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The Stars Look Down (film)
Encyclopedia
The Stars Look Down is a 1940
British film based on A. J. Cronin
's novel
of the same title, initially published in 1935
, which chronicles various injustices in a mining community in North East England
. The film, co-scripted by Cronin and directed by Carol Reed
, stars Michael Redgrave
as Davey Fenwick and Margaret Lockwood as Jenny Sunley. The American release includes narration by Lionel Barrymore
. It is a New York Times Critics' Pick and is listed in The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.
in Cumberland
, followed by seven weeks of shooting at London's Denham
and Twickenham Studios, where an elaborate mine-head was simulated. Later the set was moved to Shepperton Studios
for an additional week of shooting. The original set of the mine-head was used to make up a huge composite set of 40,000 square yards, the largest exterior set ever constructed for a British film at the time. The set consisted of an exact replica of the Workington mine where the location work had been done, including a pit-head complete with cage, ramp, outer buildings, and rows of miners' cottages. To ensure authenticity, pit ponies
from the Cumberland mines were used and the miners' costumes were clothes purchased from colliery workers.
1940 in film
The year 1940 in film involved some significant events, including the premieres of the Walt Disney classics Pinocchio and Fantasia.-Events:*February 7 - Walt Disney's animated film Pinocchio is released....
British film based on A. J. Cronin
A. J. Cronin
Archibald Joseph Cronin was a Scottish physician and novelist. His best-known works are Hatter's Castle, The Stars Look Down, The Citadel, The Keys of the Kingdom and The Green Years, all of which were adapted to film. He also created the Dr...
's novel
The Stars Look Down
The Stars Look Down is a 1935 novel by A. J. Cronin which chronicles various injustices in an English coal mining community. A film version was produced in 1939, and television adaptations include both Italian and British versions....
of the same title, initially published in 1935
1935 in literature
The year 1935 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:* June 15 - W. H. Auden enters a marriage of convenience with Erika Mann.* July 30 - Allen Lane founds Penguin Books to publish the first mass market paperbacks in Britain....
, which chronicles various injustices in a mining community in North East England
North East England
North East England is one of the nine official regions of England. It covers Northumberland, County Durham, Tyne and Wear, and Teesside . The only cities in the region are Durham, Newcastle upon Tyne and Sunderland...
. The film, co-scripted by Cronin and directed by Carol Reed
Carol Reed
Sir Carol Reed was an English film director best known for Odd Man Out , The Fallen Idol , The Third Man and Oliver!...
, stars Michael Redgrave
Michael Redgrave
Sir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
as Davey Fenwick and Margaret Lockwood as Jenny Sunley. The American release includes narration by Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore
Lionel Barrymore was an American actor of stage, screen and radio. He won an Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Free Soul...
. It is a New York Times Critics' Pick and is listed in The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.
Cast
- Michael RedgraveMichael RedgraveSir Michael Scudamore Redgrave, CBE was an English stage and film actor, director, manager and author.-Youth and education:...
as Davey Fenwick - Margaret Lockwood as Jenny Sunley
- Emlyn WilliamsEmlyn WilliamsGeorge Emlyn Williams, CBE , known as Emlyn Williams, was a Welsh dramatist and actor.-Biography:He was born into a Welsh-speaking, working class family in Mostyn, Flintshire....
as Joe Gowlan - Nancy PriceNancy PriceNancy Price, CBE , was an English actress on stage and screen, authoress and theatre director. Her acting career began in a repertory theatre company before progressing to the London stage, silent films, talkies and finally television. In addition to appearing on stage she became involved in...
as Martha Fenwick - Allan JeayesAllan JeayesAllan Jeayes was a British stage and movie actor.He starred as Howard Joyce in the original 1927 Broadway production of The Letter and played Sir Lawrence Wargarve in the 1943 London production of And Then There Were None.Jeayes made his film debut in the 1918 Nelson as Sir William Hamilton...
as Richard Barras - Edward RigbyEdward RigbyEdward Rigby was a British character actor.-Early life:Rigby was the son of Jamaican-born Dr. William Harriot Coke and his wife Liverpool-born Mary Elizabeth of 17 High Street, Ashford. He was educated at Haileybury, and Wye Agricultural College...
as Robert Fenwick - Linden TraversLinden Travers-Life and career:Travers was born Florence Lindon-Travers in Houghton-le-Spring, near Sunderland, the daughter of Florence and William Halton Lindon-Travers. She was the elder sister of Bill Travers, and attended La Sagesse. She made her first stage appearance at the Newcastle Playhouse in 1933...
as Mrs. Laura Millington - Cecil ParkerCecil ParkerCecil Parker was an English character and comedy actor with a distinctive husky voice, who usually played supporting roles in his 91 films made between 1928 and 1969....
as Stanley Millington - 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...
as Harry Nugent, MP - George CarneyGeorge CarneyGeorge Carney was a British film actor.He worked in the Liverpool Cotton Exchange, in a furniture business, then in the Belfast shipping yards...
as Slogger Gowlan - Ivor Barnard as Wept
- Olga LindoOlga Lindo-Filmography:* The Shadow Between * Royal Cavalcade * Dark World * The Last Journey * A Romance in Flanders * Luck of the Navy * The Stars Look Down * What Men Live By...
as Mrs. Sunley - Desmond TesterDesmond TesterDesmond Tester was an English and Australian film actor and television actor, host and executive. He was born in London, England. Among his most notable roles was that of the ill-fated boy Stevie in the Alfred Hitchcock film Sabotage .Tester made his first stage appearance at the age of 12,...
as Hughie Fenwick - David MarkhamDavid MarkhamDavid Markham was an English stage and film actor for over forty years.Markham was born Peter Basil Harrison in Wick, Worcestershire and died in Hartfield, East Sussex....
as Arthur Barras - Aubrey MallalieuAubrey MallalieuAubrey Mallalieu was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s....
as Hudspeth - Kynaston ReevesKynaston ReevesKynaston Reeves was christened Philip Arthur Reeves, and was an English character actor who appeared in numerous films and many television plays and series.-Career:...
as Strother - Clive Baxter as Pat Reedy
- James HarcourtJames HarcourtJames Harcourt was a British character actor. He was born on 20 April 1873 in Headingley, Yorkshire.He started work as a cabinet maker, and drifted into amateur dramatics...
as Will - Frederick BurtwellFrederick BurtwellFrederick Burtwell was an English actor who featured in supporting roles in over 40 British films of the 1930s and 1940s.-Partial filmography:*Down Our Street * Just My Luck...
as Union Official - Dorothy Hamilton as Mrs. Reedy
- Frank Atkinson as Miner
- David HorneDavid Horne (actor)-Biography:British actor and playwright David Horne began his film career in the 1930s, after a distinguished early career in the theatre. He was generally seen portraying pompous, self-satisfied characters...
as Mr. Wilkins - Edmund Willard as Mr. Ramage
Filming locations
There was a week of filming at Great Clifton and St Helens Siddick Colliery at WorkingtonWorkington
Workington is a town, civil parish and port on the west coast of Cumbria, England, at the mouth of the River Derwent. Lying within the Borough of Allerdale, Workington is southwest of Carlisle, west of Cockermouth, and southwest of Maryport...
in Cumberland
Cumberland
Cumberland is a historic county of North West England, on the border with Scotland, from the 12th century until 1974. It formed an administrative county from 1889 to 1974 and now forms part of Cumbria....
, followed by seven weeks of shooting at London's Denham
Denham Film Studios
Denham Film Studios were a British film production studio operating from 1936 to 1952.The studios were founded by Alexander Korda, on a 165 acre site near the village of Denham, Buckinghamshire. At the time it was the largest facility of its kind in the UK, but it was merged with Rank's Pinewood...
and Twickenham Studios, where an elaborate mine-head was simulated. Later the set was moved to Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios
Shepperton Studios is a film studio in Shepperton, Surrey, England with a history dating back to 1931 since when many notable films have been made there...
for an additional week of shooting. The original set of the mine-head was used to make up a huge composite set of 40,000 square yards, the largest exterior set ever constructed for a British film at the time. The set consisted of an exact replica of the Workington mine where the location work had been done, including a pit-head complete with cage, ramp, outer buildings, and rows of miners' cottages. To ensure authenticity, pit ponies
Pit pony
A pit pony was a type of pony commonly used underground in coal mines from the mid 18th up until the mid 20th century.-History:Ponies began to be used underground, often replacing child or female labour, as distances from pit head to coal face became greater...
from the Cumberland mines were used and the miners' costumes were clothes purchased from colliery workers.