''The Angry Silence'' is a 1960 black-and-white British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

directed by Guy Green and starring Richard Attenborough, Pier Angeli, Michael Craig and

Bernard Lee John Bernard Lee (10 January 190816 January 1981) was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven Eon-produced James Bond films. Lee's film career spanned the years 1934 to 1979, though he had appeared on stage from ...

. The film marked the first release through screenwriter

Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes CBE (; born John Theobald Clarke; 22 July 1926 – 8 May 2013) was an English film director, screenwriter, film producer, actor and novelist described as a "Renaissance man"Falk Q. . BAFTA. 17 October 2007. Retrieved 9 May 2013 and ...

's production venture, Beaver Films, and Forbes won a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

and an

Oscar Oscar, OSCAR, or The Oscar may refer to: People * Oscar (given name), an Irish- and English-language name also used in other languages; the article includes the names Oskar, Oskari, Oszkár, Óscar, and other forms. * Oscar (Irish mythology) ...

nomination for his contribution (shared with original story writers Michael Craig and Richard Gregson).

Plot

Factory worker Tom Curtis has two children and his wife, Anna, is pregnant, putting him under financial pressure. Consequently, he refuses to take part in an

unofficial strike A wildcat strike action, often referred to as a wildcat strike, is a strike action undertaken by unionised workers without union leadership's authorisation, support, or approval; this is sometimes termed an unofficial industrial action. The legalit ...

, meaning a loss of wages, which he is entitled to do. The strike is planned by outside activist Travers and orchestrated by

shop steward A union representative, union steward, or shop steward is an employee of an organization or company who represents and defends the interests of their fellow employees as a labor union member and official. Rank-and-file members of the union hold ...

Bert Connolly, who concocts spurious demands as part of his campaign to pressure the management into agreeing to a

closed shop A pre-entry closed shop (or simply closed shop) is a form of union security agreement under which the employer agrees to hire union members only, and employees must remain members of the union at all times to remain employed. This is different fr ...

, giving the union greater influence. Those who continue to work find that their properties are subject to repeated attacks, including bricks through windows and arson, and join the strike out of fear. Curtis alone continues to work in a show of defiance against threats and intimidation. When the strike ends, Curtis is accused of being a scab and

sent to Coventry To send someone to Coventry is an idiom used in England meaning to deliberately ostracise someone. Typically, this is done by not talking to them, avoiding their company, and acting as if they no longer exist. In essence, and by modern parlanc ...

. Then, when anti-union newspapers interview him and report on his plight, Connolly demands his dismissal, backing his demand with a

work to rule Work-to-rule (also known as an Italian strike, in Italian: ''Sciopero bianco'', or Slowdown in US usag is a job action in which employees do no more than the minimum required by the rules of their contract or job, and strictly follow time-con ...

and overtime ban. Management fears that continued publicity will mean the loss of a major contract, while some workers take matters into their own hands.

Cast

* Richard Attenborough as Tom Curtis * Pier Angeli as Anna Curtis * Michael Craig as Joe Wallace *

as Bert Connolly *

Alfred Burke Alfred Burke (28 February 1918 – 16 February 2011) was an English actor, perhaps best known for his portrayal of Frank Marker in the drama series '' Public Eye'', which ran on television for ten years. Early life Born in London's south-east ...

as Travers *

Geoffrey Keen Geoffrey Keen (21 August 1916 – 3 November 2005) was an English actor who appeared in supporting roles in many films. He is well known for playing British Defence Minister Sir Frederick Gray in the ''James Bond'' films. Biography Early lif ...

as Davis * Stephen Lindo as Brian *

Laurence Naismith Laurence Naismith (born Lawrence Johnson; 14 December 1908 – 5 June 1992) was an English actor. He made numerous film and television appearances, including starring roles in the musical films '' Scrooge'' (1970) and the children's ghost fil ...

as Martindale *

Russell Napier Russell Gordon Napier (28 November 1910 – 19 August 1974) was an Australian actor. Biography Russell Napier was born in Perth, Western Australia. Originally a lawyer, Napier was active as an actor on the stage as early as 1936; on the scree ...

as Thompson *

Penelope Horner Penelope (Penny) Horner (born 20 June 1939 in London) is a British former film and television actress. Life and career Penelope Horner began her acting career in 1956 in the British film comedy '' A Touch of the Sun''. Other small roles followed ...

as Pat * Brian Bedford as Eddie * Brian Murray as Gladys *

Norman Bird John George Norman Bird (30 October 1924 – 22 April 2005) was an English character actor. Early life Bird was born in Coalville, Leicestershire, England. A RADA graduate, he made his West End debut in Peter Brook's production of ''The Wi ...

as Roberts * Beckett Bould as Arkwright *

Oliver Reed Robert Oliver Reed (13 February 1938 – 2 May 1999) was an English actor known for his well-to-do, macho image and "hellraiser" lifestyle. After making his first significant screen appearances in Hammer Horror films in the early 1960s, his ...

as Mick * Edna Petrie as Harpy * Lloyd Pearson as Howarth *

Norman Shelley Norman Shelley (16 February 1903 – 21 August 1980) was a British actor, best known for his work in radio, in particular for the BBC's ''Children's Hour''. He also had a recurring role as Colonel Danby in the long-running radio soap opera ''T ...

as Seagrave *

Daniel Farson Daniel James Negley Farson (8 January 1927 – 27 November 1997) was a British writer and broadcaster, strongly identified with the early days of commercial television in the UK, when his sharp, investigative style contrasted with the BBC's mor ...

as Himself *

Alan Whicker Alan Donald Whicker (2 August 1921 – 12 July 2013) was a British journalist and television presenter and broadcaster. His career spanned almost 60 years, during which time he presented the documentary television programme '' Whicke ...

as Himself *

Ronald Hines Ronald Charles Andrew Hines (20 June 1929 – 28 March 2017) was a British television actor. He had a lengthy career, but possibly his most prominent roles were as Henry Corner in three of the four series of ''Not in Front of the Children'', ...

as Ball * Bernard Horsfall as Pryce-Evans *

Roger Maxwell Roger Francis Hamilton Maxwell (born 21 March 1941) is a former New Zealand politician. He was an MP from 1984 to 1999, representing the National Party. Early life Maxwell was born in South Canterbury. He obtained his tertiary education at Li ...

as Collins *

George Murcell Arthur George Murcell (30 October 1925 – 3 December 1998) was a British character actor. Life and career Born in Italy, he made his film debut in Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger's '' The Battle of the River Plate'' (1956), Murcell we ...

as Jones *

Gerald Sim Gerald Grant Sim (4 June 1925 – 11 December 2014) was an English television and film actor who is perhaps best known for having played the Rector in '' To the Manor Born''. Career Sim was born in Liverpool, Lancashire and made over a hundred ...

as Masters *

Marianne Stone Marianne Stone (23 August 1922 – 21 December 2009) was an English character actress. She performed in films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s, typically playing working class parts such as barmaids, secretaries and landladies. Stone appe ...

as Mavis *

Frederick Peisley Frederick Walter James Peisley (6 December 1904 – 22 March 1975) was a British stage, film and television actor and theatre director whose career spanned five decades. He is known for ''The Secret of the Loch'' (1934), ''Gentlemen's Agreement' ...

as Lewis The film is also notable for the early appearance of several actors who later went on to become household names, such as

Production

Kenneth More Kenneth Gilbert More, CBE (20 September 1914 – 12 July 1982) was an English film and stage actor. Initially achieving fame in the comedy '' Genevieve'' (1953), he appeared in many roles as a carefree, happy-go-lucky gent. Films from this per ...

was initially considered for the role of Tom Curtis.

Reception

The film received positive reviews in the UK and US. ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' wrote that Guy Green had directed with 'quiet skill, leaving the film to speak for itself'. The film was entered into the

10th Berlin International Film Festival The 10th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from 24 June to 5 July 1960. The Golden Bear was awarded to the Spanish film '' El Lazarillo de Tormes'' directed by César Fernández Ardavín. Jury The following people were announ ...

. By 1971 the film made an estimated profit of £58,000. In 1997 Bryan Forbes estimated the profit at £200,000. After the film's release Richard Attenborough visited a

working men's club Working men's clubs are British private social clubs first created in the 19th century in industrial areas, particularly the North of England, Midlands, Scotland and South Wales Valleys, to provide recreation and education for working class ...

in Aberdare, South Wales, that was refusing to show the film. Many such clubs had banned the film because of its anti-strike plot. However, after Attenborough explained his position on the film, the miners allowed it to be screened. This was important because, during the 1960s, films required such showings to drive ticket sales. Some critics have raised doubts about the politics of the film, particularly with regard to trivialisation of the needs and demands of the workers. Others suggest that the film is also a reflection of British working-class values at the time, such as '

an Englishman's home is his castle ''Semayne's Case'' (January 1, 1604) 5 Coke Rep. 91, is an English common law case reported by Sir Edward Coke, who was then the Attorney General of England. In the United States, it is recognized as establishing the "knock-and-announce" rule. ...

'. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has a rating of 80%, based on reviews from 5 critics.

References

External links

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Movie Location
{{DEFAULTSORT:Angry Silence, The 1960 films British drama films 1960 drama films 1960s English-language films British black-and-white films Films set in England Films set in factories Films directed by Guy Green Films about the labor movement Films produced by Richard Attenborough Films scored by Malcolm Arnold 1960s British films