The Bells (1931 film)

The Bells (1931 film)
Trade adverisement, The Daily Film Renter (2 October 1931)[1]
Directed byHarcourt Templeman
Oscar Werndorff
Written byC. H. Dand
Based onThe Bells
by Leopold Lewis
Produced bySergei Nolbandov
Isidore Schlesinger
StarringDonald Calthrop
Jane Welsh
Edward Sinclair
Music byGustav Holst
Production
company
British Sound Film Productions
Distributed byProducers Distributing Corporation
Release date
  • 1931 (1931)
Running time
75 minutes
CountryUK
LanguageEnglish

The Bells is a 1931 lost British drama film directed by Harcourt Templeman and Oscar Werndorff and starring Donald Calthrop, Jane Welsh and Edward Sinclair.[2][3] It was written by C.H. Dand based on the 1867 play Le Juif Polonais by Alexandre Chatrian and Emile Erckmann, and the 1871 English translation The Bells by Leopold Lewis.

The film was originally released with the only film score written by Gustav Holst.

Preservation status

The British Film Institute has classed The Bells as a lost film.[4] Its National Archive holds a collection of stills but no film or video materials.[2] In 1974, Imogen Holst wrote that its score is also lost.[5]

Plot

Mathias, an Alsatian innkeeper, murders a rich Pole staying at his inn. His conscience will not let him rest, and the Pole's spirit drives him nearly mad.

The victim's brother calls for an inquest and brings a sideshow hypnotist, who is supposed to read minds. Mathias, as burgomaster, is called upon to conduct the inquest but, under the intuitive eye of the hypnotist, cannot endure the torment of his own conscience.

Cast

Reception

Film Weekly wrote: "From a technical point of view the film is something an achievement. But as entertainment it is tedious and unreal. Donald Calthrop, as the Burgomaster, gives a fine performance somewhat in the melodramatic manner famous in the original play. Jane Welsh has little to do, but does it fairly well, and Edward Sinclair is adequate, but rather wooden."[6]

Kine Weekly wrote: "A brilliant performance by Donald Calthrop; that is the cutstanding feature in this rather meticulously clever production of the melodrama which Irving made famous. There are some excellent camera effects, but the story lacks vitality and is apt to drag. ... One feels that Oscar Werndorff and Harcourt Templeman have lost dramatic value in striving after constructional cleverness. The treatment is definitely Teutonic, with chiaroscuro effects and rapid black-outs. The direction of the artistes is good, but the artificiality increases as the plot progresses, and ends on a note of phantasy which is effective camera work but not good drama."[7]

The Daily Film Renter wrote: "Screen adaptation of famous stage melodrama. Technical excellence cannot compensate for out-moded story, unnecessary length of footage and excessively slow tempo. ... Donald Calthrop gives a sound rendering of the part of the unfortunate old Burgomaster though in a manner more in accordance with the tradition of the last generation than the present one. Edward Sinclair, as the police officer, while certainly restrained at no time rises to great heights. Jane Welsh as the Burgomaster's daughter is refreshingly natural, and O. B. Clarence as the night watchman gives a carefully studied characterisation. Nevertheless one must repeat that while by no means devoid of merit, this is a picture whose appeal can be said to be definitely limited to the older generation of picture-goer, and as such its general attraction must necessarily be very restricted."[8]

Picturegoer wrote: "Even Donald Calthrop's brilliant performance is unable to put life into this screen version of the melodrama made famous by Sir Henry Irving. Besides the fact that Calthrop is hopelessly miscast, there is no real vitality about the picture; it is entirely artificial and very slow in action. To some extent, this is counteracted by very clever camera work, which includes various kaleidescopic effects, rapid 'blackouts,' and a general tendency to follow the lines of German technique."[9]

Picture Show wrote: "The talking-screen version of the book from which Sir Henry Irving's play was taken has been developed with moments of brilliance and marvellously beautiful camera work, but the story is disconnected and prevents the film from gripping as it should."[10]

See also

References

  1. ^ "The Bells". The Daily Film Renter (1446): 12. 2 October 1931. ProQuest 2594681123.
  2. ^ a b "The Bells". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 17 March 2026.
  3. ^ "The Bellls (1931)". BFI. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 4 March 2026.
  4. ^ Eyles, Allen; Meeker, David, eds. (1992). "The Bells". Missing Believed Lost: The Great British Film Search. British Film Institute. pp. 36–36. ISBN 0851703062.
  5. ^ Imogen Holst, A Thematic Catalogue of Gustav Holst's Music, p. 189 (London: Faber and Faber, 1974) ISBN 0-571-10004-X.
  6. ^ "The Bells". Film Weekly. 7 (178): 29-30. 12 March 1932. ProQuest 1705177768.
  7. ^ "The Bells". Kine Weekly. 176 (1278): 39. 15 October 1931. ProQuest 2322760363.
  8. ^ "The Bells". The Daily Film Renter (1454): 6. 12 October 1931. ProQuest 2594678797.
  9. ^ "The Bells". Picturegoer. 1: 19. 2 March 1932. ProQuest 1771148769.
  10. ^ "The Bells". Picture Show. 26 (672): 11. 19 March 1932. ProQuest 1880287523.
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