Le chapelier et son château

... not because it is dull or bad, but because the main character, James Brodie (Robert Newton) has no redeeming values whatsoever. He is a cruel vile man, a complete narcissist. People are either customers, servants, or enemies to him. Everyone else is invisible to him.

Brodie is a Scottish hatter in Victorian times. He has a sickly wife that he constantly belittles, a grown teen daughter Mary (Deborah Kerr) that he practically keeps prisoner, and a son Angus that he sees as an extension of himself, so he puts tremendous pressure on the boy to excel in school to show off to his rivals. Brodie also lives in a large castle, "Hatter's Castle", it is called derisively by the town, because it is just ridiculously large and medieval for a simple merchant to be living there. But because his customers tend to be important men, Brodie sees himself as important. Oh, and he has a mistress. And this mistress' brother-in-law, Dennis, needing a job, and Brodie granting that job, brings chaos into Brodie's family and business. For one thing, Dennis is not exactly a brother-in-law, and also he is a slimy little weasel, the likes of which a brute like Brodie would never expect would get the better of him.

James Mason, as a physician, is one of the few nice and normal characters in the cast, if you can believe that. He has very few scenes. There is a really good rendition of the Tay Bridge railroad disaster of 1879, and it is too bad that the film's physical condition is so rough, because it would be great to see in detail. In fact, this film is just crying out for a restoration. What you can see of the art design is impressive. It would be wonderful to see it in its original glory. A clearer print might even raise its appraisal another star. Mainly, though, this is Robert Newton's film. He does a splendid job of playing a despicable human being. I cringed every time he entered a room, and he made me want to stick around to the end to see what happened to his character. Recommended.

A. J. Cronin must have been an author who was in great demand back in 1942 considering he had his name put on the title of the movie. He already had some success with his novel "The Citadel", one of Robert Donat's better films.

Robert Newton sure helped pull off one of the most hateful and awful human beings in film history in "Hatter's Castle". I am not being critical...I am applauding his effort as he creates a very strong visceral reaction in viewers...the sign of an exceptional performance.

James Brodie (Newton) owns a successful hat shop, as it's the only one in the area! But instead of his success making him happy, he's a bitter, cruel man...with nothing positive about him. He treats his employees like garbage and his family even worse! He does this by keeping them in a constant state of fear, as he's the consumate bully. Through the course of the film, he treats folks around him horribly...and you can't help but think that sooner or later he'll get his comeuppance. Watching this take place is a joy...and reason to watch the movie.

While at times a very unpleasant story, it is worth seeing...and I encourage you to keep reminding yourself it WILL pay off by the end! It does pay off...and the film is exceptionally well made, acted and written.

It's incredibly unfortunate that Robert Newton isn't a household name. He was an unbelievably talented, versatile British actor from the silver screen era, but while his name hasn't lasted through the decades, other, far less talented actors have remained household names, like Spencer Tracy, Clark Gable, and Gary Cooper. If you have no idea who Robert Newton is, rent Hatter's Castle tonight.

Robert Newton plays the patriarch in A.J. Cronin's epic Hatter's Castle. He owns a hat shop, and we are treated to his hardened business persona as well as his cold demeanor at home. He's extremely strict with his innocent, frightened daughter, Deborah Kerr, and he's cruel and callous to his wife, Beatrice Varley. Beatrice slaves away as a homemaker, and her exhaustion is palpable through the screen. Deborah is very young and very sweet, and she's quickly torn between two potential lovers, the slimy Emlyn Williams and the handsome doctor James Mason.

But back to Robert Newton. It's his movie, after all, and his tour-de-force performance-which was not honored by a single award or nomination-that makes this movie one of the great classics from the silver screen. As he always does, he completely embodies his character. He doesn't care about making the audience hate him, and even though he made a career out of playing villains, this role is totally different from the other bad guys he's played. He's cold, selfish, and merciless, yet as the story unfolds, he compels the audience to care about what happens to him. Bobby has an incredibly expressive face, and his intense energy makes his performance worth remembering.

This is a very heavy story, so if you like Thomas Hardy stories, you'll find a new favorite in Hatter's Castle. If you don't think you can handle it-if you walked out of The Mayor of Casterbridge-I don't think you'll like it. Try Jamaica Inn instead for an introduction to Robert Newton.

Nothing to do with Cromwell but Christmas was banned in Scotland in 1573. Had this Victorian tale been set in a country other than Scotland, Robert Newton's abhorrent hatter in this story would surely have had a Scrooge-like Christmas Day transformation!

Horrid hatter, James Brodie unlike Scrooge is utterly unlikeable and even if he'd lived in a country which had Christmas, no number of spirits could redeem him. Robert Newton delivers just the right amount of brooding Victorian malice. He plays the role just right to make it believable - sinister but not quite at the level of a pantomime villain. He thoroughly engrosses you as you desperately yearn to see him get his cumuppance.

The great Welsh actor (and writer) Emlyn Williams gives an equally believable performance as the thoroughly obnoxious Dennis "Uriah Heep's less trustable brother!" It's difficult to say who is more dislikable. With the two leading characters being so unrelentingly unpleasant, there's not a lot of lightness here. Inevitability you compare this with Dickens and when you do that it's clear how much more depth and layers and humour Dickens imbued into his stories. This was however the very first thing A J Cronin ever wrote so as a first go at writing a story, it's still pretty impressive.

It's not Cronin's best work, his characteristic social and political criticism hadn't developed yet but it's still a decent Victorian style melodrama. As a film, it has pace, atmosphere and tension - it's beautifully produced.

Robert Newton plays James Brodie, a hatter who is consumed by the desire for power and importance. He has built himself a large grand house (the Hatter's Castle of the title) He bullies his wife and children, tyrannises over his employees, and is horrible to everyone who he encounters. His daughter ( Deborah Kerr) is loved by the handsome young local doctor James Mason, who (of course) Newton hates. Newton has a mistress, the lovely Enid Stamp-Taylor, who persuades him to give a job to her 'step brother' (actually former lover) played by the splendidly slimes Emlyn Williams. This of course leads to trouble and not just for Newton. The character of James Brodie is so unrelentingly horrible that I was unable to take him seriously. Especially absurd is the idea that he won't have servants and expects his wife to do all the housework - nobody with social pretensions in the Victorian era would have thought of not having servants, they were simply essential.