The Long Memory

This is an excellent British film, which has managed to pass the test of time, and still stands today as an absorbing & well executed piece of work. The story line is strong, and the locations are particularly memorable, especially the bleak & foreboding Kent coastline which adds significantly to the brooding atmosphere. The performances are uniformly excellent, with the sole exception of Elizabeth Sellars who barely changes expression throughout. John Mills gives one of his most intense performances in the lead role, and demonstrates once again what an extremely fine actor he always was. The direction & editing are first class, and the film never falters in holding the attention. For fans of the genre, this is not to be missed.

When I first saw this film about 5 yrs ago I was excited because I was unaware of the film and I read a preview in the TV listings that said some was filmed in Gravesend,my home town. The location filming was excellent but certain things grated on me like the tea shop in the middle of nowhere on the marshes down river from Gravesend where any passing trade could not have supported a business also the detective in regulation raincoat and hat who followed John Mills into the tea shop.I have now watched the film again today and enjoyed it much more and would say it is a little gem of the time and genre. I am still thrilled by the location scenes in Gravesend,not quite Carol Reed's Third Man but very atmospheric, the street near the river is much changed today but the small church like structure clearly seen in background shots was a seaman's mission and is still there today also in one shot you can see the spire of St Georges,Gravesend's parish church which is where Princess Pocohontas is buried.I feel John Mills really conveys the feeling of a man with a 12 year grudge and the scenes with Ilse where the grudge melts are beautifully portrayed.In his autobiography John Mills describes the film as "an extremely good thriller" but infers that director Bob Hamer had a drink problem and describes him as twice while filming night shots he fell into the Thames while walking backwards looking through a viewfinder!

John Mills tracks down the real culprit of the murder he was sent to jail for in this tense British drama of exile and return. The real murderer is now a comfortable businessman, and the visual contrasts between his dubious offices in the London docks and Mills' derelict boat far out on the river estuary gives a resonance to the film it would be hard to find in a modern setting. Freed from jail but still imprisoned by the past, Mills' character spurns the touching companionship of another refugee on the Kent marshes (Eva Bergh) about whose past we know nothing, but it seems to be destiny that has brought them together. This is one of the few films that resolves a labyrinthine revenge-story without the plot becoming mechanical, and the bleak monochrome visuals are part of its emotional power.

I caught this on film four a couple of weeks ago and thought it was excellent. It is a painful story at times, watching John mill's former lover grappling with her guilt, often physically is portrayed with undignified desperation. Her husband, the investigating officer quietly torn apart by the realisation of his own hand in a miscarriage of justice and his subsequently crumbling home and professional life. John Mills' constant struggle to realise a revenge that has torn him throughout his years in prison and an inability to exact that revenge. He shows, without being sanctimonious, how damaging and unfulfilled revenge is and the characters around him prove that redemption is always hard won.

Crime, punishment, revenge, love and redemption are the big themes of this short movie. The moral bleakness surrounding John Mills, as a man unjustly jailed and now seeking revenge, is reflected in the powerfully stark black and white landscape images which accompany the action. But the issues are far from black and white - the guilty, the innocent and even the investigating policeman are all caught up in the moral dilemmas explored by this clever and thoughtful script. Ultimately all the characters learn that punishment can take many forms, in a conclusion which is both gripping and surprising.

It's not light entertainment, but don't be put off by its serious tone and gritty subject matter. Once seen, this movie will live long in your memory.