Windom's Way

Windom's Way
Directed by Ronald Neame
Produced by John Bryan
John Hawkesworth
executive
Earl St. John
Written by Jill Craigie
Based on novel by James Ramsey Ullman
Starring Peter Finch
Mary Ure
Music by James Bernard
Cinematography Christopher Challis
Edited by Reginald Mills
Production
company
J Arthur Rank Organisation
Distributed by Rank Organisation
Release date
 December 1957
Running time
 108 min.
Country United Kingdom
Language English

Windom's Way is a 1957 British thriller film in Eastman Color directed by Ronald Neame set during the Malayan Emergency.

Plot

Dr Alec Windom is a British doctor who works in a village in Malaya. He is visited by his estranged wife Lee.

Cast

Main cast

Supporting cast

Cameo/Uncredited cast

Original Novel

The film was based on a 1952 novel by James Ramsey Ullman, which was reportedly inspired by Dr. Gordon S. Seagrave, who was imprisoned for allegedly helping the Karen people. The novel was set in the fictitious island state of Papaan.[1][2][3]

Ullman says he wanted to tell the story how "in between man - call him the liberal - can get caught between the rollers of fanaticism or authoritarianism on either side; the case of a man trying to do his job and be a human being among other human beings and how hard this is in the twentieth century."[4] Ullman admitted the story of Seagrove "was somewhere in the back of my mind" when he wrote the book.[4]

The book was a Literary Guild choice and became a best seller in the US.[5] Ullman wrote a first draft of a play based on the book.[4]

Production

Film rights to Windom's Way were bought by Carl Foreman, who wrote the script. He sold the rights to this and two other properties to Earl St John of Rank Film Productions. The script was rewritten and 'Anglicized' by Anthony Perry. Perry's draft was considered too "political" and was rewritten by Jill Craigie to be softened. However the resulting work was considerably more left wing than Rank's other colonial war films of this time such as The Planter's Wife and Simba.[6][7]

Ronald Neame had just left The Seventh Sin (1957) during production. He was contacted by his old producing partner John Bryan who suggested Neame make Windom's Way with Peter Finch.

Finch made the film immediately after returning from Australia where he made Robbery Under Arms. Part of the location shoot took place in Corsica. The rest was filmed at Pinewood.[8]

Neame says Corsica was a "difficult location".[9]

Reception

"It was not a successful picture, I'm afraid," said Neame later. "I think it fell between two stools, neither politically profound nor exciting enough as an action film. John just liked the book very much and I would have directed anything to get back to the studios again."[10]

"The finished film may have had too many messages for people to stay interested," Neame later wrote. "It was neither a hit nor a disgrace."[11]

Awards

The film was nominated for four British Academy of Film and Television Arts awards in 1958.[12]

Critical

The New York Times said the film was "without any topical teeth" in which Windom's "political sympathies, like the geography, are so vague that one need have no fear of being subverted by associating with him in this film. All one needs to worry about, precisely, is being a little provoked and bored."[13]

References

  1. ↑ "REVIEWS IN BRIEF". The Sydney Morning Herald (36, 000). New South Wales, Australia. 9 May 1953. p. 8. Retrieved 22 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  2. ↑ "Natives took to Reds after village uprising". The Australian Women's Weekly. 20, (29). Australia, Australia. 17 December 1952. p. 2. Retrieved 22 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. ↑ t Can Happen--and Has--to Doctors in the Far East Wood, Percy. Chicago Daily Tribune (1923-1963); Chicago, Ill. [Chicago, Ill]25 May 1952: c5
  4. 1 2 3 Ullman Wants Down Off Mountain By Rochelle Girson. The Washington Post (1923-1954); Washington, D.C. [Washington, D.C]20 July 1952: B7.
  5. ↑ The Best Sellers New York Times (1923-Current file); New York, N.Y. [New York, N.Y]27 July 1952: BR8.
  6. ↑ British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference by Sue Harper, Vincent Porter Oxford University Press, 2003 p 43-45
  7. ↑ Nelmes, Jill; Selbo, Jule (2015). Women Screenwriters: An International Guide. Springer. p. 645.
  8. ↑ BRITISH SCREEN SCENE.: Televised Feature Results in Lawsuit --New Projects--Bright Inventory Work in Progress "Comeback" Rebuttal By STEPHEN WATTS. New York Times (1923-Current file) [New York, N.Y] 23 June 1957: 93.
  9. ↑ Neame p 156
  10. ↑ Brian McFarlane, Autobiography of British Cinema p 433
  11. ↑ Neame p 156
  12. ↑ https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0052398/awards
  13. ↑ New York Times review of film


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