Anniversary of The Browning Version
On March 15, 1951, Anthony Asquith's psychological drama "The Browning Version" premiered in London. The film is based on the play of the same name by the British playwright Terence Rattigan.
The play "The Browning Version" was written in 1948, and on September 8 of the same year the premiere of a play took place at the Phoenix Theater in London. Anthony Asquith came up with the idea of filming this play as soon as he saw the play.
Anthony Asquith met Terence Rattigan back in the late 30s. At first, Rattigan was very wary of Asquith. The fact is that Anthony's father - Herbert-Henry Asquith - served as British Home Secretary in the 90s of the XIX century and it was he who initiated a case against the famous writer and playwright Oscar Wilde. The charges were linked to Wilde's homosexual relationships. The court sentenced the famous writer to two years of hard labor. Hard labor broke Wilde both physically and spiritually, as a result of which Wilde died shortly after his release.
Rattigan, himself a playwright and gay, could not forgive the Asquith family for this truly dire loss to British culture. But when he learned that Anthony himself is a hidden homosexual, he changed what is called "anger at mercy." As a result, a creative union was formed, which in the 40s created 5 full-length feature films and which in the British cinematographic environment received the nickname "Rattigasquith".
Having decided to make a film based on the play "The Browning Version", Asquith and Rattigan started looking for a producer for the future film. However, whoever of the British producers they turned to, they all refused. And this is despite the fact that by the beginning of the 50s, Anthony Asquith had already had 23 quite successful films, including the famous adaptation of the play "Pygmalion" by Bernard Shaw. Perhaps the reason for the refusals was Anthony Asquith's alcoholism, which reached a critical level in the 40s. Finally, fate brought Asquith to the American producer Earl St. John, who agreed to participate in the making of the film.
Literally a month after the premiere, the film "The Browning Version" took part in the Cannes International Film Festival, where it was nominated for the main prize, which was then called the Grand Prix of the festival. It should be noted that the competition at the festival was fierce that year. Suffice it to say that among the 36 nominees were such film masterpieces as "All About Eve" by Joseph Leo Mankiewicz, "Los olvidados" by Luis Buñuel, etc. And the Grand Prix of the festival was awarded by the decision of the jury, chaired by the famous French writer André Maurois, to the films "Miracolo a Milano (Miracle in Milan)" by Vittorio De Sica and "Fröken Julie (Miss Julie)" by Alf Sjöberg. But Asquith's film did not remain without awards: it was awarded for Best Screenplay (Terence Rattigan) and for Best Leading Actor (Michael Redgrave).
Two months later, at the Berlin International Film Festival, Anthony Asquith's film was awarded the Bronze Bear in the Best Drama Film category. A year later, the Danish Film Academy awarded "The Browning Version" its Bodil Prize for Best European Film.
At home, in the UK, the film was nominated for the British Academy BAFTA Award, and in two categories: as the Best British Film and as the Best film from any source. As a British film, "The Browning Version" lost to "The Lavender Hill Mob" by Charles Crichton, and as a Best Film from any source, Asquith's picture lost to the French melodrama "La Ronde" by Max Ophuls.
Critical reviews for "The Browning Version" have been overwhelmingly positive. And even Bosley Crowther, although he tried to let bile into his review, could not hide his admiration: "the picture, beautifully acted and finely made in England under the direction of Anthony Asquith, with Michael Redgrave in the leading role, displays the basic shortcomings that were evident on the stage: it is a wistful but weak examination of a dull ineffectual.That doesn't necessarily spell dullness, so far as the effort is concerned, for the drama is fitfully engrossing and the performance of it is superb."
The film was not shown in the Soviet Union.
Anthony Asquith's film "The Browning Version" has been highly acclaimed by modern moviegoers. 74% of IMDB and Kinopoisk users gave the film ratings from 8 to 10. But the remake of the film, shot in 1994 by Mike Figgis, did not have such a success. Neither the audience, nor the festivals, nor the critics.
With that said, FilmGourmand rated Anthony Asquith's "The Browning Version" at 8.947, placing it 179th in the Golden Thousand.
