The Bad Lord Byron
Directed byDavid MacDonald
Produced byAubrey Baring
StarringDennis Price
Mai Zetterling
CinematographyStephen Dade
Edited byJames Needs
Music byCedric Thorpe Davie
Production
company
Triton Films
Distributed byGFD (UK)
Release date
1949
Running time
85 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget₤200,000[1] or £223,900[2]
Box office£75,000 (by 1953)[2]

The Bad Lord Byron is a 1949 British historical drama film centered on the life of Lord Byron. It was directed by David MacDonald and starred Dennis Price as Byron with Mai Zetterling, Linden Travers and Joan Greenwood.[3]

Plot

The film sees life from the perspective of Lord Byron, seriously wounded in Greece where he is fighting for Greek independence. From his deathbed, Byron remembers his life and many loves, imagining that he's pleading his case before a celestial court.[4]

Cast

Production

The film was announced in 1945 by Two Cities with Eric Portman to play the title role.[5] It was to be written, produced and directed by Terence Young based on the books by Peter Quennell, The Years of Fame and Byron in Italy. The project was not made but was re-activated when Sydney Box took over Gainsborough Studios in 1946. Box had been considering a film based on Percy Shelley but was also enthusiastic about making one on Byron, who Box greatly admired. He assigned the project to producer Aubrey Baring and director David MacDonald. They greatly reduced Young's script by a half but Box was still dissatisfied with it. [6]

Working with Gainsborough script adviser Paul Holt, Box reconfigured the film to consist of a series of flashbacks about episodes in Byron's life. Box ultimately decided this approach was too derivative of Citizen Kane and made Byron's presence in the film too insubstantial. He then decided to focus the script on Byron's relationship with Teresa Guiccoli but changed his mind with Mai Zetterling who was playing that part was not available.[6]

Location filming began in Italy in October 1947.[7] They returned in December.[8] It was followed by shooting in Shepherd's Bush studio. Filming was done by April.[9]

A Nottingham City librarian refused for the filmmakers to shoot at Newstead Abbey because of Byron's reputation.[10] Sydney Box called it "an example of bureaucracy at its worst."[11]

Great effort and much money was spent to ensure the film was as historically accurate as possible in terms of sets and costumes. However the film was not shot in colour because that would have increased the budget of the film by a third; also colour cameras were being used on the film The Blue Lagoon.[6]

Before the film was released, the US announced they would not allow the film to be screened in America because of the relationship between Byron and his half sister, even though that did not featured in the film.[12]

Sydney Box later heard a radio play about Byron, The Trial of Lord Byron by Laurence Kitchin which he thought would tie up some loose ends of the film. It consisted of Byron being hauled before a celestial court and forced to justify his actions. Box bought the rights to the radio play and had David MacDonald shoot 22 minutes of retakes in two days.[13][6]

Reception

Critical

The movie received bad reviews. Dannis Price later said "One day I hope to have enough money to make another Byron film — the real story. And if I could get hold of all the scenes we shot and which never appeared in the film, two-thirds of the Job would be done."[14]

A critic for Time Out has written of the film:

Not as bad as its reputation would suggest, since it is well acted and stylishly shot, but the script is undeniably silly. Starting with Byron (Price) dying in Greece, it cuts to a celestial trial at which the women in his life appear to give evidence, their stories being seen in flashback. The fatuous point is to determine whether Byron is a great poet and fighter for liberty or a bad, evil rake. Very basic stuff, historically inaccurate and not made any more convincing by the eventual revelation that the judge is Byron himself (though his lines have hitherto been delivered by someone else).[4]

Box Office

The film was a box-office disaster. In 1949 it had earned £22,400, recording a loss of £179,200.[2]

Book

Sydney Box and Vivian Cox wrote a book on the making of the film which was published in 1949.[15]

References

  1. ^ Geoffrey Macnab, J. Arthur Rank and the British Film Industry, London, Routledge (1993) p183
  2. ^ a b c Andrew Spicer, Sydney Box Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 211
  3. ^ "Bad Lord Byron | BFI | BFI". Explore.bfi.org.uk. Retrieved 4 March 2014.
  4. ^ a b TM (Tom Milne). "The Bad Lord Byron". Time Out. London. Retrieved 8 August 2016.
  5. ^ Andrew Spicer, "The Apple of Mr. Rank’s Mercatorial Eye’: Managing Director of Gainsborough Pictures"
  6. ^ a b c d Sydney Box. p. 132-134.
  7. ^ "FILM FARE FROM BRITAIN". The Daily News. Vol. LXV, , no. 22, 628. Western Australia. 18 October 1947. p. 19 (FIRST EDITION). Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.((cite news)): CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  8. ^ "FILM WORLD". The West Australian. Vol. 63, , no. 19, 167. Western Australia. 19 December 1947. p. 27. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.((cite news)): CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  9. ^ "Australian director's new film". The Sun. No. 2349. New South Wales, Australia. 18 April 1948. p. 27. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  10. ^ ""BAD BYRON"". The West Australian. Vol. 63, , no. 19, 150. Western Australia. 29 November 1947. p. 12. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.((cite news)): CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  11. ^ "LIBRARIAN REFUSES FILM UNIT TO PHOTOGRAPH ABBEY". The Canberra Times. Vol. 22, , no. 6, 441. Australian Capital Territory, Australia. 29 November 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.((cite news)): CS1 maint: extra punctuation (link)
  12. ^ "FILM NEWS AND GOSSIP". Truth. No. 3046. New South Wales, Australia. 6 June 1948. p. 29. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  13. ^ "OLIVIER TIPPED FOR OSCAR PRIZE". Truth. No. 3069. New South Wales, Australia. 14 November 1948. p. 30. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  14. ^ "MOVIE NEWS AND GOSSIP". Truth. No. 3095. New South Wales, Australia. 15 May 1949. p. 39. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  15. ^ "NEW BOOKS". Townsville Daily Bulletin. Vol. LXIX. Queensland, Australia. 9 December 1949. p. 6. Retrieved 4 September 2017 – via National Library of Australia.