The Blind Goddess (1948 film)
| The Blind Goddess | |
|---|---|
 British pressbook | |
| Directed by | Harold French |
| Written by | |
| Based on | play The Blind Goddess by Patrick Hastings |
| Produced by |
|
| Starring | |
| Cinematography | Ray Elton |
| Edited by | Gordon Hales |
| Music by | Bernard Grun |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 87 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £143,000[2] |
| Box office | £88,000 (by July 1953)[2] |
The Blind Goddess is a 1948 British courtroom drama film directed by Harold French and starring Eric Portman, Anne Crawford and Hugh Williams.[3] The screenplay concerns a secretary who sets out to his expose his boss, Lord Brasted, for embezzlement. It was based on a popular play of the same title by noted barrister Patrick Hastings.[4][5]
Claire Bloom made her screen debut in the film.[6]
The "blind goddess" in question is Justice herself.
Plot[]
Lord Arthur Brasted sues for libel when his secretary announces he is guilty of murder and embezzlement.[7]
The secretary refuses to waver in his story, which is complicated by his former love of Lady Brasted. Cross-examination focusses on this and accuses the Secretary of blackmail.
Cast[]
- Eric Portman as Sir John Dearing KC
- Anne Crawford as Lady Helen Brasted
- Hugh Williams as Lord Arthur Brasted
- Michael Denison as Derek Waterhouse
- Nora Swinburne as Lady Dearing
- Raymond Lovell as Frank Mainwaring KC
- Claire Bloom as Mary Dearing
- Frank Cellier as The Judge
- Clive Morton as Mersel
- Elspet Gray as Daphne Dearing
- Maurice Denham as Johnson - The Butler
- Cecil Bevan as Morton
- John Stone as Sir John's Junior
- Philip Saville as Mainwaring's Junior
- Martin Benson as Count Stephan Mikla
- Cyril Chamberlain as Policeman in Park
- Thora Hird as Derek's Charwoman
- Rosemary Treston as Helen
- Martin Miller as Mario - Waiter at the Savoy
- Marcel Poncin as Bertoni
- Carl Jaffe as Johan Meyer
- Geoffrey Denton as Foreman of the Jury
- Noel Howlett as Court Usher
- Wallace Bosco as Newspaper Seller
- Philip Ray as Porter
Production[]
Patrick Hastings was a successful lawyer who wrote plays in his spare time, of which Blind Goddess was most popular.[8] It premiered in 1948, a few years before Hastings' death.[9]
Film rights were purchased by Gainsborough Productions, then part of the Rank Organisation. Gainsborough head of production Sydney Box worked on the screenplay with his wife Muriel Box. It was shot at Islington Studios with sets designed by the art director Norman Arnold. Filming took place in July 1948.[10]
It was the film debut of Claire Bloom. She had auditioned for the part of Ophelia in Hamlet and been unsuccessful, but her screen test impressed the Rank Organisation and they put her under contract.[11]
Betty Box, who produced, requested the original script be modified so that Lady Brasted did not take a lover but only pretended to.[2]
Release[]
The film was released in the US in 1949. The American distributor tried to engage interest by advertising the film in the New York Law Journal.[12]
Reception[]
Critical[]
Variety said "the film is very much a carbon copy of the original play" but praised the handing and acting.[13]
The New York Times wrote, "Justice, the poets have it, is a blind goddess...But the (film), which arrived at the Forty-second Street Embassy yesterday, illustrates that justice is not blind precisely but merely myopic and rather routine";[14] while TV Guide noted, "good performances help keep this rather stagy and stiff adaptation moving."[5]
Box Office[]
The film was not a success at the box office.[15]
References[]
- ^ Of Local Origin New York Times 22 June 1949: 28.
- ^ a b c Andrew Spicer, Sydney Box Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 210
- ^ "The Blind Goddess (1948)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009.
- ^ David Parkinson. "The Blind Goddess". RadioTimes.
- ^ a b "The Blind Goddess". TVGuide.com.
- ^ "The Blind Goddess". britmovie.co.uk.
- ^ "THE BLIND GODDESS". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia. 5 March 1949. p. 34. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ Sir Patrick Hastings, 71; Lawyer and Playwright The Washington Post 28 Feb 1952: B2.
- ^ PLAYS IN BRIEF Courtenay, John. The Sketch; London Vol. 208, Iss. 2695, (Jan 21, 1948): 38.
- ^ "FASCINATING JOB". Kalgoorlie Miner. Western Australia. 8 July 1948. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Trove.
- ^ Round the British Studios Nepean, Edith. Picture Show; London Vol. 52, Iss. 1334, (Feb 7, 1948): 7.
- ^ "Inside Pictures". Variety. 29 June 1949. p. 16.
- ^ Review of film at Variety
- ^ "At the Embassy". 23 June 1949. Retrieved 10 June 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
- ^ Harper, Sue (2000). Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. A&C Black. pp. 156–157. ISBN 9781441134981.
External links[]
- The Blind Goddess at IMDb
- The Blind Goddess at BFI
- The Blind Goddess at Letterbox DVD
- Review of movie at Noir of the Week
- Blind Goddess at BFI Collections
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- 1948 films
- English-language films
- British films
- 1948 drama films
- Films directed by Harold French
- British films based on plays
- British drama films
- Films with screenplays by Muriel Box
- Films with screenplays by Sydney Box
- Films set in London
- Films set in Prague
- Gainsborough Pictures films
- Islington Studios films
- British black-and-white films
- 1940s British film stubs