Doors open 6:45pm, screening starts 7pm, Wednesday 9 March 2022, Opera House
Year: 1927
Running Time: 2 Hours
Director: Maurice Elvey
Starring: Estelle Brody, John Stuart, Norman McKinnel, Marie Ault, Peggy Carlisle
Cert: U
Silent film with live accompaniment by David Ivory.
We’re pleased to bring you Maurice Elvey’s hugely enjoyable screen adaptation of Hindle Wakes the famous Stanley Houghton play of the 1910s drama about a strong-minded young woman who challenges Edwardian society’s sexual double-standards.
Two Lancashire factory girls take their ‘wakes week’ holiday to Blackpool. American actress Estelle Brody takes on the role of millworker Fanny, who meets the wealthy mill-owner’s son Alan and embarks upon a casual affair, heading off to Llandudno for the remainder of the week. When Fanny’s parents find out about the scandalous truth they pressure the couple to get married, but Fanny has other ideas and refuses to be intimidated. “So long as there are spinning mills in Lancashire I can earn enough to keep myself respectable.”
Hindle Wakes was one of the first plays to have a working class female protagonist. It also focuses on the issues surrounding the moral and social codes of behaviour faced by the working class women, making it hugely controversial at the time.
One of Hindle Wakes’ many stars is Blackpool itself. Filming took place in a number of familiar locations such as Blackpool Pleasure Beach and you’ll be able to take a nostalgic trip back in time to an evening in the glamorous and bustling Tower Ballroom.
Organist David Ivory (The Cannock Chase Organ Club) will accompany this film on the mighty Opera House Wurlitzer. Alec Walters will play before and after the film.
Tickets £7.50, available online now.
