Hungry Hill (1947) User Reviews

Bleak social drama with Lockwood and Price

[jem132 · 5/10 · 17 October 2007]

A film adaptation of a (lesser-known) Daphne Du Maurier novel, HUNGRY HILL offers an interesting, yet mostly bleak look at social divide. This costume drama juxtaposes the bourgeois copper mine owners the Brodricks with the working family the Donovans, paralleling their lives and constant feuding over a 50 year-period.

Margaret Lockwood gets first billing as Fanny Rose, who marries into the wealthy Brodrick family. Miss Lockwood gets one of the better parts on offer here, her character arc changing from a wilful coquette to a bright young married, and then finally to an elderly widowed woman looking back on life. Dennis Price plays her husband, who wishes to reconcile with the Donovan clan. Cecil Parker is memorable as the head of the family, whilst a young and lovely Jean Simmons appears briefly as Jane, younger sister of Price.

The bleakness of the source material does not give the film much to work with, and the film is often talky and mundane in many stretches. The production values, while adequate enough, do not really enhance the work. It's just not great drama.

Perhaps the most interesting part of the film is seeing young Michael Dennison do a fairly credible job in the sort of role that either James Mason (bound for America) or Stewart Granger would have performed with aplomb back in the early 40's. He plays spoiled Henry Brodrick, son of Lockwood and Price, who re-ignites the tension between the two families after a brief stalemate. Dennison seems to be channelling the Mason we saw in Gainsborough melodramas such as THE MAN IN GREY and FANNY BY GASLIGHT in his venom-spitting scenes. His character is really quite hateful, yet his indulgence in such vices as drinking, gambling, women and even murder provide a bit of spark to the proceedings.

5/10.

costume drama

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 31 August 2007]

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.

The Brodricks And The Donovans

[bkoganbing · 5/10 · 31 January 2011]

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.

Great Irish feuding saga

[HotToastyRag · 7/10 · 25 July 2017]

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.

Hungry Hill

[CinemaSerf · 6/10 · 8 January 2023]

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.

Nothing to feast on.

[st-shot · 5/10 · 27 June 2011]

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.

The Irish fighting it out for 50 years over a mine, women and whisky

[clanciai · 8/10 · 27 July 2017]

Margaret Lockwood is excellent, especially as she ages, from a rather wild young woman to a pathetic addict in London, exiled from Ireland by her own son, ruining herself at the roulette.

Everything in this film is about the same vein: tragedy as the result of self abuse, recklessness, whisky, brawls and terrible conflicts lasting over 50 years, as these hard-headed Irish never can take it easy and always are carried away by their bad temper. The exception is Dennis Price, the one with a diplomatic talent and some human understanding crossing the limitations of self-centredness, while his father Cecil Parker is the most impossible of all starting all the trouble and beating his grandson into a rogue.

It's all very Irish, you have seen it all before, they never change but stick to cultivating their hard heads making it worse by revelling in whisky, and there will always be hard relentless fights for nothing. After 50 years, according to this story, there is at last peace between the two families, but how long will it last? Probably not any longer than at most until the civil war with mad dogs and Irishmen, unionists and nationalists; but the film is worth seeing for Margaret Lockwood and Dennis Price, and another thing: the famous ball scene, when the fiddler gets too eager and leaves his pianist behind, bolting into a general gig of astounding dimensions, leading the entire ball into an orgy of dancing in the garden. It's a splendid scene, which hardly ever has been surpassed, until the latest "Anna Karenina" version 2012 with Keira Knightley with a similar ball scene transcending the stage.

Margaret Lockwood Makes a Scene

[wes-connors · 5/10 · 26 February 2011]

"Hungry Hill" is an Irish area where some 19th century families bicker over copper mining. Some good-looking sets and costumes make this film look like a grand production is going to unfold, but don't get your hopes up. The characters and story lines are introduced in a most unappealing manner. The structure is dull, even though it's adapted with personal help by reliable author Daphne du Maurier (of "Rebecca" fame). It's likely the original novel had more life.

Probably the most engaging part is played by lovely Margaret Lockwood (as Fanny Rose). There is some fun in watching Ms. Lockwood's sprightly courtship with Dennis Price (as "Greyhound" John Brodrick) - and, she ages into one youthfully beautiful old lady. Early on, the young and radiant Jean Simmons (as Jane) is a brief attraction. Lockwood and "grown-up" son Dermot Walsh (as "Wild" Johnnie Brodrick) have some good dramatic confrontations, later in the running time.

***** Hungry Hill (1/7/47) Brian Desmond Hurst ~ Margaret Lockwood, Dermot Walsh, Dennis Price, Cecil Parker

Dance Genius

[anadessma · 9/10 · 21 May 2019]

Hungry Hill contains the greatest dance sequence ever filmed, which begins in the ballroom of the mnaor and ends outdoors. Hurst outdid Hollywood. Margaret Lockwood leads dozens of Irish dancers in a rollicking reel. Quite exceptional choreography.

Required a longer running time

[JamesHitchcock · 4/10 · 7 August 2019]

The family saga is a popular literary genre, but one which can be difficult to transfer to the cinema. It tends to work better on the small screen; "The Forsyte Saga" and "Poldark" are two of the landmark series of British television history, but I cannot think of any feature films based upon their source novels. George Stevens's "Giant", based upon a novel by Edna Ferber, has its admirers, but to me it stands as an object lesson in the perils of trying to adapt family sagas for the screen, especially if they involve characters who age several decades in the course of the story. Try as I might, I just could not accept Liz Taylor (at the time a stunningly beautiful twenty-something) as a grey-haired grandmother or James Dean, that enduring symbol of youthful rebellion, as a middle-aged businessman.

"Hungry Hill", based upon one of Daphne du Maurier's lesser-known novels, is a British attempt at a cinematic family saga. It is set in 19th century Ireland and follows the fortunes of three generations of the Brodrick family. In each generation the head of the family is named John Brodrick, but the three Johns are very different in character. The first, "Copper John", is an autocratic patriarch and industrialist who makes a fortune by sinking a copper mine in the hill of the title. His son, "Greyhound John", is a gentle young man whose main interests are his dogs and horses and who has little interest in the family business, preferring to train as a lawyer in London. He is, however, reluctantly forced to take over when his elder brother Henry is killed in a riot. His own son, "Wild Johnnie", is, as his nickname would suggest, a wild young man, a spendthrift, drinker and womaniser.

A theme which appears throughout the film is the long-running feud between the Brodricks and the rival Donovan clan. The Donovans were once wealthy and influential, but have long since sunk into poverty, and resent the fact that the Brodricks have supplanted them as the leading family of the district. The Brodricks have to face two riots at the mine, in both of which members of the Donovan family are involved. The first is in protest against Copper John's opening of the mine, the second against Wild Johnnie's threat to close it when it is no longer making money. Another rivalry is that between Henry and his brother John for the love of the same woman, Fanny Rosa.

I have never read du Maurier's novel, but it seems clear that it must contain a lot of material which was omitted from the script for the film, because the storyline seems contrived and jerky, moving forward by fits and starts with a lot of unexplained gaps. This is true even though du Maurier herself worked upon the screenplay. Even she must have found it impossible to tell in ninety minutes a story which really required a lot longer to explain everything.

The film stars some of the leading lights of the British acting profession of the period, including Margaret Lockwood, Dennis Price, Michael Denison, Jean Simmons and Cecil Parker. There are, however, no outstanding acting performances, with the best probably coming from Parker as Copper John. The make-up department do, however, deserve some credit for making Lockwood (in her late twenties at the time) as Fanny Rosa look convincing as an elderly woman, something their counterparts working on "Giant" never succeeding in doing with Taylor.

Now that we are so used to "heritage cinema" films being made in sumptuous colour it comes as something of a shock to realise that up until the sixties black-and-white was the default position in Britain for this particular genre, and, indeed, for most others, although there were occasional exceptions such as the Gainsborough melodrama "Jassy" and the Oscar Wilde adaptation "An Ideal Husband". The reason for this was financial, but given that the makers of "Hungry Hill" were prepared to spend money on other matters, such as travelling to Ireland for location shooting in County Wicklow, it seems a pity that the money could not have been found for colour film. More importantly, however, it is a pity that the decision was not taken to make the film a longer one. A two-hour running length rather than an hour and a half might have enabled the film-makers to fill in some of the many gaps in the storyline and we could have had a more satisfying film. 4/10

old lace

[peterwburrows-70774 · 4/10 · 22 October 2018]

This film has suffered with time and is very much outdated. it may have good actors but it does not stand the test of time.

Tale of a Curse

[Goingbegging · 8/10 · 13 December 2020]

In County Cork, the most republican corner of Ireland, an Anglo-Irish landowner (Brodrick) invests in a copper-mine that brings welcome employment to the villagers, whose spokesman (Donovan) manages to find grievances from the start, and calls down a curse on his employer's family.

And that's the setup for the best part of a century, which could have made for a fairly predictable bosses v. workers drama, except that we're in the capable hands of Daphne du Maurier, who never wrote a predictable word in her long life.

Top of the bill, deservedly, is Margaret Lockwood, who comes waltzing into the lives of the Brodricks, playing havoc with the young brothers. "No-one will ever put me in a cage" she declares to one of them, played by Dennis Price, then adding "But I could be caught if I wanted", prodding the hesitant suitor into the proposal she's waiting for. Cecil Parker makes a plausible stovepipe-hatted patriarch, and a teenage Jean Simmons adds much charm as a younger sister, as does Dermot Walsh in his screen debut - but visibly stricken by the family curse.

The scenes down the mine are well-handled, theft of copper being a running theme. The thieves have hollowed-out a secret cavern in which to hide the copper, where Brodricks and Donovans alike are able to take refuge in a sudden flood.

But the high point is a truly poetic mixing of the two families, when the Brodricks bring in one of the Donovans to play the fiddle at a grand ball up at the house, when he gets carried away and sweeps them all into a wild jig outside in the courtyard.

We can't reveal the ending, but it has a lot to with the winding-up of the curse, along with a prayer for peace that some might consider a bit hopeful.

Adapted from a Daphne DuMaurier novel

[blanche-2 · 5/10 · 28 August 2021]

"Hungry Hill," based on a novel by Daphne DuMaurier, concerns a 50-plus year family feud between copper mine owners, the Brodricks, and the people who work for them, the Donovans.

The film stars Margaret Lockwood as Fanny Rosa, who marries Dennis Price, known as "Greyhound John Brodrick" because he breeds greyhounds. His father (Cecil Parker) is Copper John. A very young and lovely Jean Simmons has a small role as Price's sister.

Fanny and Greyhound John have several children, one of whom is Henry (Michael Dennison), who becomes a wild child when he grows up. As someone else mentioned, Dennison is very much like James Mason. We get to see Lockwood as a flirtatious young woman, a settled married one, and finally, an elderly widow.

The film is somewhat slow, but though it is in black and white, you can see the beauty and luxury of the 19th century costumes.

For some reason the characters were hard to connect to, with the possible exception of Lockwood. She is the thread who goes throughout the film, and we see some real character development. It's a very good performance.