20th Century-Fox Dynamo (February 1960)

DEAN STOCKWELL an intense boy with a flair for painting. His frustrated, posses- sive mother, a woman of refinement and charac- ter who married beneath her station, instills in Paul a love that makes him a stranger to other and younger women. He loves his mother dearly, but, like his brothers, hates and is jealous of his father. Several young women are attracted to him and he to them, but, always, his mother stands between them ... and holds control over him. TREVOR HOWARD plays the husband of the daughter of a well-born family whose head goes bankrupt. A young, handsome, fascinating, but rough and illiterate miner, he is able to live happily with his wife for a few years. But, when his wife learns that, instead of paying for their furniture he had spent the money on drink, she begins to despise him. As time passes she dedi- cates herself entirely to their three sons, harbor- ing nothing but mounting hatred for her husband. WENDY HILLER, one of the world’s fore- most screen and stage actresses, is Gertrude Cop- pard, who is swept off her feet and marries a colliery worker exactly one year after they had first met. When she loses her love for her alco- holic husband and her first son succumbs to pneu- monia and her second leaves home to marry a local girl, Mrs. Morel becomes obsessed with the idea of her youngest boy, Paul, rising above his environment. A SENSITIVE YOUNG MAN ENSLAVED BY HIS MOTHER’S OBSESSION “Sons And Lovers” is a powerful drama of pos- sessive mother love, the uncompromising control a frustrated woman holds over her sons. Her first- born was her favorite, but he died of pneumonia. Her second marries and sets up a home in another city. Her third, Paul, a sensitive young man, falls completely under her spell and unrelenting control. The young man’s every aspiration is to please his mother whose influence extends to the women at- tracted to him. A farmer’s daughter, Miriam, spent much time with him, but she did not have his mother’s approval. So into his life came Mrs. Clara Dawes, an attractive young woman, separated from her husband for five years and to whom he had been introduced by Miriam. His mother thought no more of Clara than she did of Miriam, but the latter was not so easily dis- couraged. Clara fell passionately in love with Paul and eventually they became involved. But, as time went on, she learned he could never completely love her ... that his love for his mother would al- ways stand between them. Then death came to his mother. He broke with Clara who returns to her husband, but he finds contentment in memory of a mother who carried his soul with her to the Great Beyond. A Jerry Wald production, “Sons And Lovers” co-stars Dean Stockwell as Paul, Wendy Hiller as his mother, Trevor Howard as his father, Heather Sears as Miriam (the embodiment of spiritual love), and Mary Ure as Clara, a sensualist who takes the young man away from her best friend. Jack Cardiff directed. Cardiff, for many years a prominent cinematographer, turned to direction with “Intent To Kill” and “Scent Of Mystery”. D. H. Lawrence’s best-selling novel is being brought to the screens in CinemaScope and black and white. Always a controversial novelist, Lawrence penned two other internationally famed books: “Lady Chatterly’s Lover” and “The Rainbow”. Son of a Nottingham, England, coal miner and the daughter of a middle-class family in reduced circumstances, Lawrence’s life was as stormy as his literary career. He died in 1930 at the age of 44. Remarkably handsome, though tubercular, he re- portedly could be the most charming man or a most irritating boor, as the spirit moved him. He ran away with another man’s wife, the mother of three children. His biography reports he ran the full gamut of political systems and social philosophies at various times. The story of “Sons And Lovers” is set in Notting- ham, where all exteriors were filmed. This is how Lawrence outlined his novel to his publisher, Ed- ward Garnett, according to the latter: “It follows this idea: a woman of character and refinement goes into the lower class and has no satisfaction in her own life. She has had a passion for her husband, so her children are born of pas- sion .,. When her sons grow up their mother is the strongest power of their lives and holds them ...” In his adaptation of the novel, Gavin Lambert has stuck to the spirit of the story. There is a reduction in number of characters in the screenplay and a concentration on telling their story. These are: the youngest son, his mother and father, the girl who wants him and fights his mother for him, and the young woman who is the object of his soul-less passions. Dean Stockwell won the assignmerit of Paul for his brilliant performance as one of the “thrill-kill- ers” in “Compulsion”. A former child star who had appeared in 22 films by the time he was 15, Stock- well has played principal roles in such well-known pictures as “Valley Of Decision”, “The Green Years”, “Gentleman’s Agreement”, and “Down To The Sea In Ships”. As an adult he drew critical commendation for his performance in the Broad- way stage production of “Compulsion” and later in its film version. Heather Sears, 24 years old, was born and raised in London. She became a London stage celebrity and went on to distinguish herself in motion pic- tures. She has drawn international attention for her performance in “Room At The Top”. She also has appeared in the stage version of “Look Back At Anger”. Wendy Hiller is an international favorite and an outstanding interpreter of Bernard Shaw, having been chosen by the late Irish playwright himself to do “Saint Joan” and “Pygmalion” on the stage in England. She also played Eliza Doolittle opposite the late Leslie Howard in the film version of “Pyg- malion”. She enhanced her international stature with her portrayal of the title role in “Major Bar- bara”. Miss Hiller also won praise for her perform- ance in the film version of “Separate Tables”. Mary Ure, who plays Clara, is rated one of Eng- land’s best young actresses. She starred in London and New York in “Time Remembered” and “Look Back In Anger”. She headlined also in the screen version of the latter play. 69