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Yield to the Night

January 01, 1970

Yield to the Night (also titled Blonde Sinner in the US) is a 1956 British crime drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Diana Dors.[3] The film is based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Joan Henry.[4] The storyline bears a superficial and coincidental resemblance to the Ruth Ellis case, which had occurred the previous year but subsequent to the release of Henry's novel. The film received much positive critical attention, particularly for the unexpectedly skilled acting of Dors, who had previously been cast solely as a British version of the typical "blonde bombshell".[5] The movie was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.[6]

Yield to the Night
Theatrical poster to the US release of Yield to the Night (1956)
Directed byJ. Lee Thompson
Written byJohn Cresswell
Joan Henry
Based onYield to the Night by Joan Henry
Produced byKenneth Harper
StarringDiana Dors
Yvonne Mitchell
Michael Craig
CinematographyGilbert Taylor
Edited byRichard Best
Music byRay Martin
Distributed byAssociated British-Pathé
Release dates
14 June 1956 (World Premiere, London)[1]
18 November 1956 (US)
Running time
99 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office£174,911[2]

Premise edit

Mary Hilton (Diana Dors) has been convicted of murder and sentenced to hang, and she spends her last weeks in the condemned cell in a British women's prison. While there she remembers the events in her life leading up to the murder.

Cast edit

Production edit

The film was based on a book by Joan Henry, a writer and former debutante who had gone to prison. Henry wrote a memoir about her experiences which was filmed as The Weak and the Wicked, directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Diana Dors. Thompson married Henry and they decided to collaborate on another movie. Thompson was anti-capital punishment and wanted to do a story about a man in a death cell. Henry said she could not write about a man but might be able to do it about a woman. "So he really gave me the idea, and then I showed him a plan", she said. The novel of Yield to the Night was published in 1954.[7][8][9]

The storyline bore some similarities to the Ruth Ellis case but Henry wrote the story and script during the filming of The Weak and the Wicked. Dors (who had been briefly acquainted with Ellis on the film Lady Godiva Rides Again in 1951) said it "wasn’t about Ruth Ellis at all. Everybody thinks it was but the script was written two years before Ruth Ellis committed the murder. It's a fascinating syndrome that all this was put down on paper before it happened."[10]

Thompson later said "For capital punishment you must take somebody who deserves to die, and then feel sorry for them and say this is wrong. We did that in Yield to the Night: we made it a ruthless, premeditated murder."[11]

Dors said this "was the first time I ever had a chance to play such a part. I was very thankful to Lee J. Thompson for having faith in me. Until then everybody thought I was just a joke, and certainly not an actress to be taken seriously, even though I knew within myself I was capable of playing other roles. The big problem was trying to convince other people."[10]

Filming started at Elstree Studios on 2 November 1955.[citation needed]

Michael Craig said Thompson was "a small, very intense man with a violent temper, which could be provoked by practically anything or nothing. He had a nervous habit of tearing sheets of paper into long thin strips."[12] Craig thought Dors was "terrific... one of the most free-spirited and professional actresses I worked with."[13]

Reception edit

Variety called it "a grim form of entertainment."[14]

Filmink called it "a masterpiece, a stunningly good drama, where Dors plays a character who never asks for sympathy but gets it anyway: she's guilty of the crime, isn’t friendly to her family or death penalty protestors, still loves the louse who drove her to murder. The movie is full of little touches that speak volumes for Henry's personal experience in prison – the routine of changing guards, the conversations, the way the seconds drag on by, the visiting officials, the small privileges, the overwhelming pressure of the longing for a reprieve – and the final moments are devastating: it's one of the best British movies of the decade." [15]

The movie was Britain's entry to the 1956 Cannes Film Festival.

A 19-year-old woman reportedly committed suicide within hours of watching the film.[16]

Despite the film's success Dors never worked with Thompson again.[17]

In popular culture edit

An image of Diana Dors in a cell from the film was used on the cover of the Smiths' Singles album.

References edit

  1. ^ "Yield to the Night". Art & Hue. 2018. Retrieved 14 June 2018.
  2. ^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p510
  3. ^ . BFI. Archived from the original on 5 May 2016.
  4. ^ Williams, Melanie (30 June 2006). . The Independent. Archived from the original on 6 March 2009. Retrieved 1 November 2010.
  5. ^ "BFI Screenonline: Yield to the Night (1956)".
  6. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Yield to the Night". festival-cannes.com. Retrieved 7 February 2009.
  7. ^ Yield to the Night at TCMDB
  8. ^ "REVIEWS OF BOOKS IN BRIEF". The West Australian. Vol. 70, no. 21, 278. Western Australia. 2 October 1954. p. 29. Retrieved 15 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. ^ "A woman on Death Row". The Daily Telegraph. Vol. XV, no. 49. New South Wales, Australia. 24 October 1954. p. 24. Retrieved 15 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ a b Williams, Tony (2000). "Diana Dors". Psychotronic Video. No. 32. p. 50.
  11. ^ "Diana Dors: An Angry Young Woman". The Independent. 30 June 2006. Archived from the original on 7 May 2022.
  12. ^ Craig, Michael (2005). The Smallest Giant: An Actor's Life. Allen and Unwin. p. 73.
  13. ^ Craig p 74
  14. ^ Review of film at Variety
  15. ^ Vagg, Stephen (30 August 2020). "Joan Henry: The Jailbird Muse". Filmink.
  16. ^ "SUICIDES AFTER SEEING FILM". The Canberra Times. Vol. 30, no. 1, 957. 7 September 1956. p. 14. Retrieved 15 August 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  17. ^ Vagg, Stephen (7 September 2020). "A Tale of Two Blondes: Diana Dors and Belinda Lee". Filmink.

External links edit

[Category:Films based on British novels]]

January 01, 1970
yield, night, also, titled, blonde, sinner, 1956, british, crime, drama, film, directed, thompson, starring, diana, dors, film, based, 1954, novel, same, name, joan, henry, storyline, bears, superficial, coincidental, resemblance, ruth, ellis, case, which, occ. Yield to the Night also titled Blonde Sinner in the US is a 1956 British crime drama film directed by J Lee Thompson and starring Diana Dors 3 The film is based on the 1954 novel of the same name by Joan Henry 4 The storyline bears a superficial and coincidental resemblance to the Ruth Ellis case which had occurred the previous year but subsequent to the release of Henry s novel The film received much positive critical attention particularly for the unexpectedly skilled acting of Dors who had previously been cast solely as a British version of the typical blonde bombshell 5 The movie was nominated for the Palme d Or at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival 6 Yield to the NightTheatrical poster to the US release of Yield to the Night 1956 Directed byJ Lee ThompsonWritten byJohn CresswellJoan HenryBased onYield to the Night by Joan HenryProduced byKenneth HarperStarringDiana Dors Yvonne Mitchell Michael CraigCinematographyGilbert TaylorEdited byRichard BestMusic byRay MartinDistributed byAssociated British PatheRelease dates14 June 1956 World Premiere London 1 18 November 1956 US Running time99 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglishBox office 174 911 2 Contents 1 Premise 2 Cast 3 Production 4 Reception 5 In popular culture 6 References 7 External linksPremise editMary Hilton Diana Dors has been convicted of murder and sentenced to hang and she spends her last weeks in the condemned cell in a British women s prison While there she remembers the events in her life leading up to the murder Cast editDiana Dors as Mary Hilton Yvonne Mitchell as Matron Hilda MacFarlane Michael Craig as Jim Lancaster Marie Ney as Prison Governess Geoffrey Keen as Prison Chaplain Liam Redmond as Prison Doctor Olga Lindo as Senior Matron Hill Joan Miller as Matron Barker Marjorie Rhodes as Matron Brandon Molly Urquhart as Matron Mason Mary Mackenzie as Matron Maxwell Harry Locke as Fred Hilton Michael Ripper as Roy bar good timer Joyce Blair as Doris storeclerk friend Charles Clay as Bob Athene Seyler as Miss Bligh Mona Washbourne as Mrs Thomas landlady Alec Finter as Mr Thomas landlord Mercia Shaw as Lucy Marianne Stone as New Matron Richardson Charles Lloyd Pack as Mary s Lawyer Dandy Nichols as Mrs Price John Charlesworth as Alan PriceProduction editThe film was based on a book by Joan Henry a writer and former debutante who had gone to prison Henry wrote a memoir about her experiences which was filmed as The Weak and the Wicked directed by J Lee Thompson and starring Diana Dors Thompson married Henry and they decided to collaborate on another movie Thompson was anti capital punishment and wanted to do a story about a man in a death cell Henry said she could not write about a man but might be able to do it about a woman So he really gave me the idea and then I showed him a plan she said The novel of Yield to the Night was published in 1954 7 8 9 The storyline bore some similarities to the Ruth Ellis case but Henry wrote the story and script during the filming of The Weak and the Wicked Dors who had been briefly acquainted with Ellis on the film Lady Godiva Rides Again in 1951 said it wasn t about Ruth Ellis at all Everybody thinks it was but the script was written two years before Ruth Ellis committed the murder It s a fascinating syndrome that all this was put down on paper before it happened 10 Thompson later said For capital punishment you must take somebody who deserves to die and then feel sorry for them and say this is wrong We did that in Yield to the Night we made it a ruthless premeditated murder 11 Dors said this was the first time I ever had a chance to play such a part I was very thankful to Lee J Thompson for having faith in me Until then everybody thought I was just a joke and certainly not an actress to be taken seriously even though I knew within myself I was capable of playing other roles The big problem was trying to convince other people 10 Filming started at Elstree Studios on 2 November 1955 citation needed Michael Craig said Thompson was a small very intense man with a violent temper which could be provoked by practically anything or nothing He had a nervous habit of tearing sheets of paper into long thin strips 12 Craig thought Dors was terrific one of the most free spirited and professional actresses I worked with 13 Reception editVariety called it a grim form of entertainment 14 Filmink called it a masterpiece a stunningly good drama where Dors plays a character who never asks for sympathy but gets it anyway she s guilty of the crime isn t friendly to her family or death penalty protestors still loves the louse who drove her to murder The movie is full of little touches that speak volumes for Henry s personal experience in prison the routine of changing guards the conversations the way the seconds drag on by the visiting officials the small privileges the overwhelming pressure of the longing for a reprieve and the final moments are devastating it s one of the best British movies of the decade 15 The movie was Britain s entry to the 1956 Cannes Film Festival A 19 year old woman reportedly committed suicide within hours of watching the film 16 Despite the film s success Dors never worked with Thompson again 17 In popular culture editAn image of Diana Dors in a cell from the film was used on the cover of the Smiths Singles album References edit Yield to the Night Art amp Hue 2018 Retrieved 14 June 2018 Vincent Porter The Robert Clark Account Historical Journal of Film Radio and Television Vol 20 No 4 2000 p510 Yield to the Night 1956 BFI Archived from the original on 5 May 2016 Williams Melanie 30 June 2006 Diana Dors An angry young woman The Independent Archived from the original on 6 March 2009 Retrieved 1 November 2010 BFI Screenonline Yield to the Night 1956 Festival de Cannes Yield to the Night festival cannes com Retrieved 7 February 2009 Yield to the Night at TCMDB REVIEWS OF BOOKS IN BRIEF The West Australian Vol 70 no 21 278 Western Australia 2 October 1954 p 29 Retrieved 15 August 2020 via National Library of Australia A woman on Death Row The Daily Telegraph Vol XV no 49 New South Wales Australia 24 October 1954 p 24 Retrieved 15 August 2020 via National Library of Australia a b Williams Tony 2000 Diana Dors Psychotronic Video No 32 p 50 Diana Dors An Angry Young Woman The Independent 30 June 2006 Archived from the original on 7 May 2022 Craig Michael 2005 The Smallest Giant An Actor s Life Allen and Unwin p 73 Craig p 74 Review of film at Variety Vagg Stephen 30 August 2020 Joan Henry The Jailbird Muse Filmink SUICIDES AFTER SEEING FILM The Canberra Times Vol 30 no 1 957 7 September 1956 p 14 Retrieved 15 August 2020 via National Library of Australia Vagg Stephen 7 September 2020 A Tale of Two Blondes Diana Dors and Belinda Lee Filmink External links editYield to the Night at IMDb nbsp Yield to the Night at AllMovie Yield to the Night at the British Film Institute better source needed Yield to the Night at Letterbox DVD Yield to the Night at BFI Screenonline Category Films based on British novels Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Yield to the Night amp oldid 1217695766, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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