South Riding (film)

1938 film

26 August 1938 (1938-08-26) (UK)

Running time

85 minsCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglish

South Riding is a 1938 British drama film directed by Victor Saville and produced by Alexander Korda, starring Edna Best, Ralph Richardson, Edmund Gwenn and Ann Todd.^[1] It was the film debut of a 14-year-old Glynis Johns.^[2] It is based on the 1936 novel South Riding by Winifred Holtby. The BBC produced a TV adaptation in 2011.^[3]

Plot

A squire becomes involved in local politics.^[4]

Cast

Edna Best as Sarah Burton
Ralph Richardson as Robert Carne
Edmund Gwenn as Alfred Huggins
Ann Todd as Madge Carne
Marie Lohr as Mrs. Beddows
Milton Rosmer as Alderman Snaith
John Clements as Joe Astell
Edward Lexy as Mr. Holly
Joan Ellum as Lydia Holly
Glynis Johns as Midge Carne (her first film appearance and was the last surviving cast member)
Josephine Wilson as Mrs. Holly
Gus McNaughton as Tadman
Herbert Lomas as Castle
Peggy Novak as Bessie Warbuckle
Lewis Casson as Lord Sedgmire
Felix Aylmer as Chairman of Council
Jean Cadell as Miss Dry
Skelton Knaggs as Reginald Aythorne

Production

Hugh Stewart who edited it called it "one of the very best scripts ever written".^[5]

Critical reception

TV Guide wrote, "Not an altogether satisfying love story, it is more interesting as a portrait of pre-WW II life in the country. Excellent sets by Meerson and well shot by Stradling";^[6] while Time Out wrote, "Saville carries Winifred Holtby's tart, witty exposé of Yorkshire power politics to the screen with breathtaking, and totally unexpected, panache."^[7] Leonard Maltin called it "Smoothly made and superbly acted by a flawless cast."^[2]

References

^ "South Riding (1938) - IMDb". IMDb. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
^ ^a ^b "South Riding (1938) - Overview - TCM.com". Turner Classic Movies.
^ "BBC One - South Riding". Retrieved 11 January 2014.
^ "BFI – Film & TV Database – CLEMENTS, John". Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2014.
^ "Hugh Stewart". British Entertainment History Project. 22 November 1968.
^ "South Riding". TVGuide.com.
^ "South Riding".

External links

South Riding at IMDb

Films by Alexander Korda

As director

Watchhouse in the Carpathians (1914)
The Duped Journalist (1914)
Tutyu and Totyo (1914)
Lyon Lea (1915)
The Officer's Swordknot (1915)
White Nights (1916)
The Grandmother (1916)
Tales of the Typewriter (1916)
The Man with Two Hearts (1916)
The One Million Pound Note (1916)
Cyclamen (1916)
Struggling Hearts (1916)
The Laughing Saskia (1916)
Miska the Magnate (1916)
St. Peter's Umbrella (1917)
The Stork Caliph (1917)
Magic (1917)
Harrison and Barrison (1917)
Faun (1918)
The Man with the Golden Touch (1918)
Mary Ann (1918)
Ave Caesar! (1919)
White Rose (1919)
Yamata (1919)
Man of Gold (1919)
Neither at Home or Abroad (1919)
Number 111 (1919)
The Prince and the Pauper (1920)
Masters of the Sea (1922)
A Vanished World (1922)
Samson and Delilah (1922)
The Unknown Tomorrow (1923)
Everybody's Woman (1924)
Tragedy in the House of Habsburg (1924)
Dancing Mad (1925)
Madame Wants No Children (1926)
A Modern Dubarry (1927)
The Stolen Bride (1927)
The Private Life of Helen of Troy (1927)
Yellow Lily (1928)
Night Watch (1928)
Love and the Devil (1929)
The Squall (1929)
Her Private Life (1929)
Lilies of the Field (1930)
Women Everywhere (1930)
The Princess and the Plumber (1930)
The Men Around Lucy (1931)
Rive gauche (1931)
Marius (1931)
Longing for the Sea (1931)
The Golden Anchor (1932)
Service for Ladies (1932)
Wedding Rehearsal (1932)
The Private Life of Henry VIII (1933)
La dame de chez Maxim's (1933)
The Girl from Maxim's (1933)
The Private Life of Don Juan (1934)
Rembrandt (1936)
That Hamilton Woman (1941)
Perfect Strangers (1945)
An Ideal Husband (1947)

As producer only

Men of Tomorrow (1932)
That Night in London (1932)
Women Who Play (1932)
Strange Evidence (1933)
Counsel's Opinion (1933)
Cash (1933)
Catherine the Great (1934)
The Private Life of the Gannets (1934) (short)
The Scarlet Pimpernel (1934)
Things Are Looking Up (1935)
Sanders of the River (1935)
Wharves and Strays (1935) (short)
The Ghost Goes West (1935)
Miss Bracegirdle Does Her Duty (1936) (short)
The Fox Hunt (1936)
Things to Come (1936)
I Stand Condemned (1936)
Men Are Not Gods (1936)
Forget Me Not (1936)
The Man Who Could Work Miracles (1936)
Fire Over England (1937)
I, Claudius (1937) (unfinished)
Dark Journey (1937)
Elephant Boy (1937)
Farewell Again (1937)
Storm in a Teacup (1937)
Action for Slander (1937)
Knight Without Armour (1937)
The Squeaker (1937)
The Return of the Scarlet Pimpernel (1937)
Paradise for Two (1937)
The Divorce of Lady X (1938)
The Drum (1938)
South Riding (1938)
The Challenge (1938)
Prison Without Bars (1938)
Q Planes (1939)
The Four Feathers (1939)
The Rebel Son (1939)
The Spy in Black (1939)
The Lion Has Wings (1939)
Over the Moon (1939)
21 Days (1940)
Conquest of the Air (1940)
The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
Old Bill and Son (1941)
Lydia (1941)
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
Rudyard Kipling's Jungle Book (1942)
The Biter Bit (1943) (short)
The Shop at Sly Corner (1947)
A Man About the House (1947)
Mine Own Executioner (1947)
Night Beat (1948)
Anna Karenina (1948)
The Winslow Boy (1948)
The Fallen Idol (1948)
Bonnie Prince Charlie (1948)
That Dangerous Age (1949)
The Last Days of Dolwyn (1949)
Saints and Sinners (1949)
The Third Man (1949)
The Cure for Love (1950)
The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)
The Angel with the Trumpet (1950)
The Bridge of Time (1950) (short documentary)
My Daughter Joy (1950)
State Secret (1950)
The Wooden Horse (1950)
Seven Days to Noon (1950)
Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951)
The Wonder Kid (1951)
Mr. Denning Drives North (1952)
Outcast of the Islands (1952)
Home at Seven (1952)
Who Goes There! (1952)
Cry. the Beloved Country (1952)
Edinburgh (1952) (short documentary)
Road to Canterbury (1952) (short documentary)
The Sound Barrier (1952)
The Holly and the Ivy (1952)
The Ringer (1953)
Folly to Be Wise (1953)
Twice Upon a Time (1953)
The Captain's Paradise (1953)
The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953)
The Man Between (1953)
The Heart of the Matter (1954)
Hobson's Choice (1954)
The Belles of St. Trinian's (1954)
The Teckman Mystery (1954)
The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955)
Three Cases of Murder (1955)
A Kid for Two Farthings (1955)
The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
Summertime (1955)
Storm Over the Nile (1955)
Richard III (1955)
Smiley (1956)

v t e Films directed by Victor Saville
The Arcadians (1927) Tesha (1928) Kitty (1929) Woman to Woman (1929) The W Plan (1930) A Warm Corner (1930) The Sport of Kings (1931) Hindle Wakes (1931) Michael and Mary (1931) Sunshine Susie (1931) The Faithful Heart (1932) Love on Wheels (1932) The Good Companions (1933) I Was a Spy (1933) Friday the Thirteenth (1933) Evergreen (1934) Evensong (1934) The Iron Duke (1934) The Dictator (1935) Me and Marlborough (1935) First a Girl (1935) It's Love Again (1936) Action for Slander (1937) Dark Journey (1937) Storm in a Teacup (1937) South Riding (1938) The Earl of Chicago (1940) Forever and a Day (1943) Tonight and Every Night (1945) The Green Years (1946) Green Dolphin Street (1947) Desire Me (1947) If Winter Comes (1947) Conspirator (1949) Kim (1950) Calling Bulldog Drummond (1951) 24 Hours of a Woman's Life (1952) The Long Wait (1954) The Silver Chalice (1954) My Gun Is Quick (1957)

Films directed by Victor Saville