Hatter's Castle is a 1942 British film noir based on the 1931 novel Hatter's Castle by A. J. Cronin, which dramatizes the ruin that befalls a Scottish hatter set on recapturing his imagined lost nobility. The film was made by Paramount British Pictures and stars Robert Newton, Deborah Kerr, James Mason, and Emlyn Williams. It is believed to be the only film that depicts the Tay Bridge disaster.
It was shot at Denham Studios with sets designed by the art director James A. Carter.
Cast
Robert Newton as James Brodie
Deborah Kerr as Mary Brodie
James Mason as Dr. Renwick
Emlyn Williams as Dennis
Henry Oscar as Grierson
Enid Stamp-Taylor as Nancy
Beatrice Varley as Mrs. Brodie
Anthony Bateman as Angus Brodie
June Holden as Janet
George Merritt as Gibson
Laurence Hanray as Dr. Lawrie
Claude Bailey as Paxton
Ian Fleming as Sir John Latta
Mary Hinton as Lady Winton
Roddy Hughes as Gordon
David Keir as Perry
Stuart Lindsell as Lord Winton
Aubrey Mallalieu as Clergyman
Brefni O'Rorke as Foyle
Vi Kaley as Old Lady In 'The Winton Arms'
John Slater as Card Player
Robert Brooks Turner as Engine Driver
Box Office
The film was a surprise hit. According to Kinematograph Weekly the film was one of the most popular at the British box office in 1942, after Mrs Miniver, First of the Few, How Green was My Valley, Reap the Wild Wind, Holiday Inn, Captains of the Clouds, Sergeant York, One of Our Air Craft is Missing and before Young Mr Pitt.
Critical reception
Variety wrote, "Here is a film, if ever there was one, that is best indicative of one player’s superlative performance. The player, Robert Newton, disregards tradition and enacts the featured male role without bombast or any sort of vocal pyrotechnics. There is little in the picturized version of A.J. Cronin’s bestseller that is not already stale and the plot travels along stereotyped lines to an obvious conclusion. It is, however, artistically produced, photographed and acted...The leading lady is Deborah Kerr, lovable and sincere as the daughter; the juvenile lead of Doctor Renwick is restrainedly played by James Mason." while more recently, Time Out called it "An entertaining slice of Victorian melodrama adapted from AJ Cronin's novel. Not quite Gothic, but edging that way through Newton's performance (one of his more controlled efforts) as the social-climbing Glasgow hatter...Damped down by flat direction, but the sets and camerawork are excellent."