Captain Boycott

Our bellicose artile on Film Criticism has apparently driven would-be contributors to withhold their precious manuscripts from the cold eye of our literary experts. We publish the only film criticism submitted to us, not with our editorial blessing, but with the hope that someone may be good enough to point out its irrelevancies, its unsupported opinions and its inability to tell us anything we didn't already know, if we had seen the film.

"And if someone offends against the community . . . you can boycott him."

The words have changed somewhat; boycott has now given way to strike, and the leagues are now called unions, but it is still a Christian way to settle a just grievance; and it can still be an unchristian method of settling an unjust grievance.

The British have been producing historical dramas for some time now, some of them good and some of them bad and whatever they are the people go to them just the same. This is one of the good ones, which is to be expected with the producing team of Launder and Gilliat. How much of it is true I do not know; the man of the title is history, and so are the main incidents; undoubtedly the hero is fictional as are probably the more remotely historical happenings.

Except for one or two slips, the Irish accents have ben retained convincingly, which is to be expected since so many of the cast are Irish. Donat asked for the role of Parnell, and, much to his credit, did not merely adorn it as so many would have done. Granger is, of course, good box-office at all times, and strangely enough, he more than occasionally acts. The fact that he learned to ride in the Guards has not been lost sight of, nor has the fact that he can make love in a very pleasing manner, in this case with the girl for whom James Mason was the odd man out, Kathleen Ryan. She is good, pleasing to the senses in more ways than intellectually. Of the other characters Alistair Sim is the weakest; he has probably still memories of Scotland Yard, but for all that "I enjoyed him immensely."

Acting, however, takes a back seat when there are bigger issues. Here we have several.

There is the question of the justice of the landlord system as it was in Ireland, and the producers have seen fit to make Boycott a victim of the system as well as his tenants.

This is the question of the hate which can be inspired in young minds, and the Irish know that well, although it is only slightly touched upon in the picture in a very pleasant manner. There are Irishblooded New Zealanders who have a feeling towards the English that has been inspired by the killings of their great grandparents, their grandparents, and even closer relations. Such feelings, however justly inspired, die hard and die long.

Finally there is the major issue of mob violence, an issue which has been played on throughout. The fickle anger and temper of a mob is easily fanned, but it is a hard fire to quench—and there arc few fires which do not cause damage.

This is a good film, not a great film, probably not even a memorable one in the true sense of the word, but a film which provides a few of the answers to questions it raises. And also, a few interesting comparisons.

Salient offers a prize to anybody submitting for the next issue an article which does not include the letter "f" (or "F"), as this letter on our typewriter has had it.

Heard at Freshers' Welcome: One fresher trying to impress another and pointing to Salient's door. "That's the Exec. Room, you know." Salient staff is seriously considering taking libel action.