''The Upturned Glass'' is a 1947 British

film noir Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...

psychological thriller Psychological thriller is a genre combining the thriller and psychological fiction genres. It is commonly used to describe literature or films that deal with psychological narratives in a thriller or thrilling setting. In terms of context and c ...

directed by

Lawrence Huntington Lawrence Huntington (1900–1968) was a UK, British film director, screenwriter and film producer, producer. Huntington was born in London on 9 March 1900, he directed more than thirty films following his debut feature ''After Many Years'' (1930). ...

and starring James Mason,

Rosamund John Rosamund John (19 October 1913 – 27 October 1998), born Nora Rosamund Jones, was an English film and stage actress. Early life She was born and brought up in Tottenham in North London, the daughter of Frederick Henry Jones, a wine merchant' ...

and

Pamela Kellino Pamela Mason (10 March 1916 – 29 June 1996), also known as Pamela Kellino, was an English actress, author, and screenwriter, known for being the creative partner and first wife of English actor James Mason. Early life and personal life Born ...

. The screenplay concerns a leading brain

surgeon In modern medicine, a surgeon is a medical professional who performs surgery. Although there are different traditions in different times and places, a modern surgeon usually is also a licensed physician or received the same medical training as ...

who murders a woman he believes to be responsible for the death of the woman he loved. It was made at

Gainsborough Pictures Gainsborough Pictures was a British film studio based on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, north London. Gainsborough Studios was active between 1924 and 1951. The com ...

Islington Studios Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were a British film studio located on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London between 1919 and 1949. The studi ...

, with sets designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Andrew Mazzei Andrew Mazzei (1887–1975) was a French-born British art director who designed the sets for more than sixty films during his career. Mazzei began his career in the late 1920s during the silent era including on the futuristic ''High Treason''. ...

. It was made as an

independent production Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

overseen by

Sydney Box Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer Betty Box. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Jay Lewis. He produced and co- ...

, then head of Gainsborough.

Plot

Michael Joyce, a Harley Street brain specialist, unhappily married and separated from his wife, falls in love with Emma Wright when she brings her young daughter Ann for consultation. Unfortunately, neither is free to marry, so the affair ends almost as soon as it begins. Later, however, Emma dies after a fall from her country manor's second-story bedroom window. Upon hearing of the tragedy, Michael attends the coroner's inquest, where Ann and Emma's sister-in-law, Kate Howard, both testify. Emma's death is ruled accidental, but Michael suspects foul play. To gain information, he romances Kate, who is unaware that Michael was Emma's lover though she knew Emma was seeing someone. Eventually, Michael learns that Kate intended to blackmail Emma for financial gain. He considers the situation a misjustice and resolves to take matters into his own hands. One afternoon, Michael drives Kate to Emma's country house, where Michael maneuvers her into the same upper-story bedroom from which Emma fell. He then carries out his revenge, pushing Kate out the same window. Retrieving her corpse from the courtyard below and placing it in the car's back, he drives toward the cliffs just over the sea, where he intends to dispose of Kate's body. On the way, however, he encounters a stranded doctor, a general practitioner, who begs a ride to the home of a patient, a young woman whose survival of a head injury is doubtful. But when the doctor asks Michael for a second opinion, the latter examines the woman and decides she might have a chance. And to the immense relief of the patient's family, Michael succeeds in saving her life. Resuming his trek toward the sea with Kate's body, Michael undergoes the realization that he is not "perfectly sane" and that perhaps his status as a "valuable member of society" is indeed questionable. He stands at the edge of the cliff and looks down toward the sea—and then, just as in the case of both Emma and Kate, he falls downward to his own death.

Cast

* James Mason as Michael Joyce *

as Emma Wright *

as Kate Howard *

Ann Stephens Ann Stephens (21 May 1931 – 15 July 1966) was a British child actress and singer, popular in the 1940s. She was born in London. In July 1941 she recorded several songs, including a popular version of "The Teddy Bears' Picnic", " Dicky Bird Hop ...

as Ann Wright *

Morland Graham Morland Graham (8 August 1891 – 8 April 1949) was a British film actor. Graham had a career on the stage spanning over 35 years. He was known as a character actor, but also wrote a one act comedy, ''C'est la Guerre'', which was first perf ...

as Clay *

Brefni O'Rorke Brefni O'Rorke (26 June 1889 – 11 November 1946) was an Irish actor, both on the stage and in movies. Early life O'Rorke was born as William Francis Breffni O'Rorke at 2 Esplande Villas in Dollymount, Clontarf, Dublin on 26 June 1889, and bap ...

as Dr. Farrell *

Henry Oscar Henry Wale (14 July 1891 – 28 December 1969), known professionally as Henry Oscar, was an English stage and film actor. He changed his name and began acting in 1911, having studied under Elsie Fogerty at the Central School of Speech and Dram ...

as Coroner *

Jane Hylton Jane Hylton (16 July 1926 – 28 February 1979, born as Audrey Gwendolene Clark) was an English actress who accumulated 30 film credits, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, before moving into television work in the latter half of her career in the ...

as Miss Marsh * Sheila Huntington as 1st Girl Student *

Susan Shaw Susan Shaw (29 August 192927 November 1978) was an English actress. Biography Shaw was born Patsy Sloots in West Norwood, London. She had wanted to become a dress designer and was working as a typist at the Ministry for Information when she di ...

as 2nd Girl Student *

Peter Cotes Peter Cotes (19 March 1912 – 10 November 1998) was an English director, producer, actor, writer and production manager. Cotes was born as Sydney Boulting in Maidenhead, Berkshire. His brothers John and Roy Boulting became noted film makers. ...

as Male Student * Nuna Davey as Mrs. Deva * Judith Carol as Joan Scott-Trotter * Jno. P. Monaghan as U.S. Driver *

Maurice Denham William Maurice Denham OBE (23 December 1909 – 24 July 2002) was an English character actor who appeared in over 100 films and television programmes in his long career. Family Denham was born on 23 December 1909 in Beckenham, Kent, the son ...

as Mobile Policeman * Janet Burnell as Sylvia *

Margaret Withers Margaret Withers (6 July 1893 – 26 October 1977) was a British actress mainly on the stage. Filmography References External links

* Year of birth unknown Year of death unknown British stage actresses British film actresses 20th-c ...

as Party Guest *

Beatrice Varley Beatrice Evelyn Varley (11 July 1896 – 4 July 1964) was an English actress who appeared in television and film roles between 1936 and 1964. She made her screen debut in the 1936 film ''Tomorrow We Live'' and began to portray a variety of ch ...

as Injured Girl's Mother * Hélène Burls as Farm Laborer's Wife * Howard Douglas as Lorry Driver * Richard Afton as Lorry Driver's Mate * Lyn Evans as County Policeman

Production

In the mid 1940s James Mason was the biggest star in British films, coming off successes like ''They Were Sisters'', ''The Seventh Veil'' and ''The Wicked Lady''. Mason and his then wife, Pamela Kellino (Mason), had originally planned to develop a film on the

Brontë family The Brontës () were a nineteenth-century literary family, born in the village of Thornton and later associated with the village of Haworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, England. The sisters, Charlotte (1816–1855), Emily (1818–184 ...

entitled ''The Upturned Glass'', written by Pamela and starring James as

Branwell Brontë Patrick Branwell Brontë (, commonly ; 26 June 1817 – 24 September 1848) was an English painter and writer. He was the only son of the Brontë family, and brother of the writers Charlotte, Emily, and Anne. Brontë was rigorously tutored at ...

. They dropped the idea after learning of the Hollywood production ''

Devotion Devotion or Devotions may refer to: Religion * Faith, confidence or trust in a person, thing, or concept * Anglican devotions, private prayers and practices used by Anglican Christians * Buddhist devotion, commitment to religious observance * Cat ...

'', and instead developed a psychological thriller under the same title, in which both Masons would play leading roles. The film was based on a story by American serviceman Jno. P. Monaghan, whom the Masons had befriended when touring the US for the

American Red Cross The American Red Cross (ARC), also known as the American National Red Cross, is a non-profit humanitarian organization that provides emergency assistance, disaster relief, and disaster preparedness education in the United States. It is the desi ...

. Kellino and Monaghan worked on the story together, and Monaghan appeared in a small role as an American military truck driver. In the original draft of the script, Mason was to play a detective and the film was to focus around a school mistress. However after Mason was unable to secure the services of the actors they wanted, Celia Johnson and

Phyllis Calvert Phyllis Hannah Murray-Hill (née Bickle; 18 February 1915 – 8 October 2002), known professionally as Phyllis Calvert, was an English film, stage and television actress. She was one of the leading stars of the Gainsborough melodramas of the 1 ...

, the script was rewritten. The new script had nothing to do with an upturned glass but they decided to keep the title because it had received considerable publicity.FROM LONDON'S STUDIOS: Back-Seat Driving-British Style By C.A. LEJEUNE. New York Times 21 July 1946: X3. James Mason co-produced the film with

, with whom he had previously worked on the Academy-Award-winning ''

The Seventh Veil ''The Seventh Veil'' is a 1945 British melodrama film directed by Compton Bennett and starring James Mason and Ann Todd. It was made by Ortus Films (a company established by producer Sydney Box) and released through General Film Distributors i ...

''. For his work on ''The Upturned Glass'', Mason, who at the time had "enormous drawing power", received the equivalent of $240,000 in U.S. dollars, plus a percentage of the profits. The project was announced in February 1946 with the co stars originally to be Kellino, Rosamund John and Robert Newton. It was to follow production of ''Odd Man Out''. Mason was doing the film under his contract with Rank, having turned down ''Hungry Hill''. Filming began at Riverside Studio in June 1946. Mason made it just before leaving for the US. In March 1947 J Arthur Rank sent editor Allan Obiston to the USA for Mason's thoughts on the cut.

Reception

Box office

According to trade papers, the film was a "notable box office attraction" at British cinemas in 1947. It earned a reported profit of £45,800.

References

External links

*
Review of film
at Variety * {{DEFAULTSORT:Upturned Glass, The 1947 films 1947 drama films British drama films British films about revenge Films set in hospitals Films set in London Films directed by Lawrence Huntington Islington Studios films Films shot at Riverside Studios British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films