Red Ensign (film)

Infobox Film | name = Red Ensign


caption = Red Ensign Video Cover
director = Michael Powell
producer = Michael Balcon
writer = Jerome Jackson
L. du Garde Peach
Michael Powell
starring =Leslie Banks
Carol Goodner
Frank Vosper
Alfred Drayton
Donald Calthrop
| cinematography = Leslie Rowson
editing = Geoffrey Barkas
distributor = Gaumont British Picture Corporation Ltd
released = June, fy|1934 UK
runtime = 66 min
country = UK
language = English
budget = £12,000 (estimated)
imdb_id = 0025704

"Red Ensign" (fy|1934) is an early work by noted British film-maker Michael Powell.

tory

David Barr is the manager and chief designer of a British shipyard who comes up with a radical new design for ships, at a time when the industry as a whole is in recession. He struggles to find financial backing from his company, banks or investors, and is driven to desperate ends to try to complete the ship. As well as technical and financial difficulties Barr also has to struggle against the machinations of rival shipbuilders and infiltrating militants.

Production

Powell's 12th film in four years, and perhaps his most memorable one in that period. "It was the first time that Michael Powell himself realised that there was something special about a Michael Powell film, something going on on the screen, or behind the screen, which you couldn't put your finger on, something intriguing, aloof, but in the long run memorable." cite book | first=Michael | last=Powell | title=A Life in Movies | publisher=Heinemann | location=London | year=1986 | id=ISBN 0-434-59945-X]

Analysis

The character of David Barr is seen as an early precursor of Powell's own alter-ego in Michael Powell films such as Eric Portman's Colpeper in "A Canterbury Tale" (1944) and Roger Livesey's Dr Reeves in "A Matter of Life and Death" (1946). Indeed the whole film is seen as a parallel with the struggles of a young bold film director, and a plea for a strong British film industry. The strong crusading tone of the film prefigures Powell's wartime propaganda films such as "49th Parallel" and "Contraband". A minor character is pointedly called 'Grierson' after the celebrated documentary maker John Grierson. This character is described as 'the best rivetter in the yard' who 'taught me [Barr] everything I know'. This scene is immediately followed with one of Barr firing a 'militant' worker intent on provoking industrial strife in the yard.

Cast

*Leslie Banks as David Barr
*Carol Goodner as June MacKinnon
*Frank Vosper as Lord Dean
*Alfred Drayton as Manning
*Donald Calthrop as MacLeod
*Allan Jeayes as Emerson aka Grierson
*Campbell Gullan as Hannay
*Percy Parsons as Casey
*Fewlass Llewellyn as Sir Gregory
*Henry Oscar as Raglan
*John Laurie as Wages accountant

DVD

The film has been released on DVD by MPI along with "The Phantom Light" (fy|1934) and "The Upturned Glass" (fy|1947).

References

External links

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* [http://www.powell-pressburger.org/Reviews/35_RedEnsign/index.html "Red Ensign"] reviews and articles at the [http://www.powell-pressburger.org Powell & Pressburger Pages]
*. Full synopsis and film stills (and clips viewable from UK libraries).