Lorna Doone (1951 film)
Lorna Doone | |
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![]() Italian poster
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Directed by | Phil Karlson |
Produced by | Edward Small |
Written by | Jesse Lasky Jr Richard Schayer George Bruce (adaptation) |
Based on | the novel by Richard D. Blackmore |
Starring | Richard Greene |
Music by | George Duning |
Cinematography | Charles Van Enger |
Edited by | Al Clark |
Production
company |
Edward Small Productions
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Distributed by | Columbia Pictures |
Release dates
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31 May 1951 (USA) |
Running time
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82 mins |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Lorna Doone is a 1951 American drama film directed by Phil Karlson for Columbia Pictures and starring Barbara Hale, Richard Greene and Carl Benton Reid.[1] It is an adaptation of the novel Lorna Doone by R.D. Blackmore, set in the English West Country during the 17th century.
Plot
Lorna Doone falls for John Ridd, but is betrothed (against her will) to one Carver Doone. As the English Civil War looms, John is determined to defeat the vicious Doone family and win Lorna over.
Cast
- Barbara Hale – Lorna Doone
- Richard Greene – John Ridd
- Carl Benton Reid – Sir Ensor Doone
- William Bishop – Carver Doone
- Ron Randell – Tom Faggus
- Sean McClory – Charleworth Doone
- Onslow Stevens – Counsellor Doone
- Lester Matthews – King Charles II
- John Dehner – Baron de Wichehalse
- Gloria Petroff – Lorna Doone as a Child
- Patrick Aherne – Judge Jeffries
- Malcolm Keen – Lord Lorne
Production
Edward Small first announced plans to film the novel in 1944[2] and hired George Bruce to write a screenplay in 1946.[3] He sent representatives to England to scout locations that year and there was talk of a co-production with J Arthur Rank starring Louis Hayward with filming in Scotland.[4][5][6] Charles Bennett and Leonore Coffee also worked on the early drafts of the script.[7] In 1948 Alfred Hitchcock announced plans to film the novel for Transatlantic Pictures. Small claimed he had registered the title in the US; Hitchcock could film the story but would not be able to call it Lorna Doone in the US. This prompted Small to announce he would start filming in England in association with Rank and producer John Beck on 1 March 1949.[8][9] This was postponed due to the US–English film trade war of 1948–19 and in August 1949 filming was put back indefinitely.[10]
The project was reactivated later in 1949 when Small signed a two picture deal with Columbia Pictures, for Lorna Doone and The Brigand.[11] It was decided instead to make the movie in Hollywood, with locations shot at Yosemite National Park. Richard Greene and Barbara Hale were cast in the leads and Jesse Lasky Jr did the final draft of the script.
The final script was heavily influenced by Westerns.[12]
Reception
Reviews were mixed.[13]
References
- ↑ http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/40718
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- ↑ Jeffrey Richards, Swordsmen of the Screen, p 133
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