NEVER GIVE AN INCH (SOMETIMES A GREAT NOTION)

US, 1971, 114 minutes, Colour.
Paul Newman, Henry Fonda, Lee Remick, Michael Sarazzin, Richard Jaeckel.
Directed by Paul Newman.

Never Give an Inch 1s the alternate name for Sometimes a Great Notion, one of the commercial successes of 1971 in America. (Richard Jaeckel received an Oscar nomination as did the theme song.) Some critics have found it strange that liberals like Paul Newman and Henry Fonda should appear in a film critical of union pressures.

The film is a saga of the Stamper family, timber men of Oregon, and is outstanding in the beauty of its photography. The actors give characteristic performances, although Henry Fonda has more demands made on his talent than usual and Richard Jaeckel is excellent, especially in the sequence of his death.

Although the film is a piece of Americana, it is interesting for wider audiences and raises many issues. Paul Newman completed the direction, a different kind of project from his previous Rachel, Rachel.

1. The Stamper family motto was "Never Give An Inch". What did it mean to them? What did it mean for the theme of the film? (The original novel and the American version had the title "Sometimes a Great Notion". What does this mean?)

2. Why did the Stamper family take its stand against the unions? Did they have a good ease? What was the union's ease? Were the Stampers really living with 19th century ideas?

3. How did the credit sequences and the conflict between Stampers and Union men set the tone for the film? (Did the theme song add anything?)

4. What kind of men were The Stampers? Why did they have such strong family bonds? Why were they happy working so hard together?

5. Was the picture of logging and the timber industry convincingly portrayed? What did the spectacular scenery and the long sequences showing the details and hard work of the industry add to the film? Would it have been different without them?

6. How did the film also show the hard life of the Stampers - rising, breakfast, work routines, home life, children, marriages, outings, shopping, relationships with the townspeople? How well was this done?

7. What kind of man was Hank - his values and standards, work, marriage, affair with his step-mother, relationship to his father, to Lee, his attitude towards the strike, at play-bikes, football, fights, his values and emotional arises? What kind of man was Henry - the tough old breed, conservative, his view of life as eating, sleeping, working etc, his coping with injuries, his influence in the family, attitude towards Lee and his "hippie" look, his attitude to the strike and behaviour towards the unionists at their visit, his final injuries, death? What kind of men was Lee - the younger generation, victim of parents' ways, drop-out, suicide attempts, city and country ways of life, love of his mother, why did he return, hie hard work, alliance with the family, his values and standards, relationship with Viv (sympathy, a listener), the effect of his father's death, the final defiance? What kind of man was Joby Ben - family, father, worker, religious, enjoying his work, enjoying outings, the ordinary man, his death? What kind of woman was Viv? Why had she married Hank? What was the basis of their marriage? How did she like the Stamper family? Why did she live there so passively? What was the effect of the death of the child? Did she love Hank? Did she fit in well with his way of life? What effect did Lee have on her? Why did she go? At that particular time? Should she have gone?

8. What was the main emphasis of the film? the family in their lives and work or the family in the industrial crisis?

9. Were the strike issues clear? How well were the facts of the strike communicated - the retaliation, town and lack of money, the negotiations, bans? How important was the attitude and death of the cinema manager for the film? What was the effect on Hank and Viv?

10. How moving was the death of Joby Ben? How well was it filmed? Why? How important was it for audience reaction?

11. How moving was Henry's death? Did it fit into the film with the mood of Joby Ben's death? What effect did the death have on Hank, on Lee?

12. What was the meaning of Hank's isolation after his father's death and Lee's baiting?

13. Was the film's finale convincing? What did the Stampers prove? Was this good - for whom? What did this mean for Hank's future? for Lee's? Was the smashed arm an effective symbol?

14. How realistic a film was this? What values were there in such sequences as the Stamper's home life, the picnic-rides, games, fights, drunkenness, the logging episodes? Did the film give real insights into the life of people and their work?