The Raging Moon
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''The Raging Moon'' (released in the US as ''Long Ago, Tomorrow'') is a 1971 British
romantic drama Romance films involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion (emotion), passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their ...
film starring
Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's ''if....'' (1968), a role he later reprised in ''O Lucky Man!'' (1973) and ''Britannia Hospital ...
and Nanette Newman and based on the book by British novelist Peter Marshall. Adapted and directed by
Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes Order of the British Empire, 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 2 ...
(Newman's husband), this "romance in wheelchairs" was considered unusual in its time owing in part to the sexual nature of the relationship between McDowell and Newman, who play disabled people. The film received two
Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
nominations, for Best Foreign Film (English Language), and Best Song for "
Long Ago Tomorrow "Long Ago Tomorrow" is a song written by Hal David and Burt Bacharach for the 1971 film ''Long Ago, Tomorrow''. ''Long Ago, Tomorrow'' was the U.S release of a film earlier released in the U.K. as ''The Raging Moon''. (''The Raging Moon'' did not ...
".


Plot

Bruce Pritchard is a 24-year-old working-class man and amateur football player with a passion for life. All this changes when he finds himself struck down by an incurable degenerative disease which means he'll need to use a
wheelchair A wheelchair is a mobilized form of chair using two or more wheels, a footrest, and an armrest usually cushioned. It is used when walking is difficult or impossible to do due to illnesses, injury, disabilities, or age-related health conditio ...
for the rest of his life. He goes into a church-run home for the disabled, believing that his immediate family don't feel able to care for him. His bitterness at his fate and his dislike of the rules and regulations of the place only serve to make him more withdrawn and angry at his enforced imprisonment. Pritchard gets to know a fellow patient, Jill Matthews, a 31-year-old woman from a wealthy family, who is also a wheelchair user, due to
polio Poliomyelitis ( ), commonly shortened to polio, is an infectious disease caused by the poliovirus. Approximately 75% of cases are asymptomatic; mild symptoms which can occur include sore throat and fever; in a proportion of cases more severe ...
. Bruce begins to harbour romantic feelings for Matthews; however, before he can make his feelings known, she leaves the institution to return home and marry longstanding fiancé, Geoffrey. However, Jill soon realises that Geoffrey is half-hearted about marrying her and so breaks off the engagement and returns to the institution. Gradually, she is able to break through Pritchard's shell of cynicism and lack of respect for authority, bringing life back to his existence. In the process, the two fall in love and admit their feelings for each other, going on to get engaged. Bruce and Jill's difficult circumstances have resulted in them finding the love of their lives. Soon, though, Jill dies from a virus. Bruce almost returns to his depression but, because of the courage he has found within himself through knowing Jill, is able to go on living.


Cast

*
Malcolm McDowell Malcolm McDowell (born Malcolm John Taylor; 13 June 1943) is an English actor. He first became known for portraying Mick Travis in Lindsay Anderson's ''if....'' (1968), a role he later reprised in ''O Lucky Man!'' (1973) and ''Britannia Hospital ...
as Bruce Pritchard * Nanette Newman as Jill Matthews * Georgia Brown as Sarah Charles * Barry Jackson as Bill Charles * Gerald Sim as Reverend Carbett * Michael Flanders as Clarence Marlow * Margery Mason as Matron * Geoffrey Whitehead as Harold Pritchard * Chris Chittell as Terry * Jack Woolgar as Bruce's Father * Patsy Smart as Bruce's Mother * Norman Bird as Dr. Matthews * Constance Chapman as Mrs. Matthews * Michael Lees as Geoffrey * Bernard Lee as Uncle Bob * Geoffrey Bayldon as Mr. Latbury * Theresa Watson as Gladys * Petra Markham as Mary * Paul Darrow as Doctor


Background


Original novel

It was based on a novel by Peter Marshall, who contracted polio when he was eighteen and lived the rest of his life in a wheelchair. (He died of pneumonia in 1972.) The novel was originally published in 1964. ''
Kirkus Reviews ''Kirkus Reviews'' is an American book review magazine founded in 1933 by Virginia Kirkus. The magazine's publisher, Kirkus Media, is headquartered in New York City. ''Kirkus Reviews'' confers the annual Kirkus Prize to authors of fiction, no ...
'' called it "a short novel, written with a sharpness of intelligence and feeling, and it is altogether genuine, a word easily exploited and seldom justified." ''The New York Times'' called it a "fine, moving novel." In 1965 director Robert Butler bought the screen rights to it and another Marshall novel, ''Two Lives''.


1967 TV adaptation

The novel was adapted for television by the
BBC The British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) is a British public service broadcaster headquartered at Broadcasting House in London, England. Originally established in 1922 as the British Broadcasting Company, it evolved into its current sta ...
in 1967 as part of the ''Boy Meets Girl'' anthology series. The main parts were played by Ray Brooks and Anna Calder-Marshall. Dennis Potter, reviewing it for the ''New Statesman'', said the production "kept erupting into something raw and genuine."


Production


Development

Film rights eventually went to producer Bruce Curtis, nephew of
Harry Cohn Harry Cohn (July 23, 1891 – February 27, 1958) was a co-founder, president, and production director of Columbia Pictures, Columbia Pictures Corporation. Life and career Cohn was born to a working-class Jewish family in New York City. His fath ...
, who had just made '' Otley'' (1969). He initially tried to finance the film through Columbia, but was turned down. Shelagh Delaney wrote a script. Curtis took the project to
Bryan Forbes Bryan Forbes Order of the British Empire, 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 2 ...
who had recently been appointed head of EMI Films. Forbes agreed to write and direct the film as well. Forbes was in the unusual position of being able to green-light his own film. He was highly criticized in some quarters for directing a film while running the studio. He said at the time he did it to keep the studio active in "the traditionally dull time in January–February" and says he directed it because there was no one cheaper than himself (he took no directing fee). Forbes later wrote in his memoirs "the main reason for my decision was to keep the studio open and avoid wholesale redundancies amongst the permanent workforce." ''Filmink'' magazine argued for Forbes to make ''Raging Moon'' "truly was a mad decision on his part" as "running a studio" was "a full-time job and for Forbes to go off and write and direct a feature film (another all-encompassing job) was foolish."


Casting

Forbes cast Malcolm McDowell and his wife, Nanette Newman in the lead roles. Forbes later wrote "I believed passionately in the subject and felt that in casting Malcolm MacDowell I had a potential star." (McDowell had appeared in ''if...'' and been cast in ''A Clockwork Orange''. Forbes claimed he cast his wife because she was "right for the part". (He later wrote in his memoirs he was partly motivated to cast her to make up for the fact that another film Newman appeared in, ''A Fine and Private Place'', was cancelled mid production. However that film was actually shot after ''Raging Moon''.) The casting of these actors meant Forbes had to age up the characters in the script. Malcolm McDowell and Nanette Newman researched their roles at Stoke Mandeville Hospital. Newman later called her role "the best part I've ever had".


Filming

Filming started at Elstree Studios in February 1970. Forbes recalled, "My task was to avoid any patronising of the disabled, shun sentimentalising the core love story and bring out the humour which, during my research, I quickly found was characteristic of genuine paraplegics." Forbes hired cinematographer Tony Imi on the basis of the latter's work in ''Cathy Comes Home''. "I did not want glossy photography, I wanted utter realism," wrote Forbes. In March it was reported Delaney left the film after a dispute with Forbes saying the latter "has made considerable changes to the script. In the absence of any real opportunity to revise these changes, I withdrew from the project." Forbes said, "I regret this very much and so does the producer." Delaney had her name removed from the credits. "It was never our intention to ask her, or try to maneuvre her, into a position where she would not have credit," said Forbes. "She felt the version was too far removed from her conception. There were no hard words. I have yet to find a film that was not changed during production. I am very sorry." Nanette Newman later recalled:
Everybody took a cut in salary, it was done on a very small budget and we were just a little group of people in a house. It had a wonderful feeling: shots would be grabbed, you worked in what you arrived in (there were no costumes), and you had a feeling of everybody pulling together, wanting the film to be good. I have a very special feeling for that film.


Post-Production

Forbes had asked
Paul McCartney Sir James Paul McCartney (born 18 June 1942) is an English singer, songwriter and musician who gained global fame with the Beatles, for whom he played bass guitar and the piano, and shared primary songwriting and lead vocal duties with John ...
to write a "sad song to play under the credits" for the film. McCartney began working on a song titled "So Sad", which later became "Another Day". However, after a test screening on July 22, 1970, McCartney was not enthusiastic about the film and wrote a note to Forbes saying that the song was not suitable for its soundtrack, so the song was not included. Once the film was made, it was screened for executives at EMI in October 1970. They disliked it and did not want the film released. Forbes persuaded them to attend another screening, with an invited audience; this went well and secured company support. In the words of Alexander Walker, "The reaction was overwhelmingly good. Dutiful words of praise now came forth from the E.M.I. offices, though some felt they were like the words of a man who congratulates a Channel swimmer on his efforts while holding his head under water."


Release


UK release

The film was released in January 1971. ''The Observer'' called it "a pleasant surprise". ''The Guardian'' said "it digs only half deep enough." However it was not a success at the box office in the UK, in part because of limited distribution. When the film was released it was reported Forbes was preparing another film to direct, an adaptation of H.E. Bates' ''The Triple Echo'' to star Vanessa Redgrave, Jenny Agutter and Peter McEnery, to start filming in March. However, in March 1971 Forbes quit as head of EMI films although his contract did not expire until April 1972. He and Newman left for a holiday in the Bahamas, then travelled to the US to try and sell the film there.


US Release

In May the film was bought for distribution in the US by Don Rugoff who paid an advance of £41,500. "Now I feel vindicated," said Forbes. "EMI showed little faith in my picture but Rugoff has high hopes." Rugloff spent a large amount on advertising and also paid for a new
Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; May 12, 1928 – February 8, 2023) was an American composer, songwriter, record producer, and pianist who is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential figures of 20th-century popular music. Start ...
theme song, which necessitated a change in title. The American release also had two minutes cut from the wedding sequence.


Reception

Reviews were very strong in the US. The ''San Francisco Examiner'' called it "very beautiful and moving." The ''Los Angeles Times'' said it was "an exceedingly professional piece of storytelling." ''Filmink'' argued that while the film was well made, the leads "both excellent actors, were too old: the story needed to be about young things, as in the original novel (based on the author’s own experiences)… but McDowell was an old-looking 27 and Nanette Newman in her mid 30s. I also felt it needed a little more story. Forbes blamed spotty distribution but if he’d added a third main character (a rival, say, or someone’s parent) and cast some younger, attractive, soulful actors (such as Jenny Agutter from ''The Railway Children''), I think ''Moon'' could have had a shot."


Legacy

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
winner Gary Oldman chose to become an actor after watching the film, particularly because of McDowell's performance.


References


Bibliography

*


External links

*
''The Raging Moon''
at BFI
Review of film
at ''Variety''
1967 TV version
at BBC

by A. H. Weiler, ''The New York Times'', 30 September 1971
Review
by Ian White at '' Starburst'', 23 November 2015 {{DEFAULTSORT:Raging Moon, The 1971 films 1971 drama films British drama films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios Films about people with paraplegia or tetraplegia Films directed by Bryan Forbes Films with screenplays by Bryan Forbes Films scored by Stanley Myers EMI Films films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films Films about disability in the United Kingdom