![]() ![]() There were also numerous BBC adaptations: among them were those for radio in 1941, 1949 and 1965 and for TV in 1951 and 1974. ![]() Hitch brought back two of the leads, Helen Haye and Edmund Gwenn, to reprise their roles in his version. That version was an Anglo-Dutch co-production, whose Dutch title, Hard tegen hard, literally translates as “Hard against hard”. JOHN GALSWORTHY THE SKIN GAME SUMMARY FULLUsing the full cast, it was also filmed during its initial stage run and previewed in December 1920. The young Hitch greatly admired his works which, like this one, frequently turned their focus on the iniquities of the class system. The Skin Game was adapted from an eponymous 1920 play by John Galsworthy, who most famously authored The Forsyte Saga. It’s patently obvious to anyone with eyes and ears that Hitch invested a lot of time, thought and care into crafting this film to be every bit as good as he could possibly manage. Skin Game is too often unfairly written off as a perfunctory stop-gap in his temporarily stalled ascendant career, but I wonder how many commentators have actually seen it in good condition, if at all. There are numerous examples of visual touches that Hitch would go on to use again and again in his future works. The assured direction, cinematography and mise en scène are never anything short of brilliant throughout. Just as it threatens to bow out on a not wholly-resolved denouement, a brief two-second final shot seems to show us the likely course of events after the final credits. It packs a lot of emotion, both subtle, overwrought and all points between, into its lean 80-odd minutes and really is one of my faves of Hitch’s British period. There are more than enough ethical complexities and crises of conscience to satisfy even the most demanding fan of Hitch’s later works. It’s rife with twisting, turning moral dilemmas in which both parties fight dirty and almost no one emerges as wholly good or bad. This is hellishly powerful stuff, and easily one of the Master’s most underappreciated films. Sexploitation, corruption, blackmail – all and more is wrapped up in this high stakes drama of two rival families. ![]() The Hillcrests consider themselves the moral leaders of the community and on learning that the Hornblowers seek to dispossess the Jackman family after 30 years of tenure, they enter battle in the Jackmans’ defence. They cherish the traditions of the landed gentry and regard their new neighbours, the Hornblowers, as upstarts – tradespeople who have fought their way up from the lowest section of society. The Hillcrests are a wealthy family who have held their country estate for many generations. Hitch’s bio in this spread from The Filmgoers’ Annual (1932) isn’t entirely accurate. ![]()
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