So Well Remembered

A typically well-made British drama (with an Anglo-American cast including John Mills, Martha Scott and Trevor Howard); rarely seen today and deserves a far wider audience. Based on a novel by James Hilton ("Lost Horizon"), who also does the narration, "So Well Remembered" captures perfectly the gloom of a poverty-stricken British village; chronicles the efforts of a newspaper editor (Mills) to fight for better living conditions. Great atmospheric black-and-white photography; good performances by Mills and Martha Scott as his ambitious, class-conscious wife who grows ever resentful of her husband's dedication to his village. A small dramatic gem. (Unfortunately not available on video, but was released on laserdisc as part of the now out-of-print RKO Classic Collection).

First of all let me tell you that the copy I watched on video is produced by Hectic House Records and sold in the town of Macclesfield, England, - the ___location at which the movie was shot. Bear in mind that this film has recently been re-discovered, owned by a private collector. The production is in Sepia (that sort of brownish/greenish effect that is neither colour or black and white). The quality of sound is absolutely appalling. Even using a high quality video/TV/separate powered speakers a lot of patience and forgiveness is required by the viewer.

Now on to the movie. What can I say? It is an absolute gem. John Mills' portrayal of George Boswell is almost reminiscent of his performance as Willy Mossop in "Hobson's Choice" (although dare I say even better). Trevor Howard once again plays a doctor (recalling "Brief Encounter"), except this time a sullen, often drunken character; but nevertheless a highly moralistic and commendable Dr. Richard Whiteside. Martha Scott's performance as Olivia Channing reminds males of all ages how it is always possible for a weeping, vulnerable pretty young woman can be a devil in disguise! Great performances from the rest of the cast, including a 'natural' performance from Hayley Mills as baby Julie.

Macclesfield as a Town has changed considerably since 1947; in fact it's one of the wealthiest areas of the whole of the UK in 2004. But scenes in "So Well Remembered" do remain recognisable.

This movie deserves a complete make-over as it is so outstandingly good.

... starring John Mills as George Boswell, politician and newspaper publisher. The film examines his life in the time between the two world wars - From 1919 to 1945. Boswell was raised in the slums of the mill town of Browdley, and as such he wants to improve the situation of the residents there. It is his passion. As a town councilman in Browdley, he starts out the film arguing that the town should not refuse to hire Olivia Channing (Martha Scott) as one of the town librarians just because her father, once owner of several of the town textile mills, went to prison for embezzlement. He wins the day and she is hired. Later Olivia comes to the newspaper he publishes to thank him and they begin to spend time together, fall in love, and are married. About this same time George's good friend, Dr. Whiteside (Trevor Howard) begins drinking heavily.

George is an observant, thoughtful person who is all about righting social injustice in Browdley, and in particular trying to rebuild the slums of Browdley - "company housing" owned by the mills - into something better. The problem is that he thinks that the enemies of what he is trying to do are far off and ephemeral, when in fact, George is literally sleeping with the enemy.

Suffice it to say that Olivia, over time, shows her true colors of believing that she is part of the British aristocracy and is willing to do anything and use anyone to get that position back that she lost when her father went to prison and the family lost its money. It is not so much the more identifiable American trait of wanting great wealth. It is the position she wants back and wealth and power are just a couple of the trappings. For example, she is quite tied to the rotting Channing family mansion on the hill - Ferncliff. It represents position to her. She would never think of replacing it with something more modern, comfortable, or convenient.

Rather unexpected here is Martha Scott playing the part of subtle manipulative temptress. She handles this part well, but somehow seems as out of place as that bow she is always wearing in her hair when she is playing young Olivia.

I've been enjoying watching some British films lately, but I will say that they are an acquired taste for this American viewer. British films are not going to spoon feed you themes or character motivations. Take this film for example - George is not trying to be "well remembered", but because he chooses to stay in Browdley and try to fix his home town to the extent that he can, even when overcome by events such as WWII, he probably will be just that.

This is one of my favorite films - I love the mill town atmosphere and the brooding orchestral score, the cups of tea, and most of all John Mills as a good man who needs twenty five years to see clearly the forces arrayed against him and in particular one person that he once loved as a kindred spirit who turned out to be anything but that. Highly recommended.

Told by way of a retrospective, we join John Mills ("Boswell") who has spent the last twenty five years - including those of WWII - trying to improve the lives of his mill town inhabitants. Back in the day, he is the editor of the local newspaper, and a town councillor, who finds himself defending the job opportunities of "Olivia" (Martha Scott), slated for a position as assistant librarian but finding herself the victim of prejudice. Her mill owning father had been responsible for the building of some of the slum housing in the town. The two fall in love and marry, but things start to take a more serious turn for the couple when an outbreak of diphtheria impacts on both their ambitions (for parliament) and their family leaving the couple separated, and him even more focused on enriching the lives of his local electorate. It is only much later, when conditions in one of her mills deteriorate and a strike looms, that they meet again and he - with the help of his friend "Dr. Whiteside" (Trevor Howard) starts to realise that some of the tragedy that has followed him throughout his life might not have been quite so accidental as he had thought. This film benefits from two strong leading performances and some solid supporting from Patricia Roc ("Julie") and Richard Carlson ("Charles" - the son of "Olivia" upon whom she has come to dote and depend). It's narrated by the writer (James Hilton) and that adds just enough to fill in the gaps as the story of ambition and sadness reaches quite a powerful and touching conclusion. Certainly one of Mills' better efforts, and together with offering us an interesting social commentary of post industrial revolution life in 1930s Engand, makes for a decent watch.

Hectic House in Macclesfield bought an original print of this film and have released it on VHS & DVD- primarily as a historic record of the town in the 1940s. It has been suggested that Macclesfield was chosen as the ___location for "the Lancashire mill town of Bowdley" in 1946, as the Luftwaffe had paid no visits in the preceding years - and much of the film is set in the 1920's. The quality is not fantastic, and it has a sepia tint which may or may not be original. The film went out of copyright, and was unavailable in the UK for many years. Could the film's disappearance have anything to do with Dmytryk's trouble with HUAC?