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The Hireling

January 07, 2023

The Hireling is a 1973 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges, based on a 1957 novel of the same title by L. P. Hartley, which starred Robert Shaw and Sarah Miles. It tells the story of a chauffeur who falls in love with an aristocratic woman.

The Hireling
original film poster
Directed byAlan Bridges
Written byWolf Mankowitz
Based onThe Hireling
by L.P. Hartley
Produced byBen Arbeid
StarringRobert Shaw
Sarah Miles
CinematographyMichael Reed
Edited byPeter Weatherley
Music byMarc Wilkinson
Distributed byColumbia Pictures
Release date
May 1973 (Cannes Film Festival)
  • 10 June 1973 (1973-06-10) (New York City)
Running time
108 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

It shared the Grand Prix with Scarecrow at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival.[1][2] Sarah Miles received a Special Jury Prize for her performance as Lady Franklin.[3]

Plot

Set in and around Bath, Somerset immediately after the First World War, the story opens at an expensive mental clinic in the country where the young and recently widowed Lady Franklin is being discharged. The owner of a smart hire car, former sergeant-major Ledbetter, chauffeurs her to her unsympathetic mother in Bath. Hired to take her on outings, he becomes the only person she can talk to as she slowly lifts out of deep depression.

When he takes her to a boxing night at a boys club that he helps to run, she meets another committee member, the young former officer Cantrip. Like Ledbetter he is struggling to return to normal, in his case politics, after his traumatic experiences in the war. Cantrip starts wooing the wealthy Lady Franklin while still sleeping with his lover Connie, who is probably a war widow.

Ledbetter's mental equilibrium becomes progressively more fragile. His business is failing, his casual relationship with the waitress Doreen brings no joy, his deepening affection for Lady Franklin is no longer returned and his rage against his more successful rival is intensified by Cantrip's concealed involvement with Connie.

When he finally confronts Cantrip and Lady Franklin together, they tell him that he has no place in their lives because they have become engaged. Leaping into his Rolls-Royce and swigging frequently from a bottle of alcohol, he drives blindly back to his garage and proceeds to run amok in the little courtyard, driving heedlessly back and forth into the walls and reversing and on and on like an animal in a frenzy in a cage.

Cast

Themes

Loneliness is the first main theme of the film and with it the profound effects on mental balance of bereavement and post-combat stress. All three principals are desperately lonely and insecure. While Lady Franklin had isolation and medical treatment at the clinic, both Ledbetter and Cantrip are fighting the traumas of the war on their own. Neither man finds the woman he occasionally sleeps with satisfactory. As Cantrip and Lady Franklin discover a sort of love together, Ledbetter's increasingly unstable life unravels.

The second main theme is class and money. Lady Franklin, widow of a baronet, has a large country house and a comfortable income. Cantrip's life is considerably more precarious but by marrying a rich and socially superior woman he will enter the landed gentry. Ledbetter, a working class man with no capital who rose as far as he was likely to get in the army, in civilian life ranks little above a cab driver.

Reception

Grand Prix at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival.

Special Jury Prize awarded to Sarah Miles.[3]

"France-Soir said: 'The acting in the English film "The Hireling" has been the best seen during the festival. Sarah Miles and Robert Shaw are magnificent.'"[4]

"Unseen last week when I listed the five best films thus far of 1973 but which I most emphatically want to add to the list are: 'THE HIRELING'."[5]

"...here we are just barely into the last half of 1973 and already in the past two weeks I've named nine films I think will end up on My TEN BEST list come December."[6]

Natasha Kroll won the BAFTA for art direction in 1974 for her work on The Hireling.[7]

"'I thought "The Hireling," that won the prize over my film in Cannes, was sentimental muck. Do they think they're being subtle because Sarah Miles never goes to bed with her chauffeur? ...That is not sour grapes. ...And I don't think "The Hireling" will be as successful as my film at the box-office. You can fool the critics but you can't fool the public.'" – Lindsay Anderson on not winning for O Lucky Man! at Cannes.[8]

"If The Hireling did have to be viewed in political terms it would certainly misfire. ...Fortunately, Bridges allows us to see both Shaw and Miles as human beings... Sarah Miles, in fact, though her role would seem to allow only a narrow range of expression, gives by far the finest performance of her career."[9]

"'THE HIRELING' (could easily win an Oscar nomination for Sarah Miles if–and this is a big IF! – her personal popularity at least as I understand it, doesn't eliminate her)."[10]

Joyce Haber, of the Los Angeles Times wrote, "Special Categories – Worst Performances by Any Female Star: Sarah Miles for 'Cat Dancing' and 'The Hireling'."[11]

Stanley Kauffmann called The Hireling, "an unrecognized, masterly work of art.[12]

"...a fastidious attention to detail, an almost documentary precision, ...studded with objects evocative of a lost age."[13]

"The director - that impressionable Liverpool child - is Alan Bridges. ...What appealed to Bridges about 'The Hireling', which starred Sarah Miles as an aristocratic young widow and Robert Shaw as her chauffeur, was the violent deceptions upon which their relationship was based."[14]

"The results are haunting - thanks to an unusually subtle script and fine performances from all concerned."[15]

"Robert Shaw, Sarah Miles, Elizabeth Sellars and a first-rate cast take dead aim at the British class system in a withering adaptation of the L.P. Hartley novel about a chauffeur who helps draw an upper-class woman out of her chronic depression in the mistaken impression she loves him."[16]

"Robert Shaw plays a chauffeur who helps an upper-class woman (Sarah Miles) out of a mental depression, but mistakenly assumes she is interested in him. Rated three stars."[17]

References

  1. ^ "Festival de Cannes: The Hireling". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 19 April 2009.
  2. ^ "U.S. Film Shares Cannes Prize". Los Angeles Times. 26 May 1973. p. B9. The Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Friday was awarded jointly to the American film "Scarecrow" by Jerry Schatzberg and the British entry "The Hireling" by Alan Bridges.
  3. ^ a b "Cannes Jury Prize to Sarah Miles" (10 July 1973) Los Angeles Times
  4. ^ "Variety of Cannes Film Entries Praised" (15 May 1973) Van Nuys News, California
  5. ^ "On the Beam" (30 June 1973) Sun Reporter, San Francisco
  6. ^ Gene Robertson (7 July 1973) "On the Beam", Sun Reporter
  7. ^ BAFTA - Film/ Art Direction, 1974
  8. ^ Rex Reed (8 July 1973) "Director Doesn't Consider Themes Rebellious", San Antonio Light
  9. ^ Film Quarterly Vol. 27, No. 2, Winter, (1973-1974) University of California Press
  10. ^ Gene Robertson (5 January 1974) "On the Beam", Sun Reporter
  11. ^ "Best, Worst Films of a Nonvintage Year" (20 January 1974) Los Angeles Times p. L17
  12. ^ "Regrets" (11 February 1985) The New Republic 192, 006; p.24
  13. ^ "World War I Foreshadows 'The Shooting Party'" (9 June 1985) New York Times p. A14
  14. ^ "'The Shooting Party' / The Subtle Violence Before World War I" (23 June 1985) San Francisco Chronicle
  15. ^ "The Hireling, 1973 (Ch. 33, 11 p.m.)" (26 April 1986) The Gazette p. T56, Montreal
  16. ^ "You get two opportunities to go Back to the Future this weekend" (12 November 1988) The Gazette, Montreal
  17. ^ "Footnotes for Videophiles" (19 May 1990) The Vancouver Sun

External links

January 07, 2023
hireling, 1973, british, drama, film, directed, alan, bridges, based, 1957, novel, same, title, hartley, which, starred, robert, shaw, sarah, miles, tells, story, chauffeur, falls, love, with, aristocratic, woman, original, film, posterdirected, byalan, bridge. The Hireling is a 1973 British drama film directed by Alan Bridges based on a 1957 novel of the same title by L P Hartley which starred Robert Shaw and Sarah Miles It tells the story of a chauffeur who falls in love with an aristocratic woman The Hirelingoriginal film posterDirected byAlan BridgesWritten byWolf MankowitzBased onThe Hirelingby L P HartleyProduced byBen ArbeidStarringRobert ShawSarah MilesCinematographyMichael ReedEdited byPeter WeatherleyMusic byMarc WilkinsonDistributed byColumbia PicturesRelease dateMay 1973 Cannes Film Festival 10 June 1973 1973 06 10 New York City Running time108 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishIt shared the Grand Prix with Scarecrow at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival 1 2 Sarah Miles received a Special Jury Prize for her performance as Lady Franklin 3 Contents 1 Plot 2 Cast 3 Themes 4 Reception 5 References 6 External linksPlot EditSet in and around Bath Somerset immediately after the First World War the story opens at an expensive mental clinic in the country where the young and recently widowed Lady Franklin is being discharged The owner of a smart hire car former sergeant major Ledbetter chauffeurs her to her unsympathetic mother in Bath Hired to take her on outings he becomes the only person she can talk to as she slowly lifts out of deep depression When he takes her to a boxing night at a boys club that he helps to run she meets another committee member the young former officer Cantrip Like Ledbetter he is struggling to return to normal in his case politics after his traumatic experiences in the war Cantrip starts wooing the wealthy Lady Franklin while still sleeping with his lover Connie who is probably a war widow Ledbetter s mental equilibrium becomes progressively more fragile His business is failing his casual relationship with the waitress Doreen brings no joy his deepening affection for Lady Franklin is no longer returned and his rage against his more successful rival is intensified by Cantrip s concealed involvement with Connie When he finally confronts Cantrip and Lady Franklin together they tell him that he has no place in their lives because they have become engaged Leaping into his Rolls Royce and swigging frequently from a bottle of alcohol he drives blindly back to his garage and proceeds to run amok in the little courtyard driving heedlessly back and forth into the walls and reversing and on and on like an animal in a frenzy in a cage Cast EditRobert Shaw as Steven Ledbetter Sarah Miles as Lady Franklin Peter Egan as Captain Hugh Cantrip Caroline Mortimer as Connie Elizabeth Sellars as Lady Franklin s mother Ian Hogg as Davis Christine Hargreaves as Doreen Lyndon Brook as Doctor Patricia Lawrence as Mrs Hansen Petra Markham as EdithThemes EditThis section possibly contains original research Please improve it by verifying the claims made and adding inline citations Statements consisting only of original research should be removed July 2021 Learn how and when to remove this template message Loneliness is the first main theme of the film and with it the profound effects on mental balance of bereavement and post combat stress All three principals are desperately lonely and insecure While Lady Franklin had isolation and medical treatment at the clinic both Ledbetter and Cantrip are fighting the traumas of the war on their own Neither man finds the woman he occasionally sleeps with satisfactory As Cantrip and Lady Franklin discover a sort of love together Ledbetter s increasingly unstable life unravels The second main theme is class and money Lady Franklin widow of a baronet has a large country house and a comfortable income Cantrip s life is considerably more precarious but by marrying a rich and socially superior woman he will enter the landed gentry Ledbetter a working class man with no capital who rose as far as he was likely to get in the army in civilian life ranks little above a cab driver Reception EditThis section contains too many or overly lengthy quotations for an encyclopedic entry Please help improve the article by presenting facts as a neutrally worded summary with appropriate citations Consider transferring direct quotations to Wikiquote or for entire works to Wikisource September 2016 Grand Prix at the 1973 Cannes Film Festival Special Jury Prize awarded to Sarah Miles 3 France Soir said The acting in the English film The Hireling has been the best seen during the festival Sarah Miles and Robert Shaw are magnificent 4 Unseen last week when I listed the five best films thus far of 1973 but which I most emphatically want to add to the list are THE HIRELING 5 here we are just barely into the last half of 1973 and already in the past two weeks I ve named nine films I think will end up on My TEN BEST list come December 6 Natasha Kroll won the BAFTA for art direction in 1974 for her work on The Hireling 7 I thought The Hireling that won the prize over my film in Cannes was sentimental muck Do they think they re being subtle because Sarah Miles never goes to bed with her chauffeur That is not sour grapes And I don t think The Hireling will be as successful as my film at the box office You can fool the critics but you can t fool the public Lindsay Anderson on not winning for O Lucky Man at Cannes 8 If The Hireling did have to be viewed in political terms it would certainly misfire Fortunately Bridges allows us to see both Shaw and Miles as human beings Sarah Miles in fact though her role would seem to allow only a narrow range of expression gives by far the finest performance of her career 9 THE HIRELING could easily win an Oscar nomination for Sarah Miles if and this is a big IF her personal popularity at least as I understand it doesn t eliminate her 10 Joyce Haber of the Los Angeles Times wrote Special Categories Worst Performances by Any Female Star Sarah Miles for Cat Dancing and The Hireling 11 Stanley Kauffmann called The Hireling an unrecognized masterly work of art 12 a fastidious attention to detail an almost documentary precision studded with objects evocative of a lost age 13 The director that impressionable Liverpool child is Alan Bridges What appealed to Bridges about The Hireling which starred Sarah Miles as an aristocratic young widow and Robert Shaw as her chauffeur was the violent deceptions upon which their relationship was based 14 The results are haunting thanks to an unusually subtle script and fine performances from all concerned 15 Robert Shaw Sarah Miles Elizabeth Sellars and a first rate cast take dead aim at the British class system in a withering adaptation of the L P Hartley novel about a chauffeur who helps draw an upper class woman out of her chronic depression in the mistaken impression she loves him 16 Robert Shaw plays a chauffeur who helps an upper class woman Sarah Miles out of a mental depression but mistakenly assumes she is interested in him Rated three stars 17 References Edit Festival de Cannes The Hireling festival cannes com Retrieved 19 April 2009 U S Film Shares Cannes Prize Los Angeles Times 26 May 1973 p B9 The Cannes Film Festival Grand Prix Friday was awarded jointly to the American film Scarecrow by Jerry Schatzberg and the British entry The Hireling by Alan Bridges a b Cannes Jury Prize to Sarah Miles 10 July 1973 Los Angeles Times Variety of Cannes Film Entries Praised 15 May 1973 Van Nuys News California On the Beam 30 June 1973 Sun Reporter San Francisco Gene Robertson 7 July 1973 On the Beam Sun Reporter BAFTA Film Art Direction 1974 Rex Reed 8 July 1973 Director Doesn t Consider Themes Rebellious San Antonio Light Film Quarterly Vol 27 No 2 Winter 1973 1974 University of California Press Gene Robertson 5 January 1974 On the Beam Sun Reporter Best Worst Films of a Nonvintage Year 20 January 1974 Los Angeles Times p L17 Regrets 11 February 1985 The New Republic 192 006 p 24 World War I Foreshadows The Shooting Party 9 June 1985 New York Times p A14 The Shooting Party The Subtle Violence Before World War I 23 June 1985 San Francisco Chronicle The Hireling 1973 Ch 33 11 p m 26 April 1986 The Gazette p T56 Montreal You get two opportunities to go Back to the Future this weekend 12 November 1988 The Gazette Montreal Footnotes for Videophiles 19 May 1990 The Vancouver SunExternal links EditThe Hireling at IMDb The Hireling at Rotten Tomatoes Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title The Hireling amp oldid 1108527471, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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