Bitter Harvest

This movie turned up on a local television station in the midnight to dawn slot and I watched it purely by chance. I had never heard of this British movie nor were any of the actors/actresses familiar to me. Despite this the opening scene, musical theme and the scene after it made me want to stick around until the end and learn the full story.

The movie is about Jenny, who predictably is poor and leads a dull ordinary life. Influenced by the models she sees in television and magazine ads, she dreams of a life full of glamour, excitement, beautiful clothes etc. A naive Jenny, in an unexpected and unplanned manner finds herself in London. She has no money and no clothes except for the clothes she's wearing. Her dream does eventually become a reality, but she becomes a victim. Was it all worth it?

The movie begins in the present, flashes back to the not so distant past and back to the present for the final scenes. Jenny's life is shown up to a certain point. After that you are left to fill in the gaps of what might have happened to her, but the clues make it obvious.

Parts of the story were predictable and you could see the story unfold from a mile away. This however did not ruin my enjoyment of the film. Part of the enjoyment was the ending. I expected a more predictable ending, but instead I was surprised and a little stunned.

The theme of the movie seems to be poor, happy and in love versus rich and miserable. The final scene to me suggests that Jenny would have been better off if she had stayed with the man who loved her even though they were living in poverty.

An entertaining dramatic film with a good but depressing storyline. It was worth staying up for.

This road-to-ruin melodrama is surprisingly watchable if you don't expect too much. The storyline is totally predictable, the characters little more than cliches, the colour lurid and I thought I detected some heavy-handed editing as 3rd-billed Alan Badell has only a few lines in a couple of scenes while uncredited Thora Hird (fresh from her triumph in "A Kind of Loving") has much more screentime as a grasping landlady.

Perhaps somewhat dated by today's standards, but, nevertheless, an interesting tale about a girl from Wales who ends up in London and then begins what she perceives to be her climb up the ladder of success. Each time she meets a new person, the viewer learns a little bit more about her personality. Where will it all end?

A morality tale for the early sixties by the ever-enterprising Allied Filmmakers anticipating the journey taken by that year's headliner Christine Keeler and Julie Christie in 'Darling'.

This glossy Eastmancolor adaptation of the book by Patrick Hamilton is usually overlooked, but it provides a chance to savour the youthful beauty of the late lamented Janet Munro, who sadly like the heroine of this fable never lived to experience the fate she so feared of losing her youthful lustre as Miss Keeler certainly did.

Miss Munro might have found have found lasting happiness had she not unwisely favoured louche bounder Alan Badel over nice young John Stride, last seen courting good girl Anne Cunningham.

I don't know how I've missed this little gem. The terrific lost talent of Janet Munro and a whole host of top notch actors of the time like the acerbic Thora Hird and the tender John Stride give great performances here. The story is a natural successor to the gritty black and white Bryanston kitchen sink dramas of the late 50s early 60s. It sits well too with pre swinging 60s films like Alfie. A perfect snapshot of the social and sexual mores of the time. A special mention too for the beautiful colour cinematography and the evocative London locations. I don't think you'll be disappointed