The Brave Don't Cry
| The Brave Don't Cry | |
|---|---|
Associated British-Pathé (UK) | |
Release date |
|
Running time | 89 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Brave Don't Cry is a 1952 British
Plot
A group of coalminers are trapped underground after a fall.
The story follows the trapped men, their rescuers, and their families as they struggle to dig them out before the oxygen is exhausted.
A phone line exists to the trapped men.
The efforts are hampered by firedamp.
Cast
- John Gregson as Dr John Cameron
- Meg Buchanan as Margaret Wishart
- John Rae as Donald Sloan
- Fulton Mackay as Dan Wishart
- Andrew Keir as Charlie Ross
- Wendy Noel as Jean Knox
- Russell Waters as Hughie Aitken
- Jameson Clark as Doctor Andrew Kerr
- Eric Woodburn as Rab Elliott
- Archie Duncan as Walter Hardie
- Jack Stewart as Willie Duncan
- Anne Butchart as Biddy Ross
- Mac Picton as Jim Knox
- Jean Anderson as Mrs. Sloan
- John Singer as Tam Stewart
- Russell Hunter as Police Sergeant
- Sam Kydd as Porter
Production
It was originally known as What God Forgot. John Grierson head of Group 3 called the script "one of the most moving I have read for years".[3]
The song used at the start and the end is Kishmul's Galley, a traditional Scots song, sung by Kenneth McKellar.
Critical reception
In a contemporary review, The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "in its semi-documentary, semi-impersonal way The Brave Don't Cry is an estimable achievement, effectively sustaining the dramatic tension and sketching its characters with directness and a refreshing absence of mannerisms. Its limitations are the limitations of its genre - dramatic reportage rather than personal statement, observation without passion. The method works very well for many of the scenes, but the more emotional moments tend to seem either theatrical or (as in the case of Mrs. Sloan's reunion with her husband) conventionally understated. In its genre, though, the film stands quite high, and it gains greatly from the use of unfamiliar players. There are particularly good performances from Fulton Mackay, Jameson Clark, Jean Anderson and John Rae; and the folk song used over the credits and at the end - there is no background music - is highly effective."[4]
References
- ^ "The Brave Don't Cry (1952) - BFI". BFI. Archived from the original on 14 January 2009. Retrieved 30 July 2015.
- ^ Harper & Porter p.187
- ^ Grierson, John (27 September 1951). "Three's Company Adds Up". Kine Weekly.
- ^ "The Brave Don't Cry (Philip Leacock, 1952)".
Bibliography
- Harper, Sue & Porter, Vincent. British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference. Oxford University Press, 2007.
External links
- The Brave Don't Cry at IMDb
