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Portrait of Clare
Portrait of Clare
Directed by	Lance Comfort
Written by	Adrian Alington; Leslie Landau
Based on	Portrait of Clare; by Francis Brett Young
Produced by	Leslie Landau
Starring	Margaret Johnston; Richard Todd; Robin Bailey; Ronald Howard
Cinematography	Günther Krampf
Edited by	Clifford Boote
Music by	Leighton Lucas
Production; company	ABPC
Release date	13 November 1950;
Running time	100 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	£100,643 (UK)

Portrait of Clare is a 1950 black and white British drama film directed by Lance Comfort and starring Margaret Johnston, Richard Todd, Robin Bailey and Ronald Howard, and based on the 1927 novel of the same name written by Francis Brett Young .^[2]

Plot

The film is begins in a large country mansion owned by the Hingstons and is set just after the Second World War. Lady Hingston starts to recall her youth to a young granddaughter, Sylvia,

The story is then told in flashback, returning firstly to around 1900. The family solicitor, Mr Wilburn, declares his love of Clare to her grandmother. However, she enters and announces her engagement to Ralph Hingston.

They marry but Ralph drowns as she watches him, following a fall from a weir while trout fishing. Clare gives birth to a son soon after and names him Steven.

The story jumps by around five years to when Steven is about to start school. Lady Hingston goes with Wilburn to take him to a boarding school. Wilburn asks her to marry him on the drive home.

She meets his best friend, Robert Hart, (also a solicitor) on a train one day and clearly cares for him. He is the best man at her marriage to Wilburn. Steven is only told about the wedding when he returns from school for the Christmas holidays. He is quite upset, begins keeping secrets and is openly defiant to Wilburn. He accuses Wilburn of marrying his mother for her money. He is locked in his room with no supper. Steven escapes out of the window and disappears into a dark stormy night. Wilburn shows no concern at all but Robert (who is visiting) goes to search. Steven has run to his grandmother's house.

In Wilburn's office, Wilburn and Mayhew in West Bromwich his partner Ernest Mayhew commits suicide after embezzling funds. The police arrive but Wilburn is only interested in the good name of his firm. He initially hides the suicide note. Robert apologises to the police on his behalf. Wilburn realises that Clare only married him to give Steven a father and they should part from their loveless marriage.

We do not see Hart marry Clare. Steven refers to him as "Uncle Robert" in one of the final scenes.

Cast

Margaret Johnston as Clare Hingston
Richard Todd as Robert Hart
Robin Bailey as Dudley Wilburn
Ronald Howard as Ralph Hingston
Jeremy Spenser as the teenage Steven Hingston
Marjorie Fielding as Aunt Cathie
Molly Urquhart as Thirza the maid
Beckett Bould as Bissell
Anthony Nicholls as Doctor Boyd
Lloyd Pearson as Sir Joseph Hingston
Mary Clare as Lady Hingston
S. Griffiths-Moss as Bates
Campbell Copelin as Inspector Cunningham
Bruce Seton as Lord Steven Wolverbury
Yvonne Andre as Marguerite
Anne Gunning as Sylvia
Grace Arnold as Lady Astill
Robert Adair as Sir Joseph Astill
Charles Paton as the Registrar
Amy Veness as lady on train
Hugh Morton as Ernest Mayhew
Griffiths Moss as Bates

Critical reception

TV Guide wrote, "the story suffers from a slack pace, though Johnston adds a lot of charm and sincerity to her role."^[3]

References

^ Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p493
^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | PORTRAIT OF CLARE (1950)". Archived from the original on 19 October 2012. Retrieved 27 May 2010.
^ http://movies.tvguide.com/portrait-of-clare/109464 ^{[dead link‍]}