Love on the Dole (1941)

Love on the Dole: Directed by John Baxter. With Deborah Kerr, Clifford Evans, George Carney, Mary Merrall. During the depression in England, a young lady from Lancashire decides to be a rich bookmaker’s mistress, just to help the rest of her family who are unemployed.

“A British drama; A story set in Salford, England during the depression. A proud miner struggles to provide for his family, while his daughter fends off the advances of two men: a kindly Labour Party representative, and an oily bookmaker. Tightly scripted and deeply affecting, it deals with the theme of a classic 1930s dilemma: escape poverty or keep faith with the morality of her class and Lancashire values. The film resonates with strong feeling for the genuine harshness and brutal truths of poverty and unemployment. There are all round good performances, especially Deborah Kerr who is subtly affecting in her portrayal of personal conflict, and Geoffrey Hibbert who plays his part with innocence and remarkable poignance.nWhile the film has a gloomy feel, it also has comic relief as well as pathos and there is a heartfelt feeling throughout the different sub plots, and avoids mawkishness and over-sentimentality.nAs an aside, this was an adaptation of the Walter Greenwood novel, scripted by himself, and was censored up until its release for its u0026quot;sordidu0026quot; story and comment on social conditions. The film reinforced the view at the time that Britain and its working classes had survived such hardships and would survive others. The outbreak of war was one of the main catalysts for change in housing conditions in communities like u0026quot;Hankey Parku0026quot; due to full employment and a government landslide in 1946.”