Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.

Invaderbank The film creates a perfect balance between action and depth of basic needs, in the midst of an infertile atmosphere.

Keeley Coleman The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

JohnHowardReid Producer: Edward Black. Executive producer: Maurice Ostrer. (The U.K. version is available on an otherwise excellent Network DVD. The full-length version seems to have vanished).A Gainsborough Picture, copyright 30 November 1945 by Universal Pictures Co., Inc. U.S. release through Universal. New York opening at the Winter Garden: 29 November 1945. U.K. release through General Film Distributors: 23 August 1943. Australian release through Gaumont British Dominions/2Oth Century-Fox: 12 October 1944. 10,812 feet. 120 minutes. (The full-length version was released only in Australia. In the U.K., the film was cut to 116 minutes, in the U.S.A., to 93 minutes).SYNOPSIS: When the home of the Rohans is being sold up, Lady Clarissa Rohan meets a young airman from Jamaica, Rokeby, who tells her that his mother's ancestor was in love with the nineteenth- century Clarissa Rohan; and in flashback we see . . .NOTES: Number seven at British ticket windows for 1943. The film did less well in Australia, but was still a big success, coming in at number thirty-one for 1944.It was inevitable that such a colossal box-office success be followed by some sort of "sequel". This followed in 1944 when Calvert, Mason and Granger were re-united for Fanny by Gaslight (pointedly re-titled Man of Evil in the U.S.A.). The Wicked Lady, which re-teamed Lockwood and Mason with writer/director Arliss, appeared in 1945.COMMENT: Superbly photographed and most expansively produced with dazzling sets and period costumes galore, "The Man in Grey" is directed with such style and occasional inventiveness (taking full advantage of its magnificent sets and liberal production values), that one's mind and certainly one's eye are distracted from the penny-dreadful plot. (One's ear, alas, is still assailed by some choice samples of cumbersome dialogue).More than competent acting by a sterling cast of players also helps immeasurably. Lockwood is perfectly cast as the wicked lady, Calvert is in her element as the hapless and hopeless heroine, while Mason snarls delightfully as the surly "grey", and Stewart Granger (not always photographed too flatteringly) wanders along in top tongue- in-cheek form as a winning librarian until smothered by the excessive demands of a ridiculous plot. A wonderful group of support artists lend their talents too, among which one must single out Martita Hunt as a fussy schoolmistress, Helen Haye as Mason's resigned if dutiful mother, Beatrice Varley as a slipsy Gypsy, Jane Gill-Davis as Calvert's genteel mother, Raymond Lovell as the somewhat dithery prince regent, and Ann Wilton as the put-upon teacher, Miss Edge.Despite the absurdities and excesses of its script (doubtless directly derived from the original novel), such lavish squandering of talent and money has produced a most enjoyably escapist slice of quasi- historical melodrama.

Spikeopath The Man in Grey is directed by Leslie Arliss and adapted to screenplay by Margaret Kennedy and Doreen Montgomery from the novel of the same name written by Eleanor Smith. It stars Margaret Lockwood, James Mason, Phyllis Calvert and Stewart Granger. Music is By Cedric Mallabey and cinematography by Arthur Crabtree.A forerunner of Gainsborough's Wicked Women movies, The Man in Grey is a delicious slice of British noir pie.Proudly decked out in period attire, story is ripe with dastards, narcissists, connivers, the selfish and the cruel. Headed up by Mason's Lord Rohan and Lockwood's Hesther Shaw, these people will stop at nothing to get what they want in life. It doesn't matter who is around them, friends and family etc, if they can in any way hinder their respective selfish goals then they will be trampled upon and not a further thought will be given. It all simmers to the boiling point where lives will not just be ruined, but also ended.The four principal players are great, their respective careers well on the way to leaving behind considerable bodies of work. Arliss (The Night Has Eyes) keeps the story simple in spite of the many character strands and traits jostling for meaty exposure, and photographer Crabtree (Waterloo Road) accentuates the miserablist ambiance with sharp black and white lensing.The use of black-face on white actors is awfully out dated, as is some of the dialogue, but don't hold these things against The Man in Grey. It's a darn fine bodice botherer, resplendent with characters straight out of noir's dark alleyways. 8/10

Boba_Fett1138 You can regard this movie as an '40's chick flick that has a story of a typical romantic-dramatic novel, women love to read. It has all of the ingredients you could expect, like true love, friendship and rivalry. It has not just a triangular love story but its even more complicated than that. It's all well constructed though but this nevertheless doesn't mean I can regard this movie as being something different than a chick flick.The story truly saved this movie for me, or else it would had been a real dreadful one to watch. It has all of the typical clichés women seem to care about but as a man it just isn't all as compelling to watch. The story is solid and keeps you interested throughout. The love stories are original since it doesn't always picks the easiest road to walk on. Marriage and friendships turn bitter and characters are changing throughout. I like movies in which its characters are slowly but steadily changing into someone different.It also is of course thanks to the acting that this all works out so well, even though the dialog and directing style are all extremely old fashioned. But oh well, this is of course consistent and normal for the genre. In the '40's director Leslie Arliss made several movies like this one, often with the same actors involved, without ever gaining real fame for it really. Women will surely appreciate this movie even better than I did already.7/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

gazaman The Man in Grey was the first and probably the most successful of the Gainsborough melodramas. The lavish regency tale centres around the aristocratic Clarissa Richmond (Phyllis Calvert) who dutifully enters into an loveless arranged marriage with the cold hearted Lord Rohan (James Mason)- the Man in Grey of the title.Love and intrigue are to enter Clarissa's life when a chance meeting with an old school friend, the scheming Hester (Margaret Lockwood), leads her to the dashing Rokeby (Stewart Granger).The story reaches its dramatic conclusion through twists and turns of plot and excellent performances from who can be called the four cornerstones of the war time British cinema - Stewart Granger, James Mason, Phyllis Calvert and Margaret Lockwood.The Man in Grey is my personal favorite of all the Gainsborough films, it is high drama and escapism. The Man in Grey is definitely worth another look.