Tuesday, October 13, 2020

Movie review - "The Loves of Joanna Godden" (1947) ***

Mostly enjoyable tale of life among farmers on the Romney Marsh with Googie Withers as a gal determined to farm despite disdain of her neighbours including hunky John McCallum. So far so feminist but it was Ealing so you sense she'll be miserable until she realises McCallum is the man for her, which is the case.

She does meet and fall for Derek Bond who admires her pluck only he disappears at sea (if I saw that right... they were just at the beach). An old codger likes her, too.

Jean Kent is great fun as her sister. She's not that individual, Kent, but she always goes for it, and her character livens up the piece. Really the film should have focused on both throughout - the good and bad one. I think that would have been more fun, and richer. But that would've been too many women for an Ealing film. Still the ending as is feels abrupt... McCallum is with Kent, she bails... so he goes for Withers. Which is realistic but not satisfying.

Chips Rafferty pops up - he made this after The Overlanders. I liked him because he seems like an old time English farmer with that gangly appearance; the accent is slightly disconcerting.

This has a slightly documentary feel of life on the marshes, which is what Ealing excelled in, so that works. Location shooting helps. Withers has strength as an actor. I enjoyed this.

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