Sons and Lovers (film)

Sons and Lovers
Theatrical release poster
Directed byJack Cardiff
Written byGavin Lambert
T. E. B. Clarke
Based onSons and Lovers
by D. H. Lawrence
Produced byJerry Wald
StarringTrevor Howard
Dean Stockwell
Wendy Hiller
Mary Ure
Heather Sears
CinematographyFreddie Francis
Edited byGordon Pilkington
Music byMario Nascimbene
Production
company
Jerry Wald Productions
Distributed by20th Century Fox
Release dates
  • 14 May 1960 (1960-05-14) (Cannes)
  • 23 June 1960 (1960-06-23) (U.K.)
Running time
103 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget$805,000[1]
Box office$1,500,000 (US/Canada rentals)[2]
$800,000 (UK rentals)[3]

Sons and Lovers is a 1960 British period drama film directed by Jack Cardiff and adapted by Gavin Lambert and T. E. B. Clarke from the semi-autobiographical 1913 novel of the same name by D. H. Lawrence. It stars Trevor Howard, Dean Stockwell, Wendy Hiller, Mary Ure, and Heather Sears.[4]

Set and filmed in the East Midlands of England, the film centres on a young man (Stockwell) with artistic talent who lives in a close-knit coal-mining town during the early 20th century, and finds himself inhibited by his emotionally manipulative, domineering mother (Hiller)—a literary, psychological interpretation of the Oedipus story.

Premiering at the 1960 Cannes Film Festival,[5][6] the film was well-received by critics and a commercial success. At the 33rd Academy Awards, it was nominated for seven Oscars: Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (for Howard), Best Supporting Actress (for Ure), Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Art Direction – Black-and-White, and Best Cinematography – Black-and-White; it won the cinematography award. For his work on the film, Jack Cardiff won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director and the National Board of Review Award for Best Director.

  1. ^ Solomon, Aubrey (1989). Twentieth Century Fox: A Corporate and Financial History. Lanham, Maryland: Scarecrow Press. p. 252. ISBN 978-0-8108-4244-1.
  2. ^ "Rental Potentials of 1960". Variety. 4 January 1961. p. 47 – via Internet Archive.
  3. ^ "'Sons & Lovers' Does Well". Variety. New York. 2 August 1961. p. 2.
  4. ^ "Sons and Lovers". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 17 August 2024.
  5. ^ "Festival de Cannes: Sons and Lovers". Cannes Film Festival. Retrieved 19 February 2009.
  6. ^ Crowther, Bosley (22 May 1960). "Cannes Carnival". The New York Times. p. D1. Retrieved 24 August 2021.