Patrick Hamilton’s 20,000 Streets Under the Sky has been
adapted a number of times since this film most notably in a TV series featuring
Sally Hawkins which captured a good deal more of the novel’s content.
Directed by Peter Graham Scott from a Ted Willis script,
Bitter Harvest is a short, sharp shock that focuses on the price of ambition
for a girl from the Valleys, Jennie Jones (Janet Munro) who’s life seems
entirely governed by her choice in men. Or, at least, the person she decides to
be around those men.
Janet Munro was a superb actress who enjoyed some success
with Disney before establishing herself at home with notable performances
alongside Dirk Bogarde in Sebastian
and, before that, Edward Judd and Leo McKern in The Day the Earth Caught Fire. She’s is constantly on the edge of
nervous agitation and carries considerable force with her ability to shift
emotional direction in the blink of an eye. We’re never quite sure about her
character’s capabilities and she surprises when curiosity leads her to break
with home and ultimately her sure-thing boyfriend, to push herself as high up
the social ladder as she can.
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| Janet Munro |
Maybe there’s not enough remaining from the source
material but Munro makes it work and she has some highly capable assistance
from a superb set of cameos – classy
Alan Badel and the Northern screen goddess, Thora Hird - as well as John Stride
as her steadfast boyfriend, Bob Williams.
Scott knew what to expect from his star and works
backwards from her no-holds barred break-down at the start of the film when she
staggers back form a night out to a muse cottage presumably provided by a lover
and then proceeds to trash the place. Her exhausted, tear-streaked face barely
focuses on the bathroom mirror and then we cut back… to Wales and her father’s
shop… before London.
Mr Jones (Derek Francis) is dourly strict and can only
envisage the same future for his daughter as his wife had endured. Then a smart,
well-spoken man, Andy (Terence Alexander) enters their shop asking for
directions. He offers a glimpse of another work as well as escape and the next
time he is passing through Jennie and her pal Violet (Barbara Ferris) spend the
evening with Andy and his pal Rex (Richard Thorp), with Jennie waking up the
following morning in London near the dreary tracks of Paddington Station.
We are left to join the dots on what was lost the night before
but Jennie has burnt her bridges and must face up to life in London. She
certainly has the looks but has she really got a plan.
After Andy stand her up at a lovely-looking pub, she’s
befriended by Bob the Barman (John Stride) who is everything the other men are
not and who values Jennie not for who she wants to be but for what she is… and,
for a while, this appears like it may well be enough. The two set up a home of
brief happiness in the lodging house run by Mrs Jessup (Thora Hird) who quickly
seizes the opportunity to raise the rent! Thora’s on top form!
But something has turned in Jennie and the sweet girl
from the Valleys, influenced by advertising and the fine things she sees around
her, wants more from life. Jennie wants to be an actress or at least a model
and goes with one of their neighbours to a showbiz party where she hopes to
attract interest and get a break. Well, she does and she doesn’t… Karl Denny
(Alan Badel) merciless producer and power wielder, takes a shine to the pretty
young thing and we’re left to form our own opinions on what happens next…
He uses Jennie and she drops Bob… money and the promise of
fame overcoming friendship. It doesn’t have to be this way and the film’s
tragedy is that Jennie couldn’t see it in time…
Dusty verdict:
Janet Munro is superb in this film, both uncomfortable and believable, whilst
John Stride, a fine actor, is also angsty enough about her refusal to commit to
be a genuine character. If only she’d listened to him or someone… By the end
I’m a little shocked at the mortality rates in early 60’s British cinema…
Bitter Harvest
was shown of Talking Pictures TV, a terrific channel that is swelling my
digital coffers with dozens of classy, Golden Age British films and TV
programmes. Together with Renown Pictures they are revitalising vintage domestic
film appreciation.
I watched the Strawberry Media DVD which is available from Amazon and all good retailers.
