The Stars Look Down
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| The Stars Look Down | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Carol Reed |
| Produced by | Isadore Goldsmith |
| Written by | A.J. Cronin (novel) and J.B. Williams |
| Starring | Michael Redgrave, Margaret Lockwood, Emlyn Williams, Nancy Price, Allan Jeayes, and Edward Rigby |
| Music by | Hans May |
| Cinematography | Ernest Palmer |
| Editing by | Reginald Beck |
| Distributed by | Grand National Pictures (UK) Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer (USA) |
| Release date(s) | 1939 |
| Running time | 110 min. |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
The Stars Look Down is a novel by A. J. Cronin, initially published in 1935. It was his fourth novel, and one of his most popular. A film version was also produced in 1939.
The novel is set in 'Sleescale', a mining town on the coast of Northumberland, as well as 'Tynecastle' (Newcastle). 'Sleescale' is fictional, but based on an excellent knowledge of similar places and people. Cronin, a Scot, served as Medical Inspector of Mines in Wales during the 1920s.
Beginning before World War I and extending into the 1930s, the story shows the different careers of several individuals. Principally a miner's son who seeks to qualify as a doctor, a miner who becomes a businessman and the mine owner's son in conflict with his domineering father.
The film version was released in 1939 with Michael Redgrave playing the young doctor and Margaret Lockwood in the role of his wife. The film's narration is by Lionel Barrymore.
In 2004, North Eastern playwright Alex Ferguson adapted the novel for NTC Theatre Company. An ensemble of 5 actors played all the parts: Alan Park (Joe Gowlan/ Arthur Barras), Ross Waiton (Davie Fenwick), Kim Evans (Jenny Sunley, Hughie Fenwick), Jackie Fielding (Martha Fenwick), and Steve Wedd (Robert Fenwick/ Richard Barrass). The play was directed by Gillian Hambleton. The play met with resounding critical success, breathing new life into Cronin's timeless tale.
[edit] Synopsis
The novel centres on three very different men:
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- Davey Fenwick comes from a mining family and aspires to be a doctor. But he is also drawn towards politics, becoming a strong supporter of nationalisation.
- Joe Gowlan begins as a miner, drifts and then becomes upwardly mobile during the years of the First World War.
- Arthur Barras is the son of Richard Barras, owner of the Neptune mine. He is unhappy with his father's values but also feels too weak to do much about it.
Jenny Sunley is Davey's indifferent wife who craves social status, and other characters have short but distinct tales of their own. Cronin shows a broad sympathy for the workers and dislike of the bosses, but also allows that at least some of the bosses can be decent at a personal level.
Central to the story is the Neptune mine and a major accident that occurs there. The Great War is also a factor: do you volunteer to fight, volunteer for non-military duties, use trickery to evade service or openly defy the system by refusing call-up? There is a brief description of one of the tribunals that examined conscientious objectors, often refusing to accept their objection as valid. There is also a clear commitment to the idea of nationalising the mines, replacing the mass of small private owners that existed at the time.
The novel ends with most of the men much changed, and it is an excellent description of working-class life in the North of England during that period.
