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==Production==
==Production==
It was based on a novel by Peter Marshall, who contracted polio when he was eighteen and lived the rest of his life in a wheelchair. (He died of pneumonia in 1972.) The novel was originally published in 1964.<ref>A LONG ISLAND ELECTRA: NEW NOVELS Coleman, John. The Observer 28 June 1964: 25. </ref> Kirkys called it "a short novel, written with a sharpness of intelligence and feeling, and it is altogether genuine, a word easily exploited and seldom justified." <ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/peter-marshall-3/the-raging-moon/|website=Kirkus|title=The Raging Moon}}</ref> The ''New York Times'' called it a "fine, moving novel."<ref>Reader's Report
Peter Marshall's novel was originally published in 1964.<ref>A LONG ISLAND ELECTRA: NEW NOVELS
⚫
By MARTIN LEVIN. New York Times 17 Apr 1966: 319. </ref>
⚫
Coleman, John. The Observer 28 June 1964: 25. </ref> The following year director Robert Butler bought the screen rights to it and another Marshall novel, ''Two Lives''.<ref>Randall Is Morocco-Bound Los Angeles Times 18 Sep 1965: b8. </ref>


⚫
In 1965 director Robert Butler bought the screen rights to it and another Marshall novel, ''Two Lives''.<ref>Randall Is Morocco-Bound Los Angeles Times 18 Sep 1965: b8. </ref>
The novel was adapted for television by the BBC in 1967.<ref>Playing with People

The novel was adapted for television by the BBC in 1967 as part of the ''Boy Meets Girl'' anthology series. The main parts were played by Ray Brooks and Anna Calder-Marshall. [[Dennis Potter]], reviewing it for the ''New Statesman'', said the production "kept erupting into something raw and genuine."<ref>Playing with People
Potter, Dennis. New Statesman; London Vol. 74, (Jul 1, 1967): 239.</ref>
Potter, Dennis. New Statesman; London Vol. 74, (Jul 1, 1967): 239.</ref>


Film rights eventually went to producer Bruce Curtis, nephew of Harry Cohn, who had just made ''[[Otley (film)|Otley]]''. He initially tried to finance the film through Columbia, but was turned down.<ref>Dropping the Scalpel: Film Notes Columbia Frowns Speeds the Turnover Refuge From Roles By Judith Martin. The Washington Post, Times Herald 28 Feb 1969: B12.</ref> [[Shelagh Delaney]] wrote a script.<ref>What's So Happy About Love, Anyway?
Film rights eventually went to producer Bruce Curtis, nephew of [[Harry Cohn]], who had just made ''[[Otley (film)|Otley]]'' (1969). He initially tried to finance the film through Columbia, but was turned down.<ref>Dropping the Scalpel: Film Notes Columbia Frowns Speeds the Turnover Refuge From Roles By Judith Martin. The Washington Post, Times Herald 28 Feb 1969: B12.</ref> [[Shelagh Delaney]] wrote a script.<ref>What's So Happy About Love, Anyway? By A. H. WEILER. New York Times 23 Mar 1969: D19.</ref>
⚫
By A. H. WEILER. New York Times 23 Mar 1969: D19.</ref>


[[Bryan Forbes]] came on board the project as writer and director. Forbes decided to increase the age of the characters and write the lead role for his wife, Nanette Newman.<ref name="chicago"/>
Eventually Curtis took the project to [[Bryan Forbes]] who came on board as writer and director. Forbes decided to increase the age of the characters and write the lead role for his wife, Nanette Newman.<ref name="chicago"/>


Forbes was in the unusual position of being able to green light his own film as he was head of production for EMI at the time.<ref>He Says, 'Yes, Yes, Nanette': He Says, 'Yes, Yes, Nanette' By JOHN GRUEN. New York Times 24 Oct 1971: D11.</ref>
Forbes was in the unusual position of being able to green light his own film as he was head of production for [[EMI Films]] at the time.<ref>He Says, 'Yes, Yes, Nanette': He Says, 'Yes, Yes, Nanette' By JOHN GRUEN. New York Times 24 Oct 1971: D11.</ref>


Forbes commented that he was highly criticized in some quarters for directing a film while running the studio, even though he did not take any extra salary as the director. Once the film was made some executives at EMI did not want it released but Forbes held a successful test screening which secured company support.<ref name="Forbes"/>
Forbes commented that he was highly criticized in some quarters for directing a film while running the studio, even though he did not take any extra salary as the director. Once the film was made some executives at EMI did not want it released but Forbes held a successful test screening which secured company support.<ref name="Forbes"/>
Line 75: Line 76:
The film was not a success at the box office in the UK.<ref>The eclipse of the moon man Malcom, Derek. ''The Guardian'', 26 March 1971: 15. </ref>
The film was not a success at the box office in the UK.<ref>The eclipse of the moon man Malcom, Derek. ''The Guardian'', 26 March 1971: 15. </ref>


The film was bought for distribution in the US by Don Rugoff who spent a large amount on advertising. The American release used a new title and had two minutes cut from the wedding sequence.<ref name="chicago">Tomorrow's love story
The film was bought for distribution in the US by Don Rugoff who spent a large amount on advertising. The American release used a new title and had two minutes cut from the wedding sequence.<ref name="chicago">Tomorrow's love story Kramer, Carol. Chicago Tribune 5 Dec 1971: o19. </ref>
Kramer, Carol. Chicago Tribune 5 Dec 1971: o19. </ref>


==Legacy==
==Legacy==
[[Academy Award]] winner [[Gary Oldman]] chose to become an actor after watching the film.<ref>https://variety.com/2017/film/spotlight/gary-oldman-on-his-path-from-sid-vicious-to-winston-churchill-1202633506/</ref>
[[Academy Award]] winner [[Gary Oldman]] chose to become an actor after watching the film.<ref>{{cite magazine|magazine=Variety|url=https://variety.com/2017/film/spotlight/gary-oldman-on-his-path-from-sid-vicious-to-winston-churchill-1202633506/|year=2017|title=Gary Oldman on His Path from Sid Vicious to Winston Churchill}}</ref>


==References==
==References==
Line 88: Line 88:
*[https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b3d7f77 ''The Raging Moon''] at BFI
*[https://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b3d7f77 ''The Raging Moon''] at BFI
*[https://variety.com/1970/film/reviews/the-raging-moon-1200422363/ Review of film] at ''Variety''
*[https://variety.com/1970/film/reviews/the-raging-moon-1200422363/ Review of film] at ''Variety''
*[https://genome.ch.bbc.co.uk/7a43fc717a6344a89ada97435c467f66 1967 TV version] at BBC
*[https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/30/archives/film-a-real-love-story.html Review of film] at [[New York Times]]
*[https://www.nytimes.com/1971/09/30/archives/film-a-real-love-story.html Review of film] at [[New York Times]]
*[https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/the-raging-moon Review of film[ at Starburst Magazine
*[https://www.starburstmagazine.com/reviews/the-raging-moon Review of film[ at Starburst Magazine

Revision as of 13:28, 22 May 2019

The Raging Moon
British 1-sheet poster by Arnaldo Putzu
Directed byBryan Forbes
Written byBryan Forbes
Produced byBruce Curtis
StarringMalcolm McDowell
Nanette Newman
Georgia Brown
Barry Jackson
CinematographyTony Imi
Edited byTimothy Gee
Music byStanley Myers
Production
company
Distributed byMGM-EMI
Release date
1971
Running time
110 min.
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£260,000[1]

The Raging Moon (released in the US as Long Ago, Tomorrow) is a 1971 British film starring Malcolm McDowell and Nanette Newman and based on the book by British novelist Peter Marshall.[2] Adapted and directed by Bryan Forbes (Newman's husband), this "romance in wheelchairs" was considered unusual in its time owing in part to the sexual nature of the relationship between McDowell and Newman, who play disabled people. The film received two Golden Globe nominations, for Best Foreign Film (English Language), and Best Song for Long Ago Tomorrow.[3]

Plot

Bruce Pritchard (Malcolm McDowell) is a 24-year-old working-class man and amateur soccer player with a passion for life. All this changes when he suddenly finds himself struck down by an incurable degenerative disease and needing to use a wheelchair for the rest of his life. He makes a self-imposed exile to a church-run home for the disabled, believing that it is best for his immediate family to forget about him the way he is now. His bitterness at his fate and his dislike of the rules and regulations of the place only serve to make him more withdrawn and angry at his enforced imprisonment.

Pritchard gets to know a fellow patient, Jill Matthews (Nanette Newman), a 31-year-old woman from a wealthy family, also a wheelchair user due to polio. Bruce begins to harbour romantic affections for Mathews but before he can make his feelings known in a letter, she leaves the institution to return home and marry long-time fiancé Geoffrey. But Jill quickly realizes the relationship is half-hearted on Geoffrey's part, and after breaking off the engagement she returns to the institution.

Gradually she is able to get through Pritchard's shell of cynicism and lack of respect for authority, bringing back life to his existence. In the process, the two begin to fall in love and admit their feelings for each other, consummating a relationship. Bruce and Jill's difficult circumstances have resulted in both of them finding the love of their lives. But soon, Jill dies of unexplained causes. Bruce almost returns to his former state of depression, but because of the courage he has found within himself and through knowing Jill, and he is able to go on living without giving up.

Cast

Production

It was based on a novel by Peter Marshall, who contracted polio when he was eighteen and lived the rest of his life in a wheelchair. (He died of pneumonia in 1972.) The novel was originally published in 1964.[4] Kirkys called it "a short novel, written with a sharpness of intelligence and feeling, and it is altogether genuine, a word easily exploited and seldom justified." [5] The New York Times called it a "fine, moving novel."[6]

In 1965 director Robert Butler bought the screen rights to it and another Marshall novel, Two Lives.[7]

The novel was adapted for television by the BBC in 1967 as part of the Boy Meets Girl anthology series. The main parts were played by Ray Brooks and Anna Calder-Marshall. Dennis Potter, reviewing it for the New Statesman, said the production "kept erupting into something raw and genuine."[8]

Film rights eventually went to producer Bruce Curtis, nephew of Harry Cohn, who had just made Otley (1969). He initially tried to finance the film through Columbia, but was turned down.[9] Shelagh Delaney wrote a script.[10]

Eventually Curtis took the project to Bryan Forbes who came on board as writer and director. Forbes decided to increase the age of the characters and write the lead role for his wife, Nanette Newman.[11]

Forbes was in the unusual position of being able to green light his own film as he was head of production for EMI Films at the time.[12]

Forbes commented that he was highly criticized in some quarters for directing a film while running the studio, even though he did not take any extra salary as the director. Once the film was made some executives at EMI did not want it released but Forbes held a successful test screening which secured company support.[1]

Reception

The film was not a success at the box office in the UK.[13]

The film was bought for distribution in the US by Don Rugoff who spent a large amount on advertising. The American release used a new title and had two minutes cut from the wedding sequence.[11]

Legacy

Academy Award winner Gary Oldman chose to become an actor after watching the film.[14]

References

  1. ^ a b Bryan Forbes, A Divided Life, Mandarin Paperbacks, 1993 p 174, 180-183
  2. ^ "The Raging Moon (1970)". BFI.
  3. ^ "Long Ago Tomorrow - Golden Globes".
  4. ^ A LONG ISLAND ELECTRA: NEW NOVELS Coleman, John. The Observer 28 June 1964: 25.
  5. ^ "The Raging Moon". Kirkus.
  6. ^ Reader's Report By MARTIN LEVIN. New York Times 17 Apr 1966: 319.
  7. ^ Randall Is Morocco-Bound Los Angeles Times 18 Sep 1965: b8.
  8. ^ Playing with People Potter, Dennis. New Statesman; London Vol. 74, (Jul 1, 1967): 239.
  9. ^ Dropping the Scalpel: Film Notes Columbia Frowns Speeds the Turnover Refuge From Roles By Judith Martin. The Washington Post, Times Herald 28 Feb 1969: B12.
  10. ^ What's So Happy About Love, Anyway? By A. H. WEILER. New York Times 23 Mar 1969: D19.
  11. ^ a b Tomorrow's love story Kramer, Carol. Chicago Tribune 5 Dec 1971: o19.
  12. ^ He Says, 'Yes, Yes, Nanette': He Says, 'Yes, Yes, Nanette' By JOHN GRUEN. New York Times 24 Oct 1971: D11.
  13. ^ The eclipse of the moon man Malcom, Derek. The Guardian, 26 March 1971: 15.
  14. ^ "Gary Oldman on His Path from Sid Vicious to Winston Churchill". Variety. 2017.
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