The Blind Goddess (1948 film): Difference between revisions

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| caption = British pressbook
| caption = British pressbook
| director = [[Harold French]]
| director = [[Harold French]]
| producer = [[Betty E. Box]] <br> Harold French
| producer = Harold French<br>'''executive'''<br>[[Betty E. Box]]
| writer = [[Muriel Box]]<br />[[Sydney Box]]
| writer = [[Muriel Box]]<br />[[Sydney Box]]
| based_on = play ''[[The Blind Goddess (play)|The Blind Goddess]]'' by [[Patrick Hastings]]
| based_on = play ''[[The Blind Goddess (play)|The Blind Goddess]]'' by [[Patrick Hastings]]
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| studio = [[Gainsborough Pictures]]
| studio = [[Gainsborough Pictures]]
| distributor = [[General Film Distributors]] (UK)
| distributor = [[General Film Distributors]] (UK)
| released = 9 September 1948 (London) (UK)
| released = 9 September 1948 (London) (UK)<br>June 1949 (USA)<ref>Of Local Origin
New York Times 22 June 1949: 28.</ref>
| runtime = 87 minutes
| runtime = 87 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| country = United Kingdom
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| followed_by =
| followed_by =
}}
}}
'''''The Blind Goddess''''' is a 1948 British [[drama film]] directed by [[Harold French]] and starring [[Eric Portman]], [[Anne Crawford]] and [[Hugh Williams]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/26276|title=The Blind Goddess (1948)|work=BFI}}</ref> The screenplay concerns a secretary who sets out to his expose his boss, Lord Brasted, for [[embezzlement]]. It was based on a popular [[The Blind Goddess (play)|play of the same title]] by noted barrister [[Patrick Hastings]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/film/mhz8w/the-blind-goddess|title=The Blind Goddess|author=David Parkinson|work=RadioTimes}}</ref><ref name=tvguide>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-blind-goddess/review/109604/|title=The Blind Goddess|work=TVGuide.com}}</ref> [[Claire Bloom]] made her screen debut in the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/The-Blind-Goddess_1948|title=The Blind Goddess|work=britmovie.co.uk}}</ref>
'''''The Blind Goddess''''' is a 1948 British [[drama film]] directed by [[Harold French]] and starring [[Eric Portman]], [[Anne Crawford]] and [[Hugh Williams]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/26276|title=The Blind Goddess (1948)|work=BFI}}</ref> The screenplay concerns a secretary who sets out to his expose his boss, Lord Brasted, for [[embezzlement]]. It was based on a popular [[The Blind Goddess (play)|play of the same title]] by noted barrister [[Patrick Hastings]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.radiotimes.com/film/mhz8w/the-blind-goddess|title=The Blind Goddess|author=David Parkinson|work=RadioTimes}}</ref><ref name=tvguide>{{cite web|url=http://www.tvguide.com/movies/the-blind-goddess/review/109604/|title=The Blind Goddess|work=TVGuide.com}}</ref>

It was shot at [[Islington Studios]] with sets designed by the [[art director]] [[Norman G. Arnold|Norman Arnold]]. It was made by [[Gainsborough Pictures]], then part of the [[Rank Organisation]]. Gainsborough head of production [[Sydney Box]] worked on the screenplay with his wife [[Muriel Box]].


[[Claire Bloom]] made her screen debut in the film.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.britmovie.co.uk/films/The-Blind-Goddess_1948|title=The Blind Goddess|work=britmovie.co.uk}}</ref>
==Plot==
A Lord sues for libel.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article47221339 |title=THE BLIND GODDESS |newspaper=[[The Australian Women's Weekly]] |location=Australia, Australia |date=5 March 1949 |access-date=21 June 2020 |page=34 |via=Trove }} </ref>
==Cast==
==Cast==
* [[Eric Portman]] as Sir John Dearing KC
* [[Eric Portman]] as Sir John Dearing KC
Line 56: Line 58:
* [[Wallace Bosco]] as Newspaper Seller
* [[Wallace Bosco]] as Newspaper Seller
* [[Philip Ray]] as Porter
* [[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.<ref>Sir Patrick Hastings, 71; Lawyer and Playwright
The Washington Post 28 Feb 1952: B2. </ref> It premiered in 1948, a few years before Hastings' death.<ref>PLAYS IN BRIEF
Courtenay, John. The Sketch; London Vol. 208, Iss. 2695, (Jan 21, 1948): 38. </ref>

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 G. Arnold|Norman Arnold]]. Filming took place in July 1948.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article95719689 |title=FASCINATING JOB |newspaper=[[Kalgoorlie Miner]] |location=Western Australia |date=8 July 1948 |access-date=21 June 2020 |page=2 |via=Trove }} </ref>

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.<ref>Round the British Studios
Nepean, Edith. Picture Show; London Vol. 52, Iss. 1334, (Feb 7, 1948): 7. </ref>

Betty Box, who produced, requested the original script by modified so that Lady Brasted did not take a lover but only pretended to.<ref name="box"/>
==Release==
The film was released in the US in 1949. The American distributor tried to engaged interest by advertising the film in the New York Law Journal.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://archive.org/details/variety174-1949-06/page/n255/mode/1up?q=%22blind+goddess%22|magazine=Variety|title=Inside Pictures|date=29 June 1949|page-16}}</ref>
==Reception==
⚫
===Critical===
''Variety'' said "the film is very much a carbon copy of the original play" but praised the handing and acting.<ref>[https://archive.org/details/variety171-1948-09/page/n251/mode/1up?q=%22blind+goddess%22 Review of film] at Variety</ref>


⚫
==Critical reception==
''[[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";<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/06/23/archives/at-the-embassy.html|title=At the Embassy|date=23 June 1949|publisher=|accessdate=10 June 2018|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> while ''[[TV Guide]]'' noted, "good performances help keep this rather stagy and stiff adaptation moving."<ref name=tvguide/>
''[[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";<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1949/06/23/archives/at-the-embassy.html|title=At the Embassy|date=23 June 1949|publisher=|accessdate=10 June 2018|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> while ''[[TV Guide]]'' noted, "good performances help keep this rather stagy and stiff adaptation moving."<ref name=tvguide/>
===Box Office===
The film was not a success at the box office.<ref name=
box">{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com.au/books?id=lIyvAwAAQBAJ&pg=PA157&lpg=PA157&dq=%22blind+goddess%22+%22sydney+box%22&source=bl&ots=6HQAYO2qXu&sig=ACfU3U242dK0zZJHhXNLddMpvDM3uIloAQ&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwiGoqKq5JLqAhVqzDgGHdyKB44Q6AEwBXoECAgQAQ#v=onepage&q=%22blind%20goddess%22%20%22sydney%20box%22&f=false|page=156-157|title=Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know|first=Sue|last= Harper|publisher=A&C Black|date= 2000 }}</ref>


==References==
==References==
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==External links==
==External links==
*{{IMDb title|0040172}}
*{{IMDb title|0040172}}
*[https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6a56da6d The Blind Goddess] at BFI

*[https://letterboxd.com/film/the-blind-goddess/ The Blind Goddess] at Letterbox DVD
*[http://www.noiroftheweek.com/2014/07/the-blind-goddess-1948.html Review of movie] at Noir of the Week
*[http://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150015346 Blind Goddess] at BFI Collections
{{Harold French}}
{{Harold French}}


Revision as of 11:33, 21 June 2020

The Blind Goddess
British pressbook
Directed byHarold French
Written byMuriel Box
Sydney Box
Based onplay The Blind Goddess by Patrick Hastings
Produced byHarold French
executive
Betty E. Box
StarringEric Portman
Anne Crawford
Hugh Williams
Michael Denison
CinematographyRay Elton
Edited byGordon Hales
Music byBernard Grun
Production
company
Distributed byGeneral Film Distributors (UK)
Release dates
9 September 1948 (London) (UK)
June 1949 (USA)[1]
Running time
87 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£143,000[2]
Box office£88,000 (by July 1953)[2]

The Blind Goddess is a 1948 British 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]

Plot

A Lord sues for libel.[7]

Cast

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 by 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 engaged 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

  1. ^ Of Local Origin New York Times 22 June 1949: 28.
  2. ^ a b c Andrew Spicer, Sydney Box Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 210
  3. ^ "The Blind Goddess (1948)". BFI.
  4. ^ David Parkinson. "The Blind Goddess". RadioTimes.
  5. ^ a b "The Blind Goddess". TVGuide.com.
  6. ^ "The Blind Goddess". britmovie.co.uk.
  7. ^ "THE BLIND GODDESS". The Australian Women's Weekly. Australia, Australia. 5 March 1949. p. 34. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Trove.
  8. ^ Sir Patrick Hastings, 71; Lawyer and Playwright The Washington Post 28 Feb 1952: B2.
  9. ^ PLAYS IN BRIEF Courtenay, John. The Sketch; London Vol. 208, Iss. 2695, (Jan 21, 1948): 38.
  10. ^ "FASCINATING JOB". Kalgoorlie Miner. Western Australia. 8 July 1948. p. 2. Retrieved 21 June 2020 – via Trove.
  11. ^ Round the British Studios Nepean, Edith. Picture Show; London Vol. 52, Iss. 1334, (Feb 7, 1948): 7.
  12. ^ "Inside Pictures". Variety. 29 June 1949. {{cite magazine}}: Text "page-16" ignored (help)
  13. ^ Review of film at Variety
  14. ^ "At the Embassy". 23 June 1949. Retrieved 10 June 2018 – via NYTimes.com.
  15. ^ Harper, Sue (2000). Women in British Cinema: Mad, Bad and Dangerous to Know. A&C Black. p. 156-157.

External links


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