Melancholy can be sweet, as when you are alone at twilight. But it can also be deeply sad, the result of a tragic solitude. And that is the story of our film.
Just tried to find this movie at the youtube site, but received a message that it is no longer available on youtube. However, the 1951 version is available at the Internet Archive site. I tried to figure out a way to copy and paste a link to the movie at that site, but was unable to do so. Perhaps a more tech-savvy member of our community will be more successful.
Thank you so much for this recommendation. There is much to like about it: the 1-of-a-1000 student who makes the career enough; the reminder, too, that some children are capable of mature insight into human nature. I do like the ending—a hint that through the attentions of two unlikely rescuers, the elderly, sick, lonely teacher has a shot at retrieving joy. Plus—how is it that Britain produced such wonderful actors? They do strike me always as a cut above. Regarding the black-and-white film, it is the perfect medium for film noir, horror, and some particular art films (1930s German expressionism, for example). A-film cinematographers used the artistic possibilities of BW film and ran with it to produce atmosphere, mood, and the beautiful play of light and shadow. Look at stills of “The Third Man” and “Metropolis”….and then “Nosferatu”, “Casablanca”…
The tragic solitude of the residents of Oran after being locked in to their town in The Plague written by Albert Camus (1947) is that sort of melancholy, portrayed well by the author and felt by the reader. My daughter said the author was a philosopher and she has a minor in philosophy. If you haven't read it, try it, it's a Tony Esolen kind of literature. ;)
Looking forward to watching this. I have never even heard of it! And I love your points about black and white movies—I have often thought that it takes some level of experience watching black and white movies in order to really appreciate the film as a work of art. Many of my own peers (and I am 60 these days) have little to no experience watching old black and white movies and their taste suffers for it.
Yes, I sensed the same sort of reluctance in myself, until I started watching a lot of them on purpose, and then I saw that it was a great artistic medium in its own right. I can't imagine, for example, the old Twilight Zone shows in color. It would be a distraction, and it would weaken the force of the art; see for instance the noir episode, "The Four of Us Are Dying."
I should have read other members' comments more closely. Another member had shared a youtube link, which he had found: https://youtu.be/OvZqJ106qjI?si=iAT5duH4nNlc1-6G.
Just tried to find this movie at the youtube site, but received a message that it is no longer available on youtube. However, the 1951 version is available at the Internet Archive site. I tried to figure out a way to copy and paste a link to the movie at that site, but was unable to do so. Perhaps a more tech-savvy member of our community will be more successful.
Just watched. Thick sadness. Movie well done. Thank you.
Please, use this link instead: https://youtu.be/OvZqJ106qjI?si=iAT5duH4nNlc1-6G
The resolution/quality is far and away from the linked. I assume they thought it colorized because of the thumbnail, but it is not. Best wishes!
Thank you for sharing the alternate youtube link.
I had never heard of this movie until you introduced it here. Thank you! I just love this movie.
Thank you so much for this recommendation. There is much to like about it: the 1-of-a-1000 student who makes the career enough; the reminder, too, that some children are capable of mature insight into human nature. I do like the ending—a hint that through the attentions of two unlikely rescuers, the elderly, sick, lonely teacher has a shot at retrieving joy. Plus—how is it that Britain produced such wonderful actors? They do strike me always as a cut above. Regarding the black-and-white film, it is the perfect medium for film noir, horror, and some particular art films (1930s German expressionism, for example). A-film cinematographers used the artistic possibilities of BW film and ran with it to produce atmosphere, mood, and the beautiful play of light and shadow. Look at stills of “The Third Man” and “Metropolis”….and then “Nosferatu”, “Casablanca”…
Thank you. We've enjoyed it for years.
The tragic solitude of the residents of Oran after being locked in to their town in The Plague written by Albert Camus (1947) is that sort of melancholy, portrayed well by the author and felt by the reader. My daughter said the author was a philosopher and she has a minor in philosophy. If you haven't read it, try it, it's a Tony Esolen kind of literature. ;)
Looking forward to watching this. I have never even heard of it! And I love your points about black and white movies—I have often thought that it takes some level of experience watching black and white movies in order to really appreciate the film as a work of art. Many of my own peers (and I am 60 these days) have little to no experience watching old black and white movies and their taste suffers for it.
Yes, I sensed the same sort of reluctance in myself, until I started watching a lot of them on purpose, and then I saw that it was a great artistic medium in its own right. I can't imagine, for example, the old Twilight Zone shows in color. It would be a distraction, and it would weaken the force of the art; see for instance the noir episode, "The Four of Us Are Dying."