Portrait of Clare (film)
| Company type | Film |
|---|---|
| Industry | Film industry |
| Founded | 1950 |
Key people | Lance Comfort (director), Margaret Johnston, Richard Todd, Robin Bailey, Ronald Howard (actors) |
| Products | Film |
Portrait of Clare is a British black-and-white drama film from 1950, directed by Lance Comfort and featuring performances by Margaret Johnston, Richard Todd, Robin Bailey, and Ronald Howard. The movie adapts the 1927 novel of the same title authored by Francis Brett Young.
Plot
The narrative unfolds shortly after the conclusion of the Second World War within a grand countryside estate owned by the Hingston family. Lady Hingston shares memories of her younger days with her granddaughter Sylvia.
The storyline then shifts back to approximately 1900. Mr Wilburn, the family’s legal advisor, confesses his feelings for Clare to her grandmother, but Clare reveals she is engaged to Ralph Hingston. They wed, yet tragedy strikes when Ralph drowns after falling from a weir during a trout fishing excursion. Clare soon becomes a mother to a son named Steven.
Half a decade later, as Steven prepares to attend boarding school, Lady Hingston and Wilburn accompany him there. During their journey back, Wilburn proposes marriage to Clare. She meets Wilburn’s close friend Robert Hart, also a solicitor, who later serves as best man at their wedding. Steven resents this new marriage, accusing Wilburn of marrying for financial reasons and responding rebelliously. After being confined to his room, Steven escapes into a storm and seeks refuge at his grandmother's residence.
In Wilburn's office located in West Bromwich, his partner Ernest Mayhew takes his own life following the discovery of embezzlement. Initially, Wilburn hides the suicide note to safeguard the law firm’s reputation. Robert offers an apology to the authorities on Wilburn’s behalf. Recognizing that Clare wed him primarily to provide a paternal figure for Steven, Wilburn consents to their separation.
Though Hart does not marry Clare on screen, Steven refers to him as "Uncle Robert" in the film’s final moments.
Cast
- Margaret Johnston as Clare Hingston
- Richard Todd as Robert Hart
- Robin Bailey as Dudley Wilburn
- Ronald Howard as Ralph Hingston
- Jeremy Spenser as teenage Steven Hingston
- Marjorie Fielding as Aunt Cathie
- Molly Urquhart as Thirza the maid
- Beckett Bould as Bissell
- Anthony Nicholls as Doctor Boyd
- Lloyd Pearson as Sir Joseph Hingston
- Mary Clare as Lady Hingston
- S. Griffiths-Moss as Bates
- Campbell Copelin as Inspector Cunningham
- Bruce Seton as Lord Steven Wolverbury
- Yvonne Andre as Marguerite
- Anne Gunning as Sylvia
- Grace Arnold as Lady Astill
- Robert Adair as Sir Joseph Astill
- Charles Paton as Registrar
- Amy Veness as lady on train
- Hugh Morton as Ernest Mayhew
Critical reception
TV Guide commented on the film’s leisurely tempo but praised Johnston’s performance for its warmth and genuineness.
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1950 films
- British crime drama films
- British historical films
- 1950 crime drama films
- Films based on British novels
- 1950s historical films
- Films shot at Associated British Studios
- 1950s English-language films
- Films directed by Lance Comfort
- British black-and-white films
- 1950s British films
- Films scored by Leighton Lucas
- English-language crime drama films
- English-language historical films