Les monts brûlés

In County Cork, the most republican corner of Ireland, an Anglo-Irish landowner (Brodrick) invests in a copper-mine that brings welcome employment to the villagers, whose spokesman (Donovan) manages to find grievances from the start, and calls down a curse on his employer's family.

And that's the setup for the best part of a century, which could have made for a fairly predictable bosses v. workers drama, except that we're in the capable hands of Daphne du Maurier, who never wrote a predictable word in her long life.

Top of the bill, deservedly, is Margaret Lockwood, who comes waltzing into the lives of the Brodricks, playing havoc with the young brothers. "No-one will ever put me in a cage" she declares to one of them, played by Dennis Price, then adding "But I could be caught if I wanted", prodding the hesitant suitor into the proposal she's waiting for. Cecil Parker makes a plausible stovepipe-hatted patriarch, and a teenage Jean Simmons adds much charm as a younger sister, as does Dermot Walsh in his screen debut - but visibly stricken by the family curse.

The scenes down the mine are well-handled, theft of copper being a running theme. The thieves have hollowed-out a secret cavern in which to hide the copper, where Brodricks and Donovans alike are able to take refuge in a sudden flood.

But the high point is a truly poetic mixing of the two families, when the Brodricks bring in one of the Donovans to play the fiddle at a grand ball up at the house, when he gets carried away and sweeps them all into a wild jig outside in the courtyard.

We can't reveal the ending, but it has a lot to with the winding-up of the curse, along with a prayer for peace that some might consider a bit hopeful.

Daphne DuMaurier helped adapt one of her lesser known novels, Hungry Hill to the big screen in 1947. Possibly the problem is that it is one of his lesser known novels and was not that good a read to begin with.

Hungry Hill is where a copper mine is started by Cecil Parker the head of the Brodrick clan and Parker's his usual arrogant self once again on the screen. This piece of property the other family, the Donovans, feel the Brodricks cheated them out of way back when so this was an ongoing feud when the viewer enters the picture. When the mine opens the head of the Donovans, Arthur Sinclair, pronounces a curse on the Brodricks.

The Brodricks due seem like a cursed clan, but the curse also seems to ring down on the Donovans as well over the three generations that this tale is told.

The primary characters are Margaret Lockwood who marries into the Brodricks and Dennis Price who becomes a lawyer and tries not to have anything to do with the mine. They raise a new generation of Brodricks who have their own problems with the Donovans, especially young Dermot Walsh.

Cecil Parker being the fatuous oaf he is turns out to be a great businessman, but that's about all he is. He makes mistakes in the raising of both his son and grandson that really are the cause of a lot of the issues.

Jean Simmons has a brief role as Dennis Price's sister who I wish we had seen more of. She's in at the beginning and then we're told she marries an army man and is now in India. Smart girl, she showed sense in getting away from the Hungry Hill curse.

Hungry Hill moves at way too slow a pace. It's like a British version of The Magnificent Ambersons, the director's vision of Ambersons that is. Maybe it needed someone like Orson Welles at the helm.

In Hungry Hill, the Brodricks and the Donovans are feuding. They have been for generations, and they're teaching their children the same hates. It's a tale as old as time, really; Irish family feuds are legendary.

Cecil Parker heads the leading Brodrick clan, joined by Dennis Price, Dermot Walsh, and Jean Simmons. I won't tell you any more about the plot, but I'm sure you can imagine every tragic turn. It's an epic saga, so passionate romances, violence and death, forbidden love, and parent-child arguments should be expected. Also, the families squabble over ownership and management of a coal mine, so you can expect some problems in the mine at some point.

If you like these types of movies, this one is very good. You'll get a lump in your throat, and you'll want to shake the characters' shoulders, and you'll get caught up in the grandeur of 1800s Ireland. In the end, you'll probably feel a little drained, since the movie's timeline carries through decades, so take a brisk walk afterwards or throw in a comedy to lift your spirits.

"Hungry Hill," based on a novel by Daphne DuMaurier, concerns a 50-plus year family feud between copper mine owners, the Brodricks, and the people who work for them, the Donovans.

The film stars Margaret Lockwood as Fanny Rosa, who marries Dennis Price, known as "Greyhound John Brodrick" because he breeds greyhounds. His father (Cecil Parker) is Copper John. A very young and lovely Jean Simmons has a small role as Price's sister.

Fanny and Greyhound John have several children, one of whom is Henry (Michael Dennison), who becomes a wild child when he grows up. As someone else mentioned, Dennison is very much like James Mason. We get to see Lockwood as a flirtatious young woman, a settled married one, and finally, an elderly widow.

The film is somewhat slow, but though it is in black and white, you can see the beauty and luxury of the 19th century costumes.

For some reason the characters were hard to connect to, with the possible exception of Lockwood. She is the thread who goes throughout the film, and we see some real character development. It's a very good performance.

"Hungry Hill" is an Irish area where some 19th century families bicker over copper mining. Some good-looking sets and costumes make this film look like a grand production is going to unfold, but don't get your hopes up. The characters and story lines are introduced in a most unappealing manner. The structure is dull, even though it's adapted with personal help by reliable author Daphne du Maurier (of "Rebecca" fame). It's likely the original novel had more life.

Probably the most engaging part is played by lovely Margaret Lockwood (as Fanny Rose). There is some fun in watching Ms. Lockwood's sprightly courtship with Dennis Price (as "Greyhound" John Brodrick) - and, she ages into one youthfully beautiful old lady. Early on, the young and radiant Jean Simmons (as Jane) is a brief attraction. Lockwood and "grown-up" son Dermot Walsh (as "Wild" Johnnie Brodrick) have some good dramatic confrontations, later in the running time.

***** Hungry Hill (1/7/47) Brian Desmond Hurst ~ Margaret Lockwood, Dermot Walsh, Dennis Price, Cecil Parker