Encore (1951 film)

British anthology film

Encore

U.S. poster

Directed by| Pat Jackson
Anthony Pelissier
Harold French
Written by| T. E. B. Clarke
Arthur Macrae
Eric Ambler
Produced by| Antony Darnborough
Starring| Glynis Johns
Nigel Patrick
Kay Walsh
Roland Culver
Ronald Squire
Terence Morgan
Noel Purcell
Cinematography| Desmond Dickinson
Edited by| Alfred Roome
Music by| Richard Addinsell

Production
company

Two Cities Films

Distributed by| General Film Distributors (UK)
Paramount (USA)

Release date

* 14 November 1951 (1951-11-14)

Running time

| 89 minutes
Country| United Kingdom
Language| English
Box office| £172,000 (by 1953)[1]

Encore is a 1951 anthology film composed of adaptations of three short stories by W. Somerset Maugham:

* "The Ant and the Grasshopper", directed by Pat Jackson and adapted by T. E. B. Clarke;
* "Winter Cruise" (from the 1947 collection of Maugham stories Creatures of Circumstance), directed by Anthony Pelissier, screenplay by Arthur Macrae;
* "Gigolo and Gigolette" (from the 1940 collection of Maugham stories The Mixture as Before), directed by Harold French, written by Eric Ambler.

Maugham introduces each part of the film with a piece to camera from his garden on the French Riviera. Encore was the final film in a Maugham trilogy, preceded by Quartet and Trio. The film was entered into the 1952 Cannes Film Festival.[2]

## Plot summary

[edit]

### "The Ant and the Grasshopper"

[edit]

Idle Tom Ramsay continually borrows from his hard-working brother George. George later puts up the Ramsay estate for sale so he can buy out his business partner, despite Tom's protests. Shortly afterwards, George is approached by car dealer Philip Cronshaw, who notifies him that Tom has stolen one of his automobiles. To avoid a scandal, George pays for it, but it was all a fraud; Cronshaw and Tom split George's money.

While squandering his ill-gotten funds, Tom discovers that Gertrude Wilmot, the third richest woman in the world, is staying at the same seaside resort. He becomes acquainted with her, then (surmising that she is fed up with lying admirers) frankly admits that he is a scoundrel attracted to her great wealth. Surprisingly, this approach works and they become engaged.

Tom pays George back for all the money he borrowed over the years. When George complains about the injustice of Tom not having to work for his good fortune, Tom mentions that Gertrude is buying the family estate.

### "Winter Cruise"

[edit]

English spinster Molly Reid takes a sea cruise to Jamaica. To the annoyance of the other passengers and the crew, she talks non-stop on the outbound voyage. When the captain (Noel Purcell) learns that she will be returning on the same ship, he decides that something must be done to save the sanity of the crew. The ship's doctor suggests setting her up with a suitor. Pierre, the steward, is ordered to keep Molly occupied. The plan works; the crew's ears are spared, though Molly tells Pierre that she knows he is not in love with her. When disembarking from the ship, Molly tells the captain and crew that she knew all along that the romance had been arranged.

### "Gigolo and Gigolette"

[edit]

In Monte Carlo, Stella and Syd Cotman have a very successful nightclub act. She dives from a great height into a small, shallow tank of flaming water. However, a visit by Flora and Carlo Penezzi unnerves her. The older Penezzis used to have a similarly dangerous act: Flora was shot out of a cannon. Stella and Syd argue when she refuses to dive a second time each night, forcing Syd to change their contract with the nightclub manager.

In desperation, Stella takes their life savings, and attempts to win enough at the gambling tables so she can quit, but loses everything. Syd is infuriated when he finds out.

With no choice, she goes on with the act, even though she is terrified that she will eventually be killed. When Flora tells Syd how frightened his wife is, he rushes up the tower to stop her. But she, seeing his concern, dives safely into the tank.

## Cast

[edit]

### "The Ant and the Grasshopper"

[edit]

* Nigel Patrick as Tom Ramsay
* Roland Culver as George Ramsay
* Peter Graves as Philip Cronshaw
* Alison Leggatt as Freda Ramsay
* Margaret Vyner as Gertrude Wilmot
* Michael Trubshawe as Ascot man

### "Winter Cruise"

[edit]

* Kay Walsh as Miss Molly Reid
* Ronald Squire as the ship's doctor
* Noel Purcell as Captain Tom
* John Laurie as Andrews, the engineer
* Jacques François as Pierre, the steward

### "Gigolo and Gigolette"

[edit]

* Glynis Johns as Stella Cotman
* Terence Morgan as Syd Cotman
* Mary Merrall as Flora Penezzi
* Martin Miller as Carlo Penezzi

## Production

[edit]

Pat Jackson called his segment "lovely fun."[3]

## Reception

[edit]

### Critical

[edit]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The Ant and the Grasshopper" is weakened by direction that is only competent when it should be sparkling, and by a charmless performance from Nigel Patrick. "Winter Cruise", however, is most enjoyable, well scripted by Arthur Macrae, with some lively handling by Pelissier and a brilliant performance by Kay Walsh. ... "Gigolo and Gigolette" survives the miscasting of Glynis Johns and Harold French's uninspired treatment through the well-constructed script of Eric Ambler and some good acting by minor players ... While one's fundamental objection to Encore is the same as to the previous Maugham films – that all the stories are just literally transplanted to the cinema and are not given the equivalent there of Maugham's tellingly concise, dry style – the film is entertaining because it contains above-average material, preserved with reasonable fidelity."[4]

### Box office

[edit]

The film was success at the box office.[1][5]

## References

[edit]

1. ^ a b Andrew Spicer, Sydney Box Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 211
2. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Encore". festival-cannes.com. Archived from the original on 18 March 2012. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
3. ^ "Pat Jackson interview" (PDF). British Entertainment History Project. 22 March 1991.
4. ^ "Encore". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 18 (204): 370. 1 January 1951 - via ProQuest.
5. ^ Thumim, Janet. "The popular cash and culture in the postwar British cinema industry". Screen. Vol. 32, no. 3\. p. 258.

## External links

[edit]

* Encore at IMDb
* Encore at the TCM Movie Database

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Harold French

* The Cavalier of the Streets (1937)
* Dead Men are Dangerous (1939)
* The House of the Arrow (1940)
* Major Barbara (1941)
* Jeannie (1941)
* The Day Will Dawn (1942)
* Unpublished Story (1942)
* Secret Mission (1942)
* Talk About Jacqueline (1942)
* Dear Octopus (1943)
* English Without Tears  (1944)
* Mr. Emmanuel (1944)
* Quiet Weekend  (1946)
* White Cradle Inn (1947)
* My Brother Jonathan (1948)
* The Blind Goddess (1948)
* Quartet (segment) (1948)
* Adam and Evelyne (1949)
* The Dancing Years (1950)
* Trio (1950)
* Encore (1951)
* The Hour of 13 (1952)
* The Man Who Watched Trains Go By (1952)
* Rob Roy: The Highland Rogue (1953)
* Isn't Life Wonderful! (1953)
* Forbidden Cargo (1954)
* The Man Who Loved Redheads (1955)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Pat Jackson

* Western Approaches (1944)
* Shadow on the Wall (1950)
* White Corridors (1951)
* Encore! (1951)
* Something Money Can't Buy (1952)
* The Feminine Touch (1956)
* The Birthday Present (1957)
* Virgin Island (1958)
* Snowball (1960)
* Seven Keys (1961)
* What a Carve Up! (1961)
* Don't Talk to Strange Men (1962)
* Seventy Deadly Pills (1964)

* v
* t
* e

Films directed by Anthony Pelissier

* The History of Mr. Polly (1949)
* The Rocking Horse Winner (1949)
* Night Without Stars  (1951)
* Encore (1951)
* Meet Me Tonight  (1952)
* Personal Affair (1953)
* Meet Mr. Lucifer  (1953)

* v
* t
* e

Works by W. Somerset Maugham

Novels|

* Liza of Lambeth (1897)
* Mrs Craddock (1902)
* The Magician (1908)
* Of Human Bondage (1915)
* The Moon and Sixpence (1919)
* The Painted Veil (1925)
* Cakes and Ale (1930)
* The Narrow Corner (1932)
* Theatre (1937)
* Christmas Holiday (1939)
* Up at the Villa (1941)
* The Razor's Edge (1944)
* Then and Now (1946)
* Catalina (1948)

Short story collections|

* The Trembling of a Leaf (1921)
* The Casuarina Tree (1926)
* Ashenden (1928)
* Ah King (1933)
* The Mixture as Before (1940)
* Creatures of Circumstance (1947)

Short stories|

* "Rain"
* "The Vessel of Wrath"
* "The Lotus Eater"
* "The Unconquered"

Plays|

* Loaves and Fishes (1902)
* Lady Frederick (1907)
* Smith (1909)
* Penelope (1909)
* The Land of Promise (1913)
* Our Betters (1917)
* Caesar's Wife (1919)
* The Circle (1921)
* The Constant Wife (1926)
* The Letter (1927)
* The Sacred Flame (1928)
* The Bread-Winner (1930)
* For Services Rendered (1932)
* Sheppey (1933)

Non-fiction|

* On a Chinese Screen (1922)
* The Summing Up (1938)
* Ten Novels and Their Authors (1954)

Adaptations|

* The Explorer (1915)
* The Land of Promise (1917)
* Smith (1917)
* The Divorcée (1919)
* Jack Straw (1920)
* East of Suez (1925)
* The Circle (1925)
* The Canadian (1926)
* The Magician (1926)
* Sadie Thompson (1928)
* The Letter (1929)
* Charming Sinners (1929)
* Strictly Unconventional (1930)
* Rain (1932)
* The Narrow Corner (1933)
* Our Betters (1933)
* Of Human Bondage (1934)
* The Painted Veil (1934)
* The Right to Live (1935)
* Secret Agent (1936)
* The Tenth Man (1936)
* Isle of Fury (1936)
* Another Dawn (1937)
* The Vessel of Wrath (1938)
* The Letter (1940)
* Too Many Husbands (1940)
* The Moon and Sixpence (1942)
* Christmas Holiday (1944)
* The Hour Before the Dawn (1944)
* Dirty Gertie from Harlem U.S.A. (1946)
* The Razor's Edge (1946)
* Of Human Bondage (1946)
* The Unfaithful (1947)
* Quartet (1948)
* Trio (1950)
* Encore (1951)
* Miss Sadie Thompson (1953)
* The Beachcomber (1954)
* The Seventh Sin (1957)
* Adorable Julia (1962)
* Of Human Bondage (1964)
* The Razor's Edge (1984)
* Up at the Villa (2000)
* Being Julia (2004)
* The Painted Veil (2006)

Related|

* Somerset Maugham Award

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