''No Resting Place'' is a 1951 British motion picture directed by

Paul Rotha Paul Rotha (3 June 1907 – 7 March 1984) was an English documentary film-maker, film historian and critic. Early life and education He was born Paul Thompson in London, and educated at Highgate School and at the Slade School of Fine Art. Care ...

, produced by Colin Lesslie Productions, and starring

Michael Gough Francis Michael Gough ( ; 23 November 1916 – 17 March 2011) was a British actor who made more than 150 film and television appearances. He is known for his roles in the Hammer horror films from 1958, with his first role as Sir Arthur Holmwoo ...

, based on

Ian Niall Ian Niall (7 November 1916 – 24 June 2002), born John Kincaid McNeillie, was a writer from Galloway, Scotland. He wrote works under both these names. He was born in Old Kilpatrick, to parents from the Machars in South West Scotland. He moved b ...

's 1948 novel. It is noteworthy for its early use of location shooting and for bringing the acting style of Dublin's

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre (), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland () is a theatre in Dublin, Ireland. First opening to the public on 27 December 1904, and moved from its original building after a fire in 1951, it has remained active to the p ...

to the screen, as well as being the fiction feature debut of director

and cinematographer

Wolfgang Suschitzky Wolfgang Suschitzky, BSC (29 August 1912 – 7 October 2016), was an Austrian-born British documentary photographer, as well as a cinematographer perhaps best known for his collaboration with Paul Rotha in the 1940s and his work on Mike Hodge ...

Production

It was the first fiction film directed by Rotha, formerly a documentary maker. The film draws on Rotha's documentary background as well as Italian neo-Realism, with scenes of rural and domestic life particularly showing the influence of his documentaries. It was made for a low budget of 60,000 GBP. It was shot entirely on location in

Wicklow Wicklow ( ; , meaning 'church of the toothless one'; ) is the county town of County Wicklow in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is located on the east of Ireland, south of Dublin. According to the 2022 census of Ireland, 2022 census, it had ...

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

by cinematographer

. It was the first film as cinematographer for Suschitzky, who went on to photograph films including ''

Get Carter ''Get Carter'' is a 1971 British gangster film, gangster thriller film, written and directed by Mike Hodges in his directorial debut and starring Michael Caine, Ian Hendry, John Osborne, Britt Ekland and Bryan Mosley. Based on Ted Lewis (write ...

''. The soundtrack was by

William Alwyn William Alwyn (born William Alwyn Smith; 7 November 1905 – 11 September 1985), was a prolific English composer, Conducting, conductor, and music teacher who composed over 200 cinematic scores, of which some 70 were for full-length features, ...

, using a small ensemble of traditional Irish instruments: harp, flute, and violin. Apart from stars Michael Gough and Noel Purcell, Rotha drew the cast from Irish theatres including the

and Irish radio. It is regarded by some critics as part of an Abbey school of filmmaking that aimed to mimic the realism of contemporary mainland-European film.

Plot

Gough plays an

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers (, meaning ''the walking people''), also known as Mincéirs (Shelta: ''Mincéirí'') or Pavees, are a traditionally List of nomadic peoples#Peripatetic, peripatetic Indigenous peoples, indigenous Ethnic group, ethno-cultural g ...

who is relentlessly pursued by a policeman (Mannigan, played by Noel Purcell) after accidentally killing a gamekeeper.

Critical reaction

Ian Johnson praises moments of touching emotional clarity but criticises "inept scripting" and a poor ending, probably imposed by censors.

Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

praised the authenticity of its depiction of tinker life, while finding the figure of the pursuing civil guard Mannigan to be less convincing. The

Manchester Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

applauded the truthfulness of its depiction of the Irish countryside and Gough's performance, and commended it for a more truthful portrayal of Ireland than the traditional stage Irish cliches, while suggesting it could do with a bit more poetry.

Awards

At the 1952

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

, it was nominated for Best Film from any Source and Best British Film.

References

External links

* {{Paul Rotha Films directed by Paul Rotha 1951 films Films scored by William Alwyn Films based on British novels British drama films 1951 drama films British black-and-white films 1950s British films