Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #6884 in VHS
• Released on: 1998-09-01
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Format: NTSC
• Original language: English, Welsh
• Number of tapes: 1
• Running time: 115 minutes

Customer Reviews

A COMPELLING DRAMA WITH A GIFTED CAST...
This is a great, old style drama which sees Bette Davis in the role of L.C. Moffat, an English school marm who has inherited a house in Wales. Highly educated for her time, Ms. Moffat, moved by the squalor, poverty and ignorance of an illiterate people, takes pains to start up a local school, much to the consternation of the local yokels. Soon her efforts bear fruit, as she comes upon a diamond in the rough in the form of Morgan Evans, an orphan who is struggling to survive in the mines, but is gifted with a native intelligence and sensitivity which belies his surroundings. Well acted by John Dall, Morgan has glimpsed the world outside his rural village through the magic of the books provided by Ms. Moffat. It is she who is enlarging his world view. Enlisting the aid of the local squire, she grooms Morgan for a scholarship at Oxford.

Ms. Davis gives a compelling performance, as does the rest of the cast. The movie is a wonderful portrayal of the relationship that has formed between a very special teacher and a gifted student, who, but for that teacher, may never have realized his potential. Ms. Davis always plays strong, stalwart women with a cutting edge to them, and in this role she plays true to form. She is absolutely magnificent. John Dall is superb as the coltish Morgan Evans. Nigel Bruce is perfect as the pompous, but kindly, local squire who is manipulated by Ms. Moffat to sponsor Morgan in his bid for Oxford. Joan Lorring is wonderful as the sly and lascivious cockney girl, Bettie Watty, who almost derails Morgan's future when she become pregnant with his child. Rosalind Ivan is marvelous as Bessie's mother, Mrs. Watty. Rhys Williams and Mildred Dunnock are superlative in their roles of the assistant school teachers, Mr. Jones and Ms. Ronberry. This is truly a movie well worth having in one's collection.

DAVIS WILL SAVE US.
Bette Davis does a commendable job portraying L.C. Moffat, the prim, spinsterish English school teacher who comes to the small village of Glensarno, Wales to claim a house she's inherited. Moffat is appalled at the lack of education received by the young men who live in ignorance and squalor in the mining community, so she decides to set up her own school and teach what she can to those who are willing to learn. Miss Moffat's prize pupil is Morgan Evans (John Dall, his debut) who shows natural intelligence, perhaps genius...Rosalind Ivan does well as Watty, the reformed shoplifter who has become an activist in a militant religious group. Joan Lorring also made her debut in the movies playing - with considerable skill - Bessie, Watty's strumpet daughter who eventually complicates matters with her feminine "charms". Davis is so terribly noble and plays the martyr with such conviction that you are only subconsciously aware of the sexual undercurrent between the student and teacher; her devotion to Evans is at once gently heartfelt and and poignantly bitter. Mildred Dunnock borders on being a pain as the prim Miss Ronberry and Rys Williams is adequately square as Mr. Jones, the shop clerk. Nigel Bruce does well enough as the pompous Squire, a landowner who is ultimately "won-over" by the "charm" of Miss Moffat (did she resort to using clever psychology perchance?).

Intense Relationship Between Teacher and Student
Bette Davis stars as Miss Moffat, who inherits a home in a Welsh mining town and decides that she will educate the young, especially the boys, who are otherwise doomed to a life in the mines. One student, played by John Dall, gets her attention when he reveals depth beyond what she expected, and before long, they are working hard towards getting him a scholarship to Oxford. However, the housekeeper's conniving daughter threatens to ruin everything. Davis is very good as the crusading, very emotionally controlled middle-aged teacher, only once in a while letting us see her act. The supporting cast are all good, with Dall especially strong as the student fighting against his background. There is the occasional moment of stiff dialogue, but there are also some terrific lines as the intense relationship between teacher and student is explored. Irving Rapper doesn't have much punch as a director in this or any of his other films that I have seen, but the story is the kind that will draw you in and having you rooting for the underdog.