Hungry Hill

Daphne DuMaurier helped adapt one of her lesser known novels, Hungry Hill to the big screen in 1947. Possibly the problem is that it is one of his lesser known novels and was not that good a read to begin with.

Hungry Hill is where a copper mine is started by Cecil Parker the head of the Brodrick clan and Parker's his usual arrogant self once again on the screen. This piece of property the other family, the Donovans, feel the Brodricks cheated them out of way back when so this was an ongoing feud when the viewer enters the picture. When the mine opens the head of the Donovans, Arthur Sinclair, pronounces a curse on the Brodricks.

The Brodricks due seem like a cursed clan, but the curse also seems to ring down on the Donovans as well over the three generations that this tale is told.

The primary characters are Margaret Lockwood who marries into the Brodricks and Dennis Price who becomes a lawyer and tries not to have anything to do with the mine. They raise a new generation of Brodricks who have their own problems with the Donovans, especially young Dermot Walsh.

Cecil Parker being the fatuous oaf he is turns out to be a great businessman, but that's about all he is. He makes mistakes in the raising of both his son and grandson that really are the cause of a lot of the issues.

Jean Simmons has a brief role as Dennis Price's sister who I wish we had seen more of. She's in at the beginning and then we're told she marries an army man and is now in India. Smart girl, she showed sense in getting away from the Hungry Hill curse.

Hungry Hill moves at way too slow a pace. It's like a British version of The Magnificent Ambersons, the director's vision of Ambersons that is. Maybe it needed someone like Orson Welles at the helm.

This film was recently shown as part of the BBCs season of British films.It is a costume drama which seemed to be a staple diet of cinema going in the 1940s.the cast is fairly distinguished including Margaaret Lockwood,Dennis Price,Michael Dennison and Dermot Walsh.They seem to be playing the type of parts which had become their métier during this period.The problem is that there is no dynamism either about the acting or writing to give the film that spark.Perhaps it needed a mean and moody Mason to bring the film to life.I have to say that at times i found the film to be rather dull and tepid.There were lots of sequences to do with mines but this was already a bit of a cliché by the time this film was released.

Cecil Parker offers us the thread to guide us through this adaptation of Daphne du Maurier's novel about the dynastic aspirations of the "Brodrick" family, and of their trials and tribulations over a long period of history spent feuding with the local "Donovan" clan. It all starts when an altercation at their copper mine results in the death of his son "Henry" (Michael Denison) and follows the efforts of subsequent generations to try to put the past to rest (or not!). It's not the greatest of stories, this, but Parker and his eldest son, the well-meaning "Greyhound John" (Dennis Price), along with a strong performance from the always reliable Margaret Lockwood as his ambitious wife "Fanny Rosa" and Dermot Walsh as their aptly monikered son "Wild Johnnie" give us quite a few decent characters to follow. Terence Young helped the author adapt the screenplay and Brian Hurst has done a reasonable job, but somehow the story lacks punch. It takes way too long to get anywhere and the production itself is somewhat pedestrian. I did enjoy it, but that is probably because I am a fan of the three lead actors - I am not sure anyone will remember the film for long, though.

In Hungry Hill, the Brodricks and the Donovans are feuding. They have been for generations, and they're teaching their children the same hates. It's a tale as old as time, really; Irish family feuds are legendary.

Cecil Parker heads the leading Brodrick clan, joined by Dennis Price, Dermot Walsh, and Jean Simmons. I won't tell you any more about the plot, but I'm sure you can imagine every tragic turn. It's an epic saga, so passionate romances, violence and death, forbidden love, and parent-child arguments should be expected. Also, the families squabble over ownership and management of a coal mine, so you can expect some problems in the mine at some point.

If you like these types of movies, this one is very good. You'll get a lump in your throat, and you'll want to shake the characters' shoulders, and you'll get caught up in the grandeur of 1800s Ireland. In the end, you'll probably feel a little drained, since the movie's timeline carries through decades, so take a brisk walk afterwards or throw in a comedy to lift your spirits.

Adapted from a Dahpnee DeMaurier novel about a hundred year feud between Irish families Hungry Hill suffers from trying to cover too much ground in just over an hour and half. Working it's way through three generations Hill's cast, save for family patriarch Copper John Broderick (Cecil Parker), remains constantly in tragic transition with characters barely developed before disappearing for the duration.

Copper John brings employment to Hungry Hill by opening a mine but the resentment of the townspeople led by the Donovans runs deep. Brodrick can be stern and firm in family and business matters but the head of the Donovan clan is even more implacable and it leads to a mining disasters. Years pass and the hatred ebbs and flows as Brodrick loses children and grandsons assume leadership roles in the company while the Donovans stew in their juices and almost become part of the family.

Hungry Hill never really builds up much steam. For the most part it remains disjointed and lifeless with the stubborn patriarchs facing off first followed by the next generation along with an ironic romantic twist that leads to more tragedy. Brian Desmond Hurst's direction fails to ignite passion in scenes or cast as well as make much sense of the feud by forgoing detail in favor of passing years, leaping ahead without finishing up and leaving gaping holes in the plot. Making matters worse censorship further obfuscates the plot regarding a tryst between a Donovan and Brodrick that Hurst's ham fisted direction deals with through clumsy innuendo.