There Ain't No Justice
| There Ain't No Justice | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Pen Tennyson |
| Written by | Novel & Screenplay: James Curtis |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Starring | Jimmy Hanley Edward Chapman |
| Cinematography | Mutz Greenbaum |
| Edited by | Ray Pitt |
| Music by | Ernest Irving |
| Distributed by | Ealing Studios |
Release date | 1939 |
Running time | 83 minutes |
| Country |  United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
There Ain't No Justice is a 1939 British black-and-white film based on the novel of the same name by James Curtis.
Plot summary
Tommy Mutch (Jimmy Hanley) is a garage mechanic and small time boxer. With his family in financial difficulty he needs to find money in a hurry. As luck would have it he meets boxing manager Sammy Sanders (Edward Chapman). Sammy assures Tommy he can get him lucrative main event bouts.
Tommy is promoted as the next boxing star which is reinforced with a series of convincing wins. However, Tommy discovers that the bouts were fixed by a gambling syndicate. He realises now that he has been set-up by his manager and is expected to take a fall.
He has little choice but to go-ahead but needs to come up with a plan. One that will guarantee a financial return for his family while also hitting the syndicates in the pocket.
Cast
- Jimmy Hanley as Tommy Mutch
- Edward Chapman as Sammy Sanders
- Edward Rigby as Pa Mutch
- Mary Clare as Ma Mutch
- Phylis Stanley as Elsie Mutch
- Michael Wilding as Len Charteris
- Nan Hopkins as Dot Ducrow
Production
James Curtis adapted his own novel, There Ain't No Justice to provide the screenplay for the film. He had done so the previously for one of his own novels the year before, They Drive By Night (1938. As with that adaptation he found himself having to remove areas of dialogue and story that would not get by the censors of the time. Many of these would be depictions of graphic violence against men rather than the sexual nature of his previous novel. [1]
This was the first film directed by Pen Tennyson, who had served as Assistant Director to Alfred Hitchcock from 1934. He would go on to direct two further films before tragically losing his life during World War II. [2]
The film features an uncredited role by real life boxer ”Bombardier Billy Wells. [3] He is best known for being the second gongman at the beginning of many Rank Organisation films, replacing Carl Dane. [4]
Release and reception
It was released theatrically in the UK with the slogan “Real people, Real problems, a human document”. Due in part to its distinctive realistic portrayal of the boxing world it became a critical success.[5] However, the author Graham Greene, having praised the previous years James Curtis adaptation (They Drive by Night), was not convinced. He considered the film to be timid and too refined in it's depiction of the subject matter. [6]
While not currently available on DVD is is often shown at film revivals in both the US and UK. It was shown in May 2010 as part of BFI Southbank's “Capital Tales” season. [7]
References
- ^ There Ain't No Justice, Lost London Literature
- ^ Pen Tennyson Profile at BFI Screenonline
- ^ Billy Wells at IMDB
- ^ Film world mourns man who banged the (paper) gong for Rank, The Independent
- ^ The history of British film: 1929:1939, Rachael Low, p254
- ^ Pen Tennyson Profile at BFI Screenonline
- ^ There Ain't No Justice, BFI “Capital Tales”