The Man in Grey

The Man in Grey_720p(480P)

source: The Man in Grey

The basic story in "The Man in Grey" is quite good. However, the choices made for how to tell the story were a bit odd and really prevented a good movie from being exceptional. One problem is that instead of the viewer learning about the characters as the story takes place, there are MANY occasions when the twists in the story are told early on...so that there's little in the way of suspense. For example, Hester warns Clarissa that she's a no-goodnick (or something like that) AND the gypsy sees Hester and immediately knows she's evil...long, long before you see Hester behave abominably! Another problem is that there isn't a lot of suspense about the story...little comes as a surprise. After a prologue that is both unnecessary AND foreshadows what will take place, the story switches to the early 19th century. Hester (Margaret Lockwood) arrives at a finishing school and soon is befriended by Clarissa (Phyllis Calvert). However, Hester, in a moment of frankness, tells Clarissa that she (Hester) is no good and will hurt anyone who gets in her way. A bit later, Hester runs away from the school and disappears. So time later, Clarissa graduates and now it's time for her to find a husband. Without even knowing her, Lord Rohan (James Mason) marries her and soon she realizes he has zero interest in her and she is essentially a brood mare...otherwise, he lives his life and she lives hers quite separately. Naturally she's lonely and sad...that is until she happens upon Hester once again. She invites Hester to come live with her....and all sorts 'o bad stuff then happens. Exactly what, you can see for yourself. As I mentioned above, the story is excellent...the way you KNOW what's going to happen long before it does is simply bad storytelling. Worth seeing but totally lacking in suspense. And the ending, while wild to watch, really seemed out of place considering the sort of man Rohan had been. By the way, this is a very offensive film when it comes to black people. The language they use and having a white child in black makeup playing a servant is pretty shocking stuff in the 21st century. Also, two years after this, Margaret Lockwood and James Mason starred in "The Wicked Lady" and they played very similar sorts of roles. However, this later film never telegraphed its moves like "The Man in Grey" and was a much, much better and very satisfying movie.

An entertaining watch, but definitely of it's time. A word of warning to those who might possibly be triggered by some jarring racial elements - young actor Antony Scott plays a young African servant in blackface, and unfortunately also attempts to speak in the caricature of one. Lead actor Stewart Granger also plays Othello in blackface, and later refers to an African in his employ as "his n****r". Other than these understandably distasteful moments, it's well-acted.

Lord Rohan isn't to be blamed for wanting to marry a healthy young woman who will produce a male heir for him, nor is Clarissa to blame for so quickly accepting his proposal, after all her prospects weren't all that great. Nor can I blame Hester for wanting all the things she could never have growing up. No, this is just how it was in those days. I enjoyed Margaret Lockwood's performance the most; it's hard to show remorse in a cold, calculating character and she brings it off well. Calvert, Mason and Granger give her excellent support.

You can't beat the actors ... but you might want to beat the screenwriter. Good god. This 90 minute movie seems to drag on and on and yet the characters never become believable let alone compelling and the plot is spread thin. A bunch A people walking around in big heavy costumes, wigs, and James Mason has a bad perm. To make matters worse, a Caucasian child actor is made up in blackface. Very annoying to say the least. I'm not sure if the boy was supposed to be African or Eastern Indian. I let it go because at least the character was very loyal, loving and brave. Then Granger dressed up in black face while performing in a play. He uses a word later on that just made it intolerable. We all realize things were different 70 years ago and can choose to be glad things have changed. A stupid movie isn't worth getting angry or upset about. I don't think there was any hateful intent just the stupefying ignorance of the time.

...in the mind of a scheming woman. She doesn't start out as evil as the ruthless murderess in "The Wicked Lady", but Margaret Lockwood's Hester is formidable nonetheless. She is a pauper hired on as a junior teacher who creates scandal at a girl's school while befriending highbrow Phyllis Calvet, a student who marries a wealthy Lord (James mason) for convenience yet who remains strangely unfulfilled as a wealthy wife and neglectful mother. When she runs into Lockwood at a performance of "Othello" (which Lockwood is appearing in), she invites her to come to her country home as her companion, and Lockwood, getting over a miserable short-lived marriage, sets her sights on becoming Mason's mistress. Calvet falls in love with Lockwood's "Othello" co-star (Stewart Granger) while warnings from gypsy Beatice Varley curse the women's friendship, leading into much turmoil and a shocking finale. This costume variation of "Old Acquaintance" doesn't apologize for its less than noble characters, giving us a look into the minds of the nobility of a supposed romantic age that here comes off as anything but. Lockwood gets to start off subtle, build up melodramatic emotion as she goes forward, and finally become so evil you may find herself hissing her. Calvet isn't some wimpy Gothic heroine here; She gives out as good as she gets, which unfortunately isn't strong enough to beat her supposed friend or rascal husband, played by Mason in a delightful moody performance. The only weak link in this strong chain is the presence of young Hary Scott, obviously in blackface, playing an Indian youth, based more on the audacity of his casting rather than his performance.

One line of dialogue stood out for me and actually made the film; Lockwood and Calvert are travelling by coach to Calvert's London home and she asks Lockwood (who has just played Desdemona to Granger's Othello) how long Granger has been an actor. 'As far as I'm concerned he never was' replies Lockwood, a brilliant summation of Granger's talent, the lack of which, of course, failed to prevent him achieving film stardom. This Regency meller stands up remarkably well and if Mason and Lockwood are slightly over the top, Calvert a tad TOO twee, as if auditioning for any parts Olivia de Havilland might reject, and Granger too inept probably at the time - and wartime at that - they were all quite acceptable. Certainly worth a look.

A good old-fashioned bodice-ripper, it was the first big success for Britain's Gainsborough Studios which decided to take on the big costume dramas of Hollywood with home-grown talent. Introducing to the masses soon-to-be-familiar names like Mason, Granger, Lockwood and Calvert, it set the template for succeeding and ever more successful variations on this particular formula, often employing different combinations of this same quartet of acting talent. High art it isn't, based as it is on a popular novel of the day, but it's easy to imagine its populist and escapist appeal to a wartime audience. James Mason, for one, hated the film and his own acting in it but the fact of the matter is that it's his presence in the titular role, as the misogynistic, sadistic and decadent Lord Rohan, who despite his despised and feared personal characteristics has the fabulous wealth and high status which make him the most desirable bachelor of the day. This is how he meets the pretty, sparky, trusting debutante Clarissa Marr, played by Phyllis Calvert, whose mother offers her to Rohan at what can only be described as a female cattle market, indeed just like all the other mothers and daughters of the day in attendance. However it's not long before the young bride comes to her senses after she does her wifely duty in siring him a son and heir at which opportune moment just when she feels doomed to a loveless marriage, into her life enters Granger's Peter Rokesby, an adventurer fallen on hard times but otherwise dashing, handsome and sincere in his feelings for her which she soon reciprocates. Soon she gets him a place as librarian, of all things, at Rohan Hall but there's a viper in this new love-nest in the shape of the darkly beautiful Hesther Shaw, played with relish by Lockwood. Of low birth but with high ambitions, she uses Clarissa's desire for one good friend in her life to also enter the household and usurp her position as Rohan's woman of choice, becoming effectively his live-in mistress. This ABBA-esque set-up with all four new and ex-lovers under the one roof of course can't last with machinations on all sides of the quadrangle leading up to not one but two murders, one of them infamous for its brutality as Rohan gets the whip-hand over his wife's murderer. Maybe I shouldn't have, but I really enjoyed this Regency romp. I found the "two-good, two-bad" interplay of the four main characters added a degree of psychological intrigue as the plot developed in sometimes surprising ways. It's not perfect, the young black boy (in obvious blackface, and why did he have to be black anyway?) who plays an important part in the denouement seems to be reading his lines off-screen, the background music is far too intrusive and I disliked the present-day framing device which threw together the descendants of Calvert and Granger to sweeten the ending. But with its handsome and pretty leads, whirlwind action and impressive sets, it's easy to see why it was so successful in its day.

I'll explain the subject of my review later. I won't lie and say I enjoyed this film, though I certainly loved seeing all the actors so young, and their acting was marvelous. "The Man in Grey" begins at a modern-day auction where Phyllis Calvert and Stewart Granger meet. Granger is hoping to pick up something from the Rohan family - one of his ancestors was involved with a Roham. Calvert actually is a Rohan. As they look over the various small items available, the film dissolves to an earlier time period. We see how these items were connected to the various people in the story. The lovely Clarissa (Calvert) marries the wealthy, arrogant Lord Rohan (James Mason) not for love, but so he can have an heir while he continues with his hedonistic life. While in school, Clarissa befriended a poor girl, Hester (Margaret Lockwood). One night she sees that Hester, who had run off to get married, is in a play, and makes contact with her. It's not long before Hester is living in the manse with Clarissa and Lord Rohan and decides that three's a crowd. The unhappy Clarissa meets Rokeby (Granger), and they fall in love. He wants her to leave Rohan. What will happen to the lives of these four? Apparently this film was a huge hit and really established these stars. For me it was problematic. The first complete turn-off was a discussion of a disgusting dogfight. Thank God it was just a discussion. I nearly stopped watching then but soldiered on. It solidified Lord Rohan for me as a revolting human being. And then we have little Toby (Antony Scott). You're kidding, right? He plays a boy slave who is devoted to Clarissa. He's a white kid in blackface. Stupefying. Or was he? Supposedly he is the son of Harry Scott, part of the minstrel team of Scott and Whaley. Scott and Whaley supposedly actually were black. But boy this kid looked like he had on blackface. A little mystery that I couldn't solve. The Man in Grey is a story where good is good and evil is evil, no in betweens. Hester and Lord Rohan are nasty pieces of work. See it for the fine actors and as an example of Gainsborough films - this is probably the most successful one.