Helen severely as punishment. Helen escapes from the house and takes flight with Martin onto the moors. Fielding pursues them and tries to shoot them, but is prevented from doing so by a local farm worker who has witnessed the scene and harbours a previous grudge against Fielding. A struggle ensues, during which Fielding falls from a rock and breaks his neck. Helen determines to leave Abel alone to his fate, as she and Martin start to make plans for their future.
Cast
- Alma TaylorAlma Taylor- Life :Taylor was born in London. She made her first screen appearance as a child actor in the 1907 film His Daughter's Voice. She went on to appear in more than 150 film roles, appearing in a number of larger-budget films such as Shadow of Egypt which was shot on location in Egypt in 1924. Taylor...
as Helen - James CarewJames CarewJames Carew was an American actor who appeared in many films, mainly in Britain. He was born in Goshen, Indiana in 1876 and began work as a clerk in a publishing firm...
as Abel Manson - Gerald AmesGerald AmesGerald Ames was a British actor, film director and Olympic fencer. Ames was born in Blackheath in 1880 and first took up acting in 1905...
as Hinson - George Dewhurst as Martin Scott
- Gwynne Herbert as Mrs. Tripp
- John MacAndrews as Fielding Day
Loss and rediscovery
On its release Helen of Four Gates was a big success both with cinemagoers and critics, with the evocative and brooding Pennine landscapes being particularly praised and Taylor's status as the biggest female box-office draw in British cinema confirmed. At this time Hepworth's ambition was growing and he was taking risks, which in retrospect were deemed imprudent, to expand his studio set-up at Walton-on-ThamesWalton-on-Thames
Walton-on-Thames is a town in the Elmbridge borough of Surrey in South East England. The town is located south west of Charing Cross and is between the towns of Weybridge and Molesey. It is situated on the River Thames between Sunbury Lock and Shepperton Lock.- History :The name "Walton" is...
. By 1924 he had over-reached himself financially and, unable to meet the demands of creditors, was declared bankrupt. Administrators called in to wind up the company's affairs, and realise whatever assets they could, took the step of seizing all Hepworth's film stock and melting it down to release its marketable silver nitrate
Silver nitrate
Silver nitrate is an inorganic compound with chemical formula . This compound is a versatile precursor to many other silver compounds, such as those used in photography. It is far less sensitive to light than the halides...
content.
Almost all of Hepworth's feature film output of the 1910s and early 1920s has for many decades been assumed to be lost forever, but searches and appeals to cinema archive facilities and private collectors worldwide continue to be made, notably by the British Film Institute National Archive
BFI National Archive
The BFI National Archive is a department of the British Film Institute, and one of the largest film archives in the world. It was originally set up as the National Film Library in 1935; its first curator was Ernest Lindgren. In 1955 its name became the National Film Archive, and in 1992, the...
. In the case of Helen of Four Gates, this finally bore fruit in 2007 when an original print was found in the vaults of the Cinémathèque québécoise
Cinémathèque québécoise
The Cinémathèque québécoise is a film conservatory in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1963, its mission is to "preserve and document film and television heritage in order to make it available to an ever-growing and diversified public."...
in Montreal
Montreal
Montreal is a city in Canada. It is the largest city in the province of Quebec, the second-largest city in Canada and the seventh largest in North America...
. A clip and a panorama of stills were shown to an audience in Hebden Bridge in August 2008, the first known public screening of any of the material since the 1920s. The first showing of the entire film took place in June 2010, again in Hebden Bridge, followed by a screening by the BFI in London in August 2010. The print is now held in the BFI National Archive.
A critical evaluation of the film from a 21st century perspective by Bryony Dixon notes: "Hepworth's penchant for the British picturesque and the location shooting and composition are the film's strongest points. The scenes on the hilltops are stunning, composed with receding skylines in deep focus in the best tradition of Victorian photography." However she also observes: "the film feels slightly old fashioned due to Hepworth's unusual editing style which had not followed what was by then the accepted standards of film grammar. The continuity is occasionally spoiled by Hepworth's refusal to cut on action...despite sterling efforts by Alma Taylor and particularly James Carew, the performers are left floundering and resort to a gestural melodramatic manner on occasions."