To Have and to Hold (1951 film)

To Have and to Hold
Directed byGodfrey Grayson
Screenplay byReginald Long[2]
Based onTo Have and to Hold (a play) by Lionel Brown
Produced byAnthony Hinds
StarringAvis Scott
Patrick Barr
Robert Ayres
Eunice Gayson
CinematographyWalter J. Harvey
Edited byJames Needs
Music by
Production
company
Distributed byExclusive Films (UK)
Release date
  • 14 February 1951 (1951-02-14)[1]
Running time
63 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

To Have and to Hold is a 1951 British second feature ('B')[3] romantic drama film directed by Godfrey Grayson and starring Avis Scott, Patrick Barr and Robert Ayres.[4][5][6] It was one of the few "soap opera"-type films Hammer produced, and did not fare well at the box office. It is in fact today considered a lost film. Production began on June 26, 1950, shot back-to-back with Hammer's next film The Dark Light. The screenplay was by Reginald Long based on the play by Lionel Browne. Long co-wrote the film's theme song "Midsummer Day" with music director Frank Spencer.[7]

Plot

Following a riding accident, country gentleman Brian Harding is crippled and facing imminent death. His final days are spent arranging the future security of his wife and daughter. This extends to encouraging his wife to develop one of her male friendships into a romantic relationship.[8]

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Apart from a tactful performance from Patrick Barr as the cripple, and some pleasant country house backgrounds, the situation is strained for all concerned."[9]

Picturegoer wrote: "TV stars Patrick Barr and Robert Ayres come over well in the male leads of the paralytic and his cousin. Avis Scott does well as the wife, and her brother and sister are capably portrayed by Harry Fine and Ellen Pollock. One of the better British second features."[10]

Picture Show wrote: "It is well acted."[11]

The Radio Times noted "A non-starry but well-played little drama, claustrophobic, certainly not uninteresting, but not quite good enough."[12]

Britmovie called it a "Stiff upper lip romantic melodrama, not quite so bad as it sounds."[13]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Odd, strained little drama, almost redeemed by the acting."[14]

References

  1. ^ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  2. ^ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  3. ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 77. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
  4. ^ "To Have and to Hold". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 10 December 2024.
  5. ^ Hunter, Jack (200). Hunter, Jack. House of horror: the complete Hammer Films story. Creation. p. 189. ISBN 978-0856471155. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
  6. ^ "To Have and to Hold (1951)". Archived from the original on 2 February 2017.
  7. ^ Johnson, Tom (1996). Hammer Films: An Exhaustive Filmography. North Carolina: McFarland. p. 55. ISBN 0-7864-0034-X.
  8. ^ "To Have and to Hold (1951) - Godfrey Grayson - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie".
  9. ^ "To Have and to Hold". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 18 (204): 236. 1 January 1951 – via ProQuest.
  10. ^ "To Have and to Hold". Picturegoer. 21: 17. 31 March 1951 – via ProQuest.
  11. ^ "To Have and to Hold". Picture Show. 56 (1465): 10. 28 April 1951 – via ProQuest.
  12. ^ "To Have and to Hold - Film from RadioTimes".
  13. ^ "Britmovie - Home of British Films".
  14. ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 389. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
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