Hungry Hill

SYNOPSIS

Daphne du Maurier and future James Bond director Terence Young share a writing credit for this adaptation of du Maurier's novel, but the plot-packed, melodramatic excesses of the book seem slightly ludicrous on the screen. Moreover, the flowery language often sounds ridiculous when uttered in the brogue adopted by many of the cast. Margaret Lockwood admirably plays against type as the local firebrand tamed by the cruelty of the copper-mining family into which she marries. However, Brian Desmond Hurst's direction is typically florid and flabby, while the painted backdrops are just atrocious.