The Stars Look Down

The Stars Look Down (1940)

FROM THE PEN OF "THE CITADEL'S" BOLD AUTHOR!

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.

Date of release
1940-01-22
TMDB
6.5 / 10 (29)
Runtime
1h 50m
Genres
Drama
Director
Carol Reed

Casting

Interesting facts

  • Awards: 1 · Nominations: 0. Including: National Board of Review: Top Ten Films

The Stars Look Down is a British drama film from 1940, based on A. J. Cronin's 1935 novel of the same title, about injustices in a mining town in North East England. The film, co-scripted by Cronin and directed by Carol Reed, stars Michael Redgrave as Davey Fenwick and Margaret Lockwood as Jenny Sunley. The film is a New York Times Critics' Pick and is listed in The New York Times Guide to the Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.

Production

A week of filming was undertaken at Great Clifton, and at St Helens Colliery, Siddick, in Cumberland, followed by seven weeks of shooting at Denham and Twickenham Studios in London, where an elaborate pithead was simulated. There is also a shot at Derwent Crossings, looking towards Mossbay pig-iron works in Workington. The railway station used was Workington Central on the Cleator & Workington Junction Railway.

Later the set was moved to Shepperton Studios for another week of shooting. The original set of the pithead was used to make up a huge composite set of 40,000 square yards, then the largest exterior set ever constructed for a British film. The set consisted of a replica of the Workington pit where the location work had been done, including the pithead complete with cage, ramp and outer buildings, and rows of miners' cottages.

The film provided a rare character role for Margaret Lockwood. She was unhappy that her character was unfaithful and asked for it to be changed. Carol Reed disagreed but Maurice Ostrer backed Lockwood. Then Reed got together with Ted Black and they managed to keep the character as originally written.

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