The Go-Between (1971 film)

The Go-Between
Company type	Film
Industry	Film production
Founded	1971
Founder	Joseph Losey, Harold Pinter
Products	Historical drama film
Parent	EMI Films, World Film Services

The Go-Between is a British historical drama film from 1971, directed by Joseph Losey and scripted by Harold Pinter, based on the 1953 novel authored by L. P. Hartley. The cast includes Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Margaret Leighton, Michael Redgrave, and Dominic Guard. The production was managed by EMI Films alongside World Film Services, with an estimated budget of £532,841.

This film received the esteemed Palme d'Or at the 1971 Cannes Film Festival, underscoring its critical success and importance in British cinema. Set at the turn of the 20th century, The Go-Between delves into the harmful consequences of strict British class distinctions, delivering a pointed critique of bourgeois values and societal structure.

The story unfolds in 1900, when twelve-year-old Leo Colston spends his summer at Brandham Hall, the Norfolk estate belonging to his affluent schoolmate Marcus Maudsley. As a boy from a middle-class background, Leo feels out of place among the upper-class environment. Marian, Marcus’s sister, attempts to make him feel comfortable, and Leo soon develops an affection for her. Marian pampers him and provides new clothing.

After Marcus contracts measles and is placed under quarantine, Leo roams the estate and suffers an injury on a nearby farm. Ted Burgess, a tenant farmer, treats Leo’s wound and requests that he deliver a letter to Marian. Leo consents and becomes the regular courier between Marian and Ted, who are secretly engaged in an affair unknown to Leo.

Marian is expected to wed Hugh, Viscount Trimingham, the estate’s heir favored by her family. Following the announcement of Marian’s engagement, Leo anticipates that his role as messenger will end; however, the clandestine relationship persists. When Leo refuses to pass along a letter, Marian sharply reminds him of his inferior social standing. Feeling alienated, Leo writes to his mother asking to return home early, but she advises him to remain out of courtesy.

On Leo’s thirteenth birthday, relations between him and Marian improve slightly when she once again asks him to deliver a letter. Madeleine, Marian’s mother, suspects an illicit relationship and confronts Leo; he denies possessing any letter. That evening, during a thunderstorm at the birthday dinner, Marian is noticeably absent. Madeleine takes Leo to Ted’s farm where they find Marian and Ted together in the barn. This revelation profoundly impacts Leo; it later emerges that Ted took his own life in his farmhouse kitchen.

Half a century later, a disenchanted Leo revisits Brandham Hall. There he encounters the elderly Marian—now Dowager Lady Trimingham—residing in her former nanny’s cottage. Marian confesses she married Hugh as expected but had a son by Ted; Hugh recognized the child before his death in 1910. Her son died during World War II, and she is estranged from her grandson because of the scandal. Marian enlists Leo once more as an intermediary to facilitate reconciliation with her grandson and to affirm her enduring love for Ted. Leo prepares to undertake this final mission for Marian.

Development

The rights to adapt the novel passed through several hands before settling with Sir Alexander Korda, who acquired them in 1956. Korda envisioned Alec Guinness and Margaret Leighton in leading roles and commissioned Nancy Mitford for a screenplay draft; however, he reportedly never intended to move forward with production, instead holding the rights for eventual resale profit.

Director Joseph Losey showed interest in bringing the novel to screen, attempting to secure funding first in 1963 and again in 1968 following his success with The Servant. Although Harold Pinter had completed much of the screenplay by then, financial backing remained elusive. Losey observed reluctance within the industry—some dismissed the story as outdated Edwardian nostalgia despite its profound exploration of life’s transience and complexity.

Pinter’s screenplay represents his final collaboration with Losey after their acclaimed works The Servant (1963 film) (1963) and Accident (1967 film) (1967). The script stays largely true to Hartley’s novel but rearranges certain plot elements—for example, integrating epilogue events into the main narrative and referencing earlier incidents through dialogue. Losey credited their previous work on Accident for inspiring innovative narrative techniques involving temporal shifts in this film.

Financing

John Heyman obtained funding through EMI Films, with Bryan Forbes agreeing to pay £75,000 for the screenplay. Nat Cohen at EMI also played a role in advancing the project. Bernard Delfont was initially given the treatment and advised that the film should be given priority. This production was a collaboration between EMI and MGM. Director Losey initially set the budget at $2.4 million but managed to halve it to $1.2 million by shortening the filming period and opting for a share of the profits instead of an upfront fee.

In July 1970, MGM-EMI announced this film as one of four joint ventures, alongside Get Carter (1971), The Boy Friend (1971), and John Boorman's The Last Run (1971).

Filming

Shooting commenced in August 1970 at locations including Melton Constable Hall, Heydon, and Norwich in Norfolk, wrapping up in November. Harold Pinter was present during the production. Losey described this project as one of his most enjoyable filmmaking experiences. Lead actor Dominic Guard struggled with a stammer that impacted his delivery and caused nervous habits; Losey addressed this through firm yet supportive coaching to help him overcome these difficulties.

Music

Initially, Richard Rodney Bennett was announced as the composer; however, his score was ultimately rejected. The film’s soundtrack was composed by Michel Legrand. Legrand’s primary theme later served as the title music for the French true crime documentary series Faites entrer l'accusé and was adapted by Marcelo Zarvos for Todd Haynes’ film May December. The romantic theme "I Still See You", composed by Legrand with lyrics by Hal Sharper, was performed by Scott Walker and released as a single in late 1971.

Release

The film debuted at the Cannes Film Festival in May 1971, where it won the Grand Prix International du Festival. Despite this accolade, James Aubrey, head of MGM, regarded the film as a commercial failure.

It premiered in the United Kingdom on 24 September 1971 at ABC1 in London. On 29 October, Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother attended the local premiere held in Norwich, marking that city’s first royal premiere event.

EMI sold this film along with Tales of Beatrix Potter to China for $16,000 each, representing the first Western films released there in twenty years.

A restored edition by StudioCanal UK had its premiere at Cinema City, Norwich on 11 September 2019.

Box office

By August 1971, Nat Cohen reported that distribution rights had been "contracted" for $1 million. The film became one of Britain’s most successful releases in 1972. However, by September 1972, MGM’s James Aubrey noted that Columbia had incurred a loss of $200,000 on the film but maintained that selling it was still a sound decision. In 1973, Losey mentioned that the film had yet to turn a profit.

A biography of Losey revealed that after 18 months, net UK earnings amounted to £232,249. By July 1972, Columbia's international markets had generated $2,198,382, including $1,581,972 from North America. A decade after its premiere, revenues included £290,888 from UK cinemas and television broadcasts; £204,566 from overseas sales excluding North America; £96,599 from the British Film Fund; and Columbia’s gross receipts from the U.S., Canada, and France totaled £1,375,300. Losey’s personal earnings amounted to £39,355, indicating that the film eventually became profitable.

In 1994 Forbes confirmed that the project had yielded a profit. Delfont described the experience as "sheer joy," highlighting that while it was not a blockbuster hit, it received critical acclaim and attracted audiences who had largely stopped attending domestic cinemas.

Critical reception

Vincent Canby of The New York Times described the film as "one of the most beautiful and impeccably crafted" movies released that year. Roger Ebert awarded it 3½ out of 4 stars, praising the meticulous production design and the insightful exploration of class distinctions by Losey and Pinter, though he expressed reservations about the flashforward sequences, feeling they disclosed too much prematurely. In The Village Voice, Andrew Sarris lauded the performances, period authenticity, and cinematography but found the flashforwards disruptive and believed certain significant aspects from Hartley’s novel were omitted in the adaptation.

Retrospective appraisal

By 1985, Joanne Klein identified the screenplay as a significant stylistic and technical leap in Pinter’s cinematic work. Foster Hirsch had earlier hailed it in 1980 as "one of cinema’s great achievements." Emanuel Levy, in 2009, referred to the film as "Losey's finest work." Robert Maras characterized The Go-Between as "a powerful indictment of middle-class morality and the British class system."

On Rotten Tomatoes, the movie enjoys a flawless 100% approval rating based on 11 critics, with an average rating of 8.6 out of 10. Filmink highlighted its impact on Australian period dramas during the 1970s.

Accolades

Margaret Leighton earned a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. The British Film Institute included The Go-Between in its list of the top 100 British films in 1999. Additionally, it stood among Bryan Forbes' most commercially successful projects while he was at EMI.

Award	Ceremony Date	Category	Nominee(s)	Outcome	Reference(s)
Academy Awards	10 April 1972	Best Supporting Actress	Margaret Leighton	Template:Nom	<ref>
British Academy Film Awards	1972	Best Film		Template:Nom	<ref>
		Best Direction	Joseph Losey	Template:Nom
		Best Actress in a Leading Role	Julie Christie	Template:Nom
		Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Edward Fox	Template:Won
		Best Actor in a Supporting Role	Michael Gough	Template:Nom
		Best Actress in a Supporting Role	Margaret Leighton	Template:Won
		Best Screenplay	Harold Pinter	Template:Won
		Best Art Direction	Carmen Dillon	Template:Nom
		Best Cinematography	Gerry Fisher	Template:Nom
		Best Costume Design	John Furniss	Template:Nom
		Best Soundtrack	Garth Craven, Peter Handford, and Hugh Strain	Template:Nom
		Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles	Dominic Guard	Template:Won

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Works cited

Billington, Michael (1997). The Life and Work of Harold Pinter, 2nd edition, London: Faber and Faber.
Callahan, Dan (March 2003). "Losey, Joseph", Senses of Cinema, Issue 25.
Caute, David (1994). Joseph Losey, Oxford University Press.
Forbes, Bryan (1993). A Divided Life – Memoirs, Mandarin Publishing.
Gale, Steven H., editor (2001). The Films of Harold Pinter, Albany, New York: State University of New York Press.
Gale, Steven H. (2003). Sharp Cut – Harold Pinter's Screenplays and the Artistic Process, Lexington, Kentucky: University Press of Kentucky.
Hartop, Christopher (2011). Norfolk Summer: Making The Go-Between, Cambridge: John Adamson.
Hirsch, Foster (1980). Joseph Losey, Boston: Twayne Publishers.
Maras, Robert (May 28, 2012). "Analyzing class dynamics: The cinematic partnerships of Joseph Losey and Harold Pinter", World Socialist Web Site.
Palmer, James & Riley, Michael (1993). The Films of Joseph Losey, Cambridge University Press.

External links

The Go-Between at the British Film Institute (archived)
HaroldPinter.org: Films by Harold Pinter - The Go Between