| Fame is the Spur | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Roy Boulting |
| Written by | Nigel Balchin Howard Spring (novel) |
| Produced by | John Boulting |
| Starring | Michael Redgrave Rosamund John Bernard Miles David Tomlinson |
| Cinematography | Günther Krampf |
| Edited by | Richard Best |
| Music by | John Wooldridge |
Production company | Boulting Brotherrs in association withTwo Cities Films |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors |
Release date |
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Running time | 116 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Budget | over $1 million[1] |
Fame is the Spur is a 1947 Britishdrama film directed byRoy Boulting and starringMichael Redgrave,Rosamund John,Bernard Miles,David Tomlinson,Maurice Denham andKenneth Griffith.[2][3] It was written byNigel Balchin based on the 1940 novelFame Is the Spur byHoward Spring, which was believed to be based on the career of theLabour Party politicianRamsay MacDonald.[4] Its plot involves a British politician who rises to power, abandoning on the way his radical views for more conservative ones.
When Hamer Radshaw, a young man from aNorth country mill town, commits to help the poverty-stricken workers in his area, he takes as hisExcalibur a sword passed down to him by his grandfather from theBattle of Peterloo, where it had been used against workers. As an idealistic champion of the oppressed, he rises to power as aLabourM.P., but is seduced by the trappings of power and finds himself the type of politician he originally despised.
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This film shows the very polished technique to be expected of its director. It is excellently produced with an essentially north country institution, that of the knocker-up, and north country accents and atmosphere are, for the most part, well sustained where they are needed. Rosamund John gives a very natural performance, and her portrayal of Ann's attitude in the face of death must seem moving even to the most hardened viewer."[5]
InThe New York Times at the time of the 1949 American release,Bosley Crowther commented: "this John and Roy Boulting film has vivid authority and fascination... But, unfortunately, a full comprehension of the principal character in this tale is missed in the broad and extended panorama of his life that is displayed... Mr. Redgrave is glib and photogenic; he acts the 'lost leader' in a handsome style. But he does not bring anything out about him that is not stated arbitrarily."[6]
TheRadio Times reviewer David Parkinson has praised Redgrave's "powerhouse performance, with his gradual shedding of heartfelt beliefs as vanity replaces commitment having a chillingly convincing ring. But such is Redgrave's dominance that there's little room for other characters to develop or for any cogent social agenda."[7]
According toAllmovie, the film is "sometimes slow-moving", but "is an interesting look into the reasons why theLabor [sic] and theConservative factions are at loggerheads with each other in Great Britain".[8]