The Man in Grey (1943) on Netflix
Clarissa leaves school in loyalty to Hesther, a teacher who ran away with an ensign. Her godmother arranges a match with Lord Rohan, and Clarissa engages Hesther as her son's governess.
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- Netflix3.3/5
- IMDb6.5/101,836 votes
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Trailer
Plot summary
At the school run by Miss Patchett, Clarissa, a popular but naive pupil, chooses Hesther Shaw as her friend. Hesther is a proud, bitter junior teacher. A fortune teller cautions Clarissa against trusting women, naming Hesther above all. Hesther then runs off with a penniless ensign, and Miss Patchett orders her pupils never to speak her name again. Clarissa leaves the school in loyalty to Hesther. Her godmother arranges a marriage to the wealthy Marquess of Rohan, a notorious rake who wants an heir and nothing more. Husband and wife live apart. One night Clarissa goes to a performance of Othello and sees Hesther as Desdemona. On the road her coach is halted by Rokeby, the actor playing Othello, who demands a ride to the theater. After the performance Clarissa takes Hesther on as governess to her son.
Cast
Did you know?!Facts and trivia about The Man in Grey (1943)
Can contain spoilers, watch the movie first.
- James Mason was only the third choice to play Lord Rohan: Eric Portman was offered the part and turned it down, and second choice Robert Donat did not want to make the film.
- Margaret Lockwood read the novel and thought she would be ideal as Clarissa, but was cast as the wicked Hesther instead; Carol Reed persuaded her to take it by telling her to think about motivation rather than the number of pages.
- To play Lord Rohan, James Mason agreed to make an extra five pictures for Gainsborough, though he ended up making only three because the studio failed to exercise an option in time for the other two.
- Stewart Granger was the last of the four leads to be cast, auditioning while he was appearing on stage in Rebecca; Robert Donat recommended him, and he was paid £1,000 for 12 weeks of work.
- Leslie Arliss was late for a scene between Phyllis Calvert and Stewart Granger, so the two actors directed themselves, and "Arlissing about" became a Gainsborough byword for slackness.
- Art director Wally Mutton left The Man in Grey after a confrontation with the studio about the sets being ready in time, and Maurice Carter took over without accepting a credit.
- James Mason had clashed with director Leslie Arliss on a previous film, and their tempestuous relationship continued while making The Man in Grey.
- The film was a massive hit in Britain and turned its four lead actors into stars; Phyllis Calvert recalled that after the first West End premiere got terrible notices, it did so well in the provinces that it came back to London.
