Tom Brown's Schooldays
Directed byGordon Parry
Screenplay byNoel Langley
Based onthe novel by Thomas Hughes
Produced byBrian Desmond Hurst
Starring
CinematographyC. M. Pennington-Richards
Edited byKenneth Heeley-Ray
Music byRichard Addinsell
Production
company
Talisman Productions
Distributed by
Release dates
  • 17 April 1951 (1951-04-17) (UK)
  • 2 November 1951 (1951-11-02) (US)
Running time
93 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Tom Brown's Schooldays is a 1951 British drama film, directed by Gordon Parry, produced by Brian Desmond Hurst, and starring John Howard Davies, Robert Newton and James Hayter.[1] It is based on the 1857 novel of the same name by Thomas Hughes.[2]

Cast

Production

Rugby School was used as a filming location.[3]

Critical reception

Monthly Film Bulletin said "The opening scenes of Tom Brown’s Schooldays establish a pleasing atmosphere. Tom’s arrival at the school and the early scenes at Rugby (particularly the charmingly handled sing-song) give rise to hopes that the director might pull off this almost impossible subject. After this, however, the script fatally compromises: the boring scenes chronicling Doctor Arnold’s struggle to improve the school (his part is written as that of a lonely, single-minded reformer with none of the traditional severity), and the awkwardly tacked-on serminising at the end, spoil the robust, Boy’s Own Paper feeling of the opening without substituting a new one. This apart, the film's main failure lies in John Howard Davies’ lifeless playing of Tom. John Forrest overplays Flashman atrociously, which might not have mattered had the film stuck consistently to its boisterous, schoolboy story intentions. Robert Newton is, by contrast, surprisingly subdued, while John Charlesworth and Glyn Dearman play naturally and well among a large cast of self-conscious boys."[4]

"Isn't quite as good as the 1940 Hollywood adaptation," thought Allmovie;[2] whereas The New York Times found it "superior in every way to the one made in Hollywood some years back. The quaint customs have an English-cut, at least".[5]

Variety applauded the acting of John Howard Davies, Robert Newton and "a standout performance by John Forrest as the sneering, bullying Flashman".[3]

Time Out approved the "solidly carpentered third screen version of Thomas Hughes' famous Rugby story – atmospherically shot on location in the old school itself."[6]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 3/5 stars, writing: "Shot on location at Rugby School, this is a reverential, if rather lacklustre, rendition of Thomas Hughes's famous portrait of public school life. Robert Newton gives a performance of almost saintly sincerity as the headmaster intent on ridding his school of class prejudice and bullying. John Howard Davies does a nice line in smiling through the tears as Tom Brown, but the film belongs squarely to John Forrest, who, as Flashman, is the epitome of vicious snobbery."[7]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Unexciting remake featuring one surprisingly strong performnce."[8]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Faithful but uninspired version of a classic story: a popular success however."[9]

References

  1. ↑ "Tom Brown's Schooldays". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 19 November 2023.
  2. 1 2 "Tom Brown's School Days (1951) - Gordon Parry - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related - AllMovie".
  3. 1 2 Variety Staff (1 January 1951). "Review: 'Tom Brown's Schooldays'".
  4. ↑ "Tom Brown's Schooldays". Monthly Film Bulletin. 18 (204): 260. 1951 – via ProQuest.
  5. ↑ Crowther, Bosley (8 January 1952). "THE SCREEN IN REVIEW; British Version of 'Tom Brown's School Days' Has Premiere at Park Avenue Theatre" – via NYTimes.com.
  6. ↑ "Tom Brown's Schooldays".
  7. ↑ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 946. ISBN 9780992936440.
  8. ↑ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 1038. ISBN 0586088946.
  9. ↑ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 390. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
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