Now Barabbas Was a Robber... (Original title)Now Barabbas (Alternative title)
Date: 27 July 1949 (Release)Country: United KingdomDirector: Gordon Parry
Synopsis: Drama about the varied lives and backgrounds of the inmates of a prison, that reveals the story of how they found themselves in jail.Shotlist: The varied lives and backgrounds of men in jail and their adjustment to prison life. Four new arrivals include Tufnell, condemned to hanging for murdering a man who insulted his reformed prostitute sweetheart; Roberts, a bank clerk caught embezzling money in order to impress his fiancée who leaves him and marries his friend; Spencer, a shoplifter, who claims to be an RAF pilot; and Richards, a sensitive ballet dancer, who has committed a violent, jealous attack. The established inmates of the block include Paddy, an Irish saboteur; Brown, a bigamist; Anderson, a black sailor caught smuggling; Medworth, a doctor convicted of medical negligence (possibly an abortion); and Smith, a fraudster. As the days go on the men experience the tensions and strains of prison life overseen by the two main prison warders, Jackson and King. The routine is interspersed with appointments with the Governor, prison visits and, in Tufnell's case, visits from his sweetheart and the padre. Tufnell's reprieve fails to come through and the death sentence is carried out amidst nervous tension which finally breaks out into a noisy demonstration by the prisoners. The routine continues. Brown and Medworth are released having served their sentences and the rest continue their routine.
Genre: Drama
Subjects: Prisons, Great Britain, Bigamy, Fraud, Shoplifting, Terrorism, Irish people, Black people, Hanging, Smuggling, Abortion, Homosexuality, Medical negligence, Gay people
Releases
Date: 27 June 1949Country: United KingdomRelease type: unknownFormat: 35mm Film - Black and White - SoundRuntime: 87 mins Length: 7869 FeetDialogue (original): English
Date: 2016Country: United KingdomRelease type: InternetFormat: not specified - Black and White - SoundRuntime: 87 mins Dialogue (original): EnglishDistributor: BFIPlayer
Title: Production CreditsArticle type: CreditsLanguage: English
In: Film Industry v6 n42 24 Feb 1949 Page: 8
Title: [Film Industry - v6 n42 24 Feb 1949: no known title]Article type: NoteLanguage: English
Description: Note of end of 28-day shooting schedule.
In: Film Industry v6 n41 10 Feb 1949 Page: 13
Title: [Film Industry - v6 n41 10 Feb 1949: no known title]Article type: Prod. ReportLanguage: English
In: Film Industry v6 n40 27 Jan 1949 Page: 13,16
Title: [Film Industry - v6 n40 27 Jan 1949: no known title]Article type: ArticleLanguage: English
In: Today's Cinema v72 n5806 24 May 1949 Page: 6
Title: [Today's Cinema - v72 n5806 24 May 1949: no known title]Language: English
In: Page: 98
Title: [ - : no known title]
Film, Video or Digital materials held in BFI National Archive(13)
Accessible materials to view(4)
Description: 35mm BW PositiveBase: SafetySound: CombinedLength: 7855 FeetStock date: 1979BFI identifier: C-119947
Status: Viewing - Film print can be requested for access (servicing required)
Description: 35mm BW PositiveBase: AcetateSound: CombinedLength: 6667 FeetStock date: 1953BFI identifier: C-119948
Status: Viewing - Film print can be requested for access (servicing required)
Description: MP4 - LTO5MPEG-4 AVC - BFI identifier: N-483884
Status: Viewing - Digital file can be accessed on request
Description: MP4 - LTO5MPEG-4 AVC - BFI identifier: N-483884-2
Status: Viewing - Digital file can be accessed on request
Digital materials(8)
Description: DPX - LTO5BFI identifier: N-483903
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: DPX - LTO5BFI identifier: N-483903-2
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: WAV - LTO5BFI identifier: N-483915
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: WAV - LTO5BFI identifier: N-483915-2
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: MOV - LTO5ProRes 422 (HQ) - BFI identifier: N-483867
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: MOV - LTO5ProRes 422 (HQ) - BFI identifier: N-483867-2
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: MP4 - LTO5MPEG-4 AVC - BFI identifier: N-483884
Status: Viewing - Digital file can be accessed on request
Description: MP4 - LTO5MPEG-4 AVC - BFI identifier: N-483884-2
Status: Viewing - Digital file can be accessed on request
Film materials(5)
Description: 35mm BW PositiveBase: NitrateSound: CombinedLength: 7857 FeetStock date: 1949BFI identifier: C-119944
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved film
Description: 35mm BW PositiveBase: SafetySound: CombinedLength: 7855 FeetStock date: 1979BFI identifier: C-119947
Status: Viewing - Film print can be requested for access (servicing required)
Description: 35mm BW PositiveBase: AcetateSound: CombinedLength: 6667 FeetStock date: 1953BFI identifier: C-119948
Status: Viewing - Film print can be requested for access (servicing required)
Description: 35mm Dupe NegativeBase: SafetySound: SoundLength: 7849 FeetBFI identifier: C-119945
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved film
Description: 35mm Dupe NegativeBase: SafetySound: Combined as MuteLength: 7859 FeetStock date: 1979BFI identifier: C-119946
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved film
Date: 27 July 1949 (Release)Country: United KingdomDirector: Gordon Parry
Synopsis: Drama about the varied lives and backgrounds of the inmates of a prison, that reveals the story of how they found themselves in jail.Shotlist: The varied lives and backgrounds of men in jail and their adjustment to prison life. Four new arrivals include Tufnell, condemned to hanging for murdering a man who insulted his reformed prostitute sweetheart; Roberts, a bank clerk caught embezzling money in order to impress his fiancée who leaves him and marries his friend; Spencer, a shoplifter, who claims to be an RAF pilot; and Richards, a sensitive ballet dancer, who has committed a violent, jealous attack. The established inmates of the block include Paddy, an Irish saboteur; Brown, a bigamist; Anderson, a black sailor caught smuggling; Medworth, a doctor convicted of medical negligence (possibly an abortion); and Smith, a fraudster. As the days go on the men experience the tensions and strains of prison life overseen by the two main prison warders, Jackson and King. The routine is interspersed with appointments with the Governor, prison visits and, in Tufnell's case, visits from his sweetheart and the padre. Tufnell's reprieve fails to come through and the death sentence is carried out amidst nervous tension which finally breaks out into a noisy demonstration by the prisoners. The routine continues. Brown and Medworth are released having served their sentences and the rest continue their routine.
Genre: Drama
Subjects: Prisons, Great Britain, Bigamy, Fraud, Shoplifting, Terrorism, Irish people, Black people, Hanging, Smuggling, Abortion, Homosexuality, Medical negligence, Gay people
Releases
Date: 27 June 1949Country: United KingdomRelease type: unknownFormat: 35mm Film - Black and White - SoundRuntime: 87 mins Length: 7869 FeetDialogue (original): English
Date: 2016Country: United KingdomRelease type: InternetFormat: not specified - Black and White - SoundRuntime: 87 mins Dialogue (original): EnglishDistributor: BFIPlayer
Credits
(34)
Production Company: Anatole de Grunwald Ltd, Production Company: Warner Brothers First National Productions, Producer: Anatole de Grunwald, Associate Producer: Teddy Baird, Production Manager: Isobel Pargiter, [Production Secretary]: Beryl Booth, Assistant Director: Patrick Jenkins, [Assistant Director (2nd)]: James Ware, [Assistant Director (3rd)]: Buddy Booth, Continuity: Rita Davison, [Casting]: Robert Lennard, Screenplay: Anatole de Grunwald, From the play by: William Douglas Home, Director of Photography: Otto Heller, Camera Operator: Gus Drisse, [Focus Puller]: Ernest Day, [Clapper Loader]: Ronald Etherington, [Loader]: Patrick Hannen, [Stills]: Ronnie Pilgrim, Editor: Gerald Turney-Smith, Art Director: Georges Wakhevitch, Assistant Art Director: Tom Goswell, [Set dresser]: Philip Stockford, Costume Supervision: John Wilson-Apperson, Make-up: Gerry Fletcher, Music: George Melachrino, Music: Leighton Lucas, Sound: A.E. Rudolph, [Sound Camera Operator]: John Haley, [Technical adviser]: George Blake, [Publicity]: Ethel Fisher, Cinema Sequence Sound by permission of: Inc. Warner Bros, Made at: Teddington Studios
Cast
(23)
Richard Greene (Tufnell), Cedric Hardwicke (Governor), Stephen Murray (Chaplain), William Hartnell (Jackson), Beatrice Campbell (Kitty), Kathleen Harrison (Mrs Brown), Ronald Howard (Roberts), Betty Ann Davies (Rosie), Leslie Dwyer (Brown), Alec Clunes (Gale), Harry Fowler (Smith), Julian D'albie (Medworth), Kenneth More (Spencer), Peter Doughty (Richards), Percy Walsh (Jones), Richard Burton (Paddy), Glyn Lawson (Anderson), Gerald Case (King), Dora Bryan (Winnie), Lilly Kann (elderley woman), Victor Fairley (Chief), Dandy Nichols (Mrs Smith), David Hannaford ('Erb)
Articles held in BFI Reuben Library
(6)
In: Film Industry v6 n39 13 Jan 1949 Page: 6Title: Production CreditsArticle type: CreditsLanguage: English
In: Film Industry v6 n42 24 Feb 1949 Page: 8
Title: [Film Industry - v6 n42 24 Feb 1949: no known title]Article type: NoteLanguage: English
Description: Note of end of 28-day shooting schedule.
In: Film Industry v6 n41 10 Feb 1949 Page: 13
Title: [Film Industry - v6 n41 10 Feb 1949: no known title]Article type: Prod. ReportLanguage: English
In: Film Industry v6 n40 27 Jan 1949 Page: 13,16
Title: [Film Industry - v6 n40 27 Jan 1949: no known title]Article type: ArticleLanguage: English
In: Today's Cinema v72 n5806 24 May 1949 Page: 6
Title: [Today's Cinema - v72 n5806 24 May 1949: no known title]Language: English
In: Page: 98
Title: [ - : no known title]
Film, Video or Digital materials held in BFI National Archive(13)
Accessible materials to view(4)
Description: 35mm BW PositiveBase: SafetySound: CombinedLength: 7855 FeetStock date: 1979BFI identifier: C-119947
Status: Viewing - Film print can be requested for access (servicing required)
Description: 35mm BW PositiveBase: AcetateSound: CombinedLength: 6667 FeetStock date: 1953BFI identifier: C-119948
Status: Viewing - Film print can be requested for access (servicing required)
Description: MP4 - LTO5MPEG-4 AVC - BFI identifier: N-483884
Status: Viewing - Digital file can be accessed on request
Description: MP4 - LTO5MPEG-4 AVC - BFI identifier: N-483884-2
Status: Viewing - Digital file can be accessed on request
Digital materials(8)
Description: DPX - LTO5BFI identifier: N-483903
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: DPX - LTO5BFI identifier: N-483903-2
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: WAV - LTO5BFI identifier: N-483915
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: WAV - LTO5BFI identifier: N-483915-2
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: MOV - LTO5ProRes 422 (HQ) - BFI identifier: N-483867
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: MOV - LTO5ProRes 422 (HQ) - BFI identifier: N-483867-2
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved digital file
Description: MP4 - LTO5MPEG-4 AVC - BFI identifier: N-483884
Status: Viewing - Digital file can be accessed on request
Description: MP4 - LTO5MPEG-4 AVC - BFI identifier: N-483884-2
Status: Viewing - Digital file can be accessed on request
Film materials(5)
Description: 35mm BW PositiveBase: NitrateSound: CombinedLength: 7857 FeetStock date: 1949BFI identifier: C-119944
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved film
Description: 35mm BW PositiveBase: SafetySound: CombinedLength: 7855 FeetStock date: 1979BFI identifier: C-119947
Status: Viewing - Film print can be requested for access (servicing required)
Description: 35mm BW PositiveBase: AcetateSound: CombinedLength: 6667 FeetStock date: 1953BFI identifier: C-119948
Status: Viewing - Film print can be requested for access (servicing required)
Description: 35mm Dupe NegativeBase: SafetySound: SoundLength: 7849 FeetBFI identifier: C-119945
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved film
Description: 35mm Dupe NegativeBase: SafetySound: Combined as MuteLength: 7859 FeetStock date: 1979BFI identifier: C-119946
Status: Master - Restricted access to preserved film