Very very predictable, including the post credit scene !!!

Simply A Masterpiece

It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.

The film never slows down or bores, plunging from one harrowing sequence to the next.

Here is a magnificent play and screenplay, beautifully written and conceived. Much has been made of the performances of Michael Redgrave and Jean Kent, both of whom are brilliantly cast in a physical sense. Good as Redgrave and Kent both are, it is to the supporting cast that we must look for the strongest and most credible performances; Nigel Patrick is rock solid as Frank Hunter, the popular science teacher who transforms from thoughtless philanderer to decent human being, and Wilfred Hyde White is at the peak of his game as the headmaster who is self seeking, self satisfied, unfeeling and ultimately rather cruel. Michael Redgrave, for some unknown reason decided to give Crocker-Harris a rather thin dry voice which is obviously "stuck on" he also fails to show any vestige of the human being behind the persona of the school master until it is far too late, his performance is just that, a surface study of a rather frail failure, rather than a man who tries and fails. He is expected to be unpopular, but Redgrave's characterisation is, unfortunately, rather cold. Jean Kent is brilliantly cast in the physical sense, here is woman who could well be the wife of a rather lacklustre school master, but also has the magnificent womanliness, and frankly, sex appeal, to stir any man's biological chemistry. For all this, her performance as Millie Crocker-Harris is patchy, at times so very believable and at others driven by a surface petulance, a false grandeur and an unnecessary viciousness which guilds the lily of the already powerful writing. I have seen Ms Kent's work in other roles, she was well capable of more subtle work than this, which leads me to feel that the direction by Anthony Asquith may have been rather heavy handed or just plain careless in her case. Michael Redgrave has the more difficult role with which to contend, and in my honest opinion, his characterisation, flawed from the start, fails him absolutely at the vital moment of Taplow's gesture, and in spite of an effective gear change in his defiance of the headmaster and a fine delivery of the final speech, the overall performance is under the bar for an actor of Redgrave's standing.

Terence Rattigan adapted his acclaimed one-act play about a humorless professor at a British school for boys realizing some awful truths about his life on the eve of his retirement from the institution: his embittered wife holds him in contempt (and has been carrying on an affair with one of his fellow teachers), while the headmaster of the school cannot wait to sweep him under the carpet. Michael Redgrave gives great shading to this lanky man with the puny spirit; though, at times, the actor sounds as if he's just swallowed John Gielgud, he is nothing short of fascinating to watch, even in the climactic moments when this adaptation becomes a curiously showy piece of grandstanding for the character. The relationship between Redgrave's Crocker-Harris and his students is left a bit unclear; they tolerate him and complain behind his back, but we don't sense the sort of give-and-take which would make the finale plausible. Jean Kent (as Mrs. Crocker-Harris, with her condescending eyes), handsome Nigel Patrick, and young Brian Smith are excellent in support. Remade in 1994 with Albert Finney in the lead. **1/2 from ****

Forced to retire from an English school, a professor disliked by his students and colleagues and despised by his wife, comes to the realization that his life has been a failure. Redgrave is superb as the stern, introverted professor, providing a finely nuanced portrait of a man who is proud and devoted to his job, but who also harbors regrets about his decisions in life. Also excellent are Kent as his cruel wife, Patrick as a sympathetic colleague, and young Smith as a kind student who feels sorry for the professor. This is an incredibly poignant film based on Rattigan's play. Veteran director Asquith pushes all the right emotional buttons but does not wallow in sentimentality.

The Browning Version" is an intelligent film about a British schoolmaster, who after being "forced out" of his position, recognizes his failures as teacher, friend, and husband. He is in a sense, the anti-Mr. Chips. Played brilliantly by Michael Redgrave, Andrew Crocker-Harris, or as his students call him, "the Crock" is feeling the walls close in on him. He is in a loveless marriage. Even though he knows his wife is seeing another man, he feels that this is the type of love that they both deserve.Jean Kent plays his frustrated, cruel wife, and she is absolutely marvelous. Nigel Patrick, Wilfrid Hyde-White and Brian Smith (who plays the only student who actually likes "the Crock") all turn in fine performance.Terrence Rattigan has done very good work in adapting his 1949 play to the screen, although you never quite lose the feeling that you are watching a filmed presentation of a play.But it is Redgrave who gives a superb,understated, honest portrayal of a man who never reached his potential, on so many levels. Is there any more heartbreaking scene than the one where he is meeting with Taplow, and he starts to sob, because he is having a real breakthrough?This is classic film making. Believe in your material, and let the actors trust each other with their performances. This is a great film.10 out of 10