LOVE STORY
UK, 1944, 112 minutes, Black and white.
Margaret Lockwood, Stewart Granger, Patricia Roc, Tom Walls, Reginald Purdell, Moira Lister.
Directed by Leslie Arliss.
Love Story is a pleasing wartime drama from Gainsborough Studios, best known for their costume melodramas to entertain wartime audiences (The Man in Grey, Fanny by Gaslight, Madonna of the Seven Moons). The same stars appear here, but in a contemporary setting - Margaret Lockwood as a concert pianist who has a terminal illness, Stewart Granger as a miner who has served in the war and is gradually going blind. Patricia Roc appears as the strong girlfriend. There is a strong supporting cast of British actors and actresses of the period.
The film boasts an attractive musical score, especially A Cornish Rhapsody written for Margaret Lockwood's character by Hubert Bath. The setting is Cornwall, a small town, the members of the community, their interactions, their patriotism, the putting on of The Tempest in a natural amphitheatre on the coast...
However, the focus is on the relationship between Margaret Lockwood and Stewart Granger, the love story. It is a doomed love story because of the illnesses of the two central characters. Done with flair, this is a tearjerking wartime morale-booster.
1.An entertaining love story of the '40s? In later decades? The atmosphere of the war, of Britain in the '40s, morale-boosting?
2.The black and white photography, the Cornwall settings, the town and the coast and the cliffs? The Cornish Rhapsody?
3.The title and audience expectations?
4.The tradition of films with terminal illnesses, relationships, sadness and despair, indifference and courage, hope? The illnesses and recovery as symbols of the experience of Britain in the war?
5.Margaret Lockwood as Lissa: her skills in playing the piano, her relationship with her manager, her wanting to go into active service, the tests, the revelation of her illness, her decisions?
6.The hotel, its old English style, the boarders, the townspeople? Her meeting Tom, their discussions, the bond of friendship?
7.Stewart Granger as Kit, the debonair Englishman? The ambiguity in the town? Lissa hearing about him, meeting him on the cliff, the mock rescue? The bond between the two, sharing ideas but not their illnesses? Judy and her relationship to each? Kit and his preoccupation with his freedom, his job? His not wanting to make any commitment for the mine? The theme of the Miller of Dee - and no attachments? The happiness of the two, sharing together? Kit's story, his behaviour, judged by the townspeople, Judy knowing the truth? Tom and his disappointment? Lissa and her dismay? Judy and the revelation of the truth? The mine, exploration, the disaster, leading the rescue? Lissa discovering Kit and the braille? The build-up to the operation, giving him confidence? Her moving away? Kit and his disappointment, the recovery, the decision to marry Judy, the final confrontation at the theatre?
8.Lissa and her discovering the truth about Kit, the confrontation with Judy? The farewell, the operation - the play and the performance and Lissa's inability to perform? The collapse? Her doing a deal with Judy, moving away, performing for the troops, being heard on the radio? The final concert? Kit and his arrival - Tom helping him to see the truth?
9.Judy, her love for Kit, devotion, knowing him for a long time? Matter of fact, the smoking? Putting on The Tempest, the theatre, the rehearsals, the preparations? The truth about Kit for Lissa? The hostility, doing the deal? The play and the collapse? The success of the operation, Kit's return, the possibility of marrying? The meeting in the theatre, her stepping back?
10.Tom, his background, accent, friendliness? In the hotel? Retired, the possibility of the war job, offering it to Kit? His judging him? The friendship with Lissa, with Judy? Discovering the truth? His apologies? His going to the theatre, helping Judy to see the truth about her relationship with Kit?
11.The background of the people in the hotel, the staff, the guests, men and women in war, the performance of the play?
12.A portrait of England in 1944, audiences identifying with situations and characters? The assessment of the morale-building war film in retrospect?
