Gone to Earth (1950)

A beautiful, superstitious, animal-loving Gypsy is hotly desired by a fox-hunting squire...even after she marries a clergyman.

Directors:

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Writers:

Mary Webb (novel), Michael Powell

Stars:

Jennifer Jones, David Farrar, Cyril Cusack

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jennifer Jones	...	Hazel Woodus
David Farrar	...	John 'Jack' Reddin
Cyril Cusack	...	Edward Marston
Sybil Thorndike	...	Mrs. Marston
Edward Chapman	...	Mr. James
Esmond Knight	...	Abel Woodus
Hugh Griffith	...	Andrew Vessons
George Cole	...	Cousin Albert
Beatrice Varley	...	Aunt Prowde
Frances Clare	...	Amelia Clomber
Raymond Rollett	...	Landlord / Elder
Gerald Lawson	...	Roadmender / Elder
Bartlett Mullins	...	Chapel elder, dress shop owner
Arthur Reynolds	...	Chapel elder
Ann Titheradge	...	Miss James

Storyline

Hazel Woodus is a beautiful but innocent country girl who loves all the creatures around her, especially her pet fox cub. She is given a rough time by her father but can escape to run barefoot through the woods when her harsh life gets too much for her. It is there that she is found by the local squire, Jack Reddin, finds her and is struck by her beauty. The obvious conflict develops when the squire leads the local hunt and tries to kill Hazel's pet fox. The title "Gone to Earth" is taken from the huntsmans cry when the target is no longer obtainable.

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Plot Keywords:

gypsy | fox hunting | fox hunt | based on novel | 

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

6 November 1950 (UK)

Also Known As:

The Wild Heart

Filming Locations:

Much Wenlock, Shropshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

The Archers,London Film Productions,Vanguard Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

110 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The choir was the real choir from the local Methodist chapel. When he heard them singing, director Michael Powell said they were too good and he wanted them to sound "more ragged, like a choir of country folk" only to be told "But we ARE country folk, Mr. Powell."

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Goofs

When Hazel runs down to her house for the first time you see a lot of smoke coming from the chimney. The next cut there's hardly anything in the air.

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Connections

Edited into The Wild Heart (1952)

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Soundtracks

Sigh No More Ladies
(uncredited)
Words by William Shakespeare (from "Much Ado About Nothing")
Music by Brian Easdale
Performed by Jennifer Jones

User Reviews

The Archers hit the bullseye

I saw this glorious film when it first appeared. The following week I tracked it down to a small London cinema where they screened single films continuously several times a day without supporting features. I hadn't intended seeing it more than once on this occasion but I can recall being so mesmerised that I watched the programme through three times. Clearly I was out of step with the climate of critical opinion. The reviewers had slated it and the audience around me was distinctly hostile. There was a lot of fidgeting and derisory shouts. Quite a few walked out. Behaviour was often bad in British cinemas in the 'fifties particularly if viewers got bored. The manager called the police in during a screening I attended a few years later of "The Trouble WIth Harry" and I can even remember screaming at the usherettes to stop talking when I first saw "A Face in the Crowd". I had to wait many years before I heard good things being said about "Gone to Earth". It was in 1988 when someone introduced a showing of it on British television most enthusiastically. Whatever one thinks about the relative merits of Powell and Pressburger's films (I am clearly in a minority in thinking this their finest) there is no doubt that they are now appreciated in a way they never were when they first appeared. But if passion for what is still considered one of their minor works may seem rather over the top, let me say but one thing; where else in the whole of cinema is there a more haunting and magical evocation of English landscape! Christopher Challis, a brilliant cinematographer, is the real star of the film. Undoubtedly (and this is perhaps at the core of its original problems) style matters more than content. The plot is little more than Victorian melodrama - lecherous squire deflowers simple country girl who has married local vicar - and the dialogue is curiously stilted. However this hardly matters in a work cinematically choreographed with such brilliance. The final foxhunting sequence, where the film's many strands are brought together, is visually and aurally one of the most spellbinding in all cinema. The huntsman's cry of "Gone to earth!" at the very end has haunted me for well over half a lifetime.