The Stars Look Down
FROM THE PEN OF "THE CITADEL'S" BOLD AUTHOR!
1940 | 110m | English
Popularity: 2 (history)
| Director: | Carol Reed |
|---|---|
| Writer: | A.J. Cronin, J.B. Williams |
| Staring: |
| Davey Fenwick leaves his mining village on a university scholarship intent on returning to better support the miners against the owners. But he falls in love with Jenny who gets him to marry her and return home as local schoolteacher before finishing his degree. | |
| Release Date: | Jan 22, 1940 |
|---|---|
| Director: | Carol Reed |
| Writer: | A.J. Cronin, J.B. Williams |
| Genres: | Drama |
| Keywords | miner, trade union, social commentary, labor union |
| Production Companies | Grafton Films |
| Box Office |
Revenue: $0
Budget: $0 |
| Updates |
Updated: Aug 03, 2024 Entered: Apr 27, 2024 |
| Name | Character |
|---|---|
| Michael Redgrave | Davey Fenwick |
| Margaret Lockwood | Jenny Sunley |
| Emlyn Williams | Joe Gowlan |
| Nancy Price | Martha Fenwick - Davey's mother |
| Allan Jeayes | Richard Barras - the mine owner |
| Edward Rigby | Robert Fenwick - Davey's father |
| Desmond Tester | Hughie Fenwick - Davey's brother |
| David Markham | Arthur Barras - Barras' son |
| Cecil Parker | Stanley Millington |
| Linden Travers | Mrs. Laura Millington |
| Milton Rosmer | Harry Nugent, MP |
| George Carney | Slogger Gowlan |
| Ivor Barnard | Wept |
| Olga Lindo | Mrs. Sunley |
| Aubrey Mallalieu | Hudspeth |
| Kynaston Reeves | Strother |
| Clive Baxter | Pat Reedy |
| James Harcourt | Will |
| Frederick Burtwell | Union Official |
| Dorothy Hamilton | Mrs. Reedy |
| Frank Atkinson | Miner |
| David Horne | Mr. Wilkins |
| Edmund Willard | Mr. Ramage |
| Ben Williams | Harry Brace |
| Scott Harrold | Headmaster Strother |
| Lionel Barrymore | Narrator (U.S. release only) (voice) |
| Howard Douglas | Miner at Rescue |
| Cameron Hall | Cinema Commissionaire |
| Bryan Herbert | Man Outside Football Ground |
| Vincent Holman | 1st Arresting Policeman |
| Roddy Hughes | Union Committee Member |
| Mike Johnson | Looting Miner |
| Vi Kaley | Old Woman at Looting |
| Laurence Kitchin | Dickie - Butcher's Boy |
| Charles Rolfe | 2nd Arresting Policeman |
| D.J. Williams | Union Committee Chairman |
| Name | Job |
|---|---|
| Carol Reed | Director |
| A.J. Cronin | Novel, Adaptation |
| J.B. Williams | Screenplay |
| Hans May | Original Music Composer |
| Mutz Greenbaum | Director of Photography |
| Name | Title |
|---|---|
| Isadore Goldsmith | Producer |
| Organization | Category | Person |
|---|
Popularity History
| Year | Month | Avg | Max | Min |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 4 | 3 | 9 | 1 |
| 2024 | 5 | 5 | 9 | 2 |
| 2024 | 6 | 4 | 9 | 1 |
| 2024 | 7 | 6 | 17 | 2 |
| 2024 | 8 | 4 | 7 | 2 |
| 2024 | 9 | 3 | 6 | 2 |
| 2024 | 10 | 6 | 14 | 2 |
| 2024 | 11 | 3 | 11 | 2 |
| 2024 | 12 | 3 | 5 | 1 |
| 2025 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 1 |
| 2025 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
| 2025 | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 5 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| 2025 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2025 | 9 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| 2025 | 10 | 2 | 3 | 1 |
Trending Position
Michael Redgrave is the local boy done good, when he wins a scholarship to go to university to train to be a teacher. Unfortunately, he has fallen in love with the rather fickle "Jenny" (Margaret Lockwood) who has a bit of a venal streak. Curtailing his studies, he returns to live with her in his bo ... yhood town intent on improving the lot of his community - but he is soon disillusioned when he sees his wife still keen on her flashy old flame "Joe" (Emlyn Williams) and that his elderly father looks set to have to work the mines for years to come... He accidentally discovers that the mine is unsafe, and determines to bring this to the attention of the council to avert disaster, but will they listen? Carol Reed allows this story plenty of room to breathe. Though not complex, we can see the characterisations develop as the story seems to head, unstoppably, towards disaster in quite a compelling fashion. Redgrave, Williams and Allan Jeayes as mine owner "Barras" work well to create a solid, if a bit dryly told, story of greed and exploitation with some superbly claustrophobic mining photography to add authenticity.