“Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures – Eclipse Series #36” is yet another exciting Eclipse Series set that cineaste will definitely want to own.  While the story may be farfetched for some, for those who want to see how censors were pushed thanks to these darker, audacious British films, one can appreciate how bold Gainsborough Pictures was at the time and despite how much controversy these films would get from the British Parliament and by film critics, Gainsborough Pictures did not back down. You get three of the better Gainsborough melodramas included in this DVD set.  “Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures – Eclipse Series #36” is highly recommended!
Image courtesy of © Carlton Film Distributors 1943-1945. © 2012 All Rights Reserved.
TITLE: Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures – Eclipse Series #36
RELEASE OF FILM: The Man in Grey (1943), Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945), The Wicked Lady (1945)
DURATION: The Man in Grey (116 Minutes), Madonna of the Seven Moons (110 Minutes), The Wicked Lady (104 Minutes)
DVD INFORMATION: Black and White, Monaural, 1:33:1 Aspect Ratio
COMPANY: Janus Films/The Criterion Collection
RELEASED: October 9, 2012
During the 1940s, realism reigned in British cinema—but not at Gainsborough Pictures. The studio, which had been around since the twenties, found new success with a series of pleasurably preposterous costume melodramas. Audiences ate up these overheated films, which featured a stable of charismatic stars, including James Mason, Margaret Lockwood, Stewart Granger, and Phyllis Calvert. Though the movies were immensely profitable in wartime and immediately after, Gainsborough did not outlive the decade. This set brings together a trio of the studio’s most popular films from this era—florid, visceral tales of secret identities, multiple personalities, and romantic betrayals.
Back in 1924, Gainsborough Studios was founded by English film producer Michael Balcon and filmmaker Victor Saville. A small studio at the time, it was also a studio where a young man named Alfred Hitchcock would eventually work and get the opportunity to direct.
As Gainsborough Pictures would become a sister company of the Gaumont Film Company and become part of their British division through the 1930′s, Balcon would successfully produce Alfred Hitchcock’s films and these films would eventually establish the names of both men.
While Balcon moved on to work for the British division of MGM, due to Gaumont-British facing financial crisis and the film industry facing more problems due to World War II, Gaumont-British, along with Gainsborough Pictures, Lime Grove Studios and 251 cinemas would be sold to the Rank Organisation.
And the new direction of the company and the war would lead to Gainsborough Pictures focusing on melodramas from 1942-1946. These films would no doubt be controversial as countries focused on war films to boost the image of their military and in Britain, British Parliament wanted the films to be honorable, to become more noble, not for the Gainsborough Pictures melodramas. These films would show the wickedness of individuals. Showcasing protagonists that were sinful and even dangerous. And suffice to say, in Britain, these films were a major hit!
In honor of this period in time for Gainsborough Pictures, the Criterion Collection will be releasing three of the more prominent titles from the company under their Eclipse Series banner.
Titled “Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures – Eclipse Series #36″, the DVD set would feature the following three films (please click on the link to read our review):
Madonna of the Seven Moons (1945)
The Gainsborough melodramas were films that were bold for its time.
Films that featured dark storylines, imperfect characters but unlike it’s American counterpart that faced strict guidelines of the enforcement of the MPAA Code, in Britain, Gainsborough Pictures also faced tremendous criticism from film critics and the British parliament.
But despite the criticism the studio received, it wasn’t going to stop the studio from releasing pictures that they wanted to release. Films that would not only become box office hits for Gainsborough Pictures but making more money than other big budget Hollywood films of its time.
With the release of the Criterion Collection’s “Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures” as part of the Eclipse Series, you get three wonderful melodramas that are perfect examples of films that created quite a bit of a stir in Britain.   While I would have wished for a few more films to be included in this set such as “Love Story” (1944), “Fanny by Gaslight” (1945), “A Place of One’s Own” (1945), “They Were Sisters” (1945) and “Caravan” (1946), I’m hoping that these three films featured in the 36th Eclipse Series set will catch the attention of cineaste and hoping for a second release in the near future, including other melodramas that didn’t make the cut for the first DVD set.
But still, there is no denying that “The Man in Grey”, “Madonna of the Seven Moons” and “The Wicked Lady” are solid offerings on this set and three films that showcase the Gainsborough melodrama.
To kick off Gainsborough’s melodramas, “The Man in Grey†made its debut in theaters with plenty of criticism.
A tale of a love quadrangle in 19th century England about four individuals. One woman who will do anything it takes to become wealthy, one woman who just wants to be loved. A tale of love and deceit.
Needless to say, the film received the ire of film critics who saw the film promoting adultery but also showcasing marriage in negative light. The British Parliament wanted films that focused on nobility and films geared towards a wartime audience. But that is not the kind of films that Gainsborough Pictures wanted to make.  Despite the controversy that this film had received, news of the film made audiences come out and watch it. And eventually, “The Man in Grey†became one of the highest grossing films in England in 1943. And “The Man in Grey†would eventually make Margaret Lockwood, Phyllis Calvert, James Mason and Stewart Granger stars overnight, but its the writing and acting performances that would lend to the film’s efficacy.
The four primary characters are no doubt imperfect. Clarissa is a woman of good intentions, but has an affair because she is not in love with her husband; Hesther is called a “slut†by Rockeby, knowing that her intentions are not pure but evil and malicious and will do anything to be wealthy; Rokeby is a man who also may not be the gentleman as we thought he would be and may know Hesther from long ago; and Lord Rohan may be a man who honors his family name but he is also a man who will do anything to protect the Rohan name.
But not everyone is bad. If there is one person that is seen a good amount of times throughout the film that possibly is seen as someone that is good or someone of hope, it would be the young character, Toby (portrayed by Harry Scott). A young servant (or slave) who tried his best to protect his employer, Clarissa.  Interesting though is the fact the Gainsborough Pictures cast a Caucasian boy and had him in black face.
Overall, “The Man in Grey†is a film that no doubt received plenty of hostility against it.  Imperfect characters who live a life of indecency, sure, affairs are probably not going to stun viewers in today’s climate but considering that the film was in 1943 where America was abiding to its its Motion Picture Production Code, in Britain, Gainsborough Pictures were working on films that can easily be classified as indecent and sinful.
While “Madonna of the Seven Moons” is a film probably seen more by the cineaste as an earlier work of filmmaker Arthur Crabtree. A camera operator turned director, who would go on to work on darker films of the underworld.
“Madonna of the Seven Moons†can be looked at as a tame film compared to other works from Crabtree but for a Gainsborough melodrama, the film that is rather fascinating because of how it deals with split personalities and with rape but also how the storyline would work itself in a circle of hope to tragedy but then finding solace in religion. How these things all work together in the film seems unbelievably farfetched. Especially for the fact that the characters of Maddalena (mother) and Angela (daughter) look like their only several years apart in age.
But as a psychological drama, “Madonna of the Seven Moons†still proves itself to be entertaining. Showcasing Crabtree as a director, once again showing that Phyllis Calvert and Stewart Granger (who both starred in “The Man in Greyâ€) have magnificent chemistry together but also showing their versatility of playing different character roles.
While the film is more demanding of Phyllis Calvert to play a devout Catholic wife who instantly changes to a dangerous gypsy, Stewart Granger plays the criminal kingpin Nino.   But as these two talents are expected to shine in the film, it’s the addition of actress Patricia Roc that would also lend to the film’s popularity as Roc would become one of the top actresses in Britain between 1945-1950.
And like “The Man in Greyâ€, despite the criticism that the Gainsborough Pictures films have received for being too sinful or indecent, the film was still enjoyed by audiences. While films that showcase marital affairs, rape and violence were not going to go well during a time when other countries such as the United States were following a strict movie code for decency, you can’t help but be intrigued by the bravado of Gainsborough Pictures for creating films that they knew would be criticized by the the government and the film critics.
In “The Wicked Ladyâ€, the storyline is much more interesting and entertaining as Barbara Worth is a friend of Caroline, a woman who is getting married to a wealth landowner and immediately, she not only steals the man, she ends up marrying him instead of her friend. Not only that, she attracts many men and bored with her wealthy life, takes on the role of a highwaywoman robbing and stealing and eventually killing.
Like other Gainsborough Pictures melodramas, there is an amoral perspective of the main protagonist. No care in the world of the pain they cause, they do what they do, because they are what they are. No explanations, they are just bad people who are hungry for wealth and a better status.
But what’s interesting about “The Wicked Lady†is that she had the wealth, the status but took on highway robbery as a source of excitement.  Living in a rural city is too boring for her and stealing the jewels of these wealthy individuals makes her happy, and even moreso now that she has becoming a partner of crime with the legendary robber, Captain Jerry Jackson.
Once again, the pairing of actress Margaret Lockwood and James Mason works effectively as both have wonderful chemistry. But then you throw in Caroline (portrayed by Patricia Roc), a woman who is too good to commit any crime and a woman that a viewer can sympathize for. All three talents were able to make this melodrama and its tale of karma to be quite entertaining.
There are not too many films around that time period that would feature a high level of crime, let alone technically a character that is a serial killer, albeit romanticized version of the life of Lady Skelton.
I suppose when there is a juxtaposition of the life of Lady Skelton to other criminals who robbed individuals for sheer excitement, especially with western films, the fact that a melodrama and romance were featured in the film at all may seem preposterous, but that is what is part of the magic of the melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures. Imperfect characters and storylines that are utterly preposterous and farfetched but yet for mid-to-late 1940′s, there was nothing like it. With America censoring their films, “The Wicked Lady†featured crime, multiple murders, adultery, rape and indecent footage (for the time) of uncut dresses and cleavage shots.
Needless to say, the film became the biggest film in the British box office of 1946. Despite the British government and film critics trying to fight against these melodramas, the fact that Gainsborough Pictures were bold enough to create these films and people wanting to watch them, goes to show the popularity and the interest of people wanting to watch darker films that weren’t censored.
Overall, “Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures – Eclipse Series #36” is a wonderful DVD set featuring three entertaining melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures. Sure, I wish there were more films offered with this set, because there are a few other Gainsborough melodramas that would have been a perfect fit. But perhaps a second DVD set for more Gainsborough melodramas will be released in the future.
For now, “Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures – Eclipse Series #36” is yet another exciting Eclipse Series set that cineaste will definitely want to own.  While the story may be farfetched for some, for those who want to see how censors were pushed thanks to these darker, audacious British films, one can appreciate how bold Gainsborough Pictures was at the time and despite how much controversy these films would get from the British Parliament and by film critics, Gainsborough Pictures did not back down.
You get three of the better Gainsborough melodramas included in this DVD set.  “Three Wicked Melodramas from Gainsborough Pictures – Eclipse Series #36” is highly recommended!
