And Women Shall Weep
{{Short description|1960 British film by John Lemont}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2019}}
{{Infobox film
| name = And Women Shall Weep
| image = And_Women_Shall_Weep_(1960_film).jpg
| caption = Original British quad poster
| director = John Lemont
| producer = Norman Williams
| writer =
| screenplay = John Lemont
Leigh Vance
| story =
| based_on =
| starring = Ruth Dunning
Max Butterfield
Gillian Vaughan
Richard O'Sullivan
| music = Philip Green
| cinematography = Brendan J. Stafford
| editing = Bernard Gribble
| studio = Alliance Film Studios Limited
Ethiro Productions
| distributor = J. Arthur Rank Film Distributors {{small|(UK)}}{{cite magazine|date=27 June 2025|access-date=27 June 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|magazine=Filmink|title=Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation, 1959|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-studios-the-rank-organisation-1959/}}
| released = {{Film date|df=y|1960|04|17|UK}}
| runtime = 65 minutes
| country = United Kingdom
| language = English
| budget =
| gross =
}}
And Women Shall Weep is a 1960 British drama film directed by John Lemont and starring Ruth Dunning, Max Butterfield and Richard O'Sullivan.{{Cite web |title=And Women Shall Weep |url=https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/Details/ChoiceFilmWorks/150122381 |access-date=31 December 2023 |website=British Film Institute Collections Search}}{{cite magazine|url=https://www.filmink.com.au/forgotten-british-film-studios-the-rank-organisation-1960/|magazine=Filmink|date=4 July 2025|access-date=4 July 2025|first=Stephen|last=Vagg|title=Forgotten British Film Studios: The Rank Organisation, 1960}} It was written by Lemont and Leigh Vance. A mother tries to prevent her younger son being led astray by his delinquent elder brother.{{cite web|url=https://www.allmovie.com/movie/and-women-shall-weep-v83692|title=And Women Shall Weep (1959) - John Lemont - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related|website=AllMovie}}
The title is taken from Charles Kingsley's 1851 poem, Three Fishers.{{Citation needed|date=January 2024}}
Cast
- Ruth Dunning as Mrs Lumsden
- Max Butterfield as Terry Lumsden
- Richard O'Sullivan as Godfrey Lumsden
- Gillian Vaughan as Brenda Wilkes
- Claire Gordon as Sadie MacDougall
- David Gregory as Desmond Peel
- David Rose as Woody Forrest
- León García as Ossie Green
- Prudence Bury as Jenny Owens
Critical reception
The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This frantic domestic melodrama fails both in its strictures on teenagers and as an orgy of mother-love emotionalism. Its thrills are only too patently geared towards sensationalism, while the character of the mother is overdrawn, overplayed and as in her unnecessary burst of violence at the end as anything but sympathetic."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1960 |title=And Women Shall Weep |url=https://www.proquest.com/docview/1305822004 |journal=The Monthly Film Bulletin |volume=27 |issue=312 |pages=68 |id={{ProQuest|1305822004}} }}
Kine Weekly wrote: "Taut domestic melodrama, with lttle-tough-guy overtones. ... Ruth Dunning does a first-class job as Mrs. Lumsden, Max Butterfield is every inch the rat as Terry, Richard O'Sullivan acts naturally as false hero-worshipper Godfrey, and Gillian Vaughan tantalises as Brenda, the female of the hoodlum species. Its finale is moving and showmanlike, and the low life backgrounds are suitably varied."{{Cite journal |date=7 April 1960 |title=And Women Shall Weep |volume=515 |issue=2740 |pages=25 |id={{ProQuest|2826289684}} |journal=Kine Weekly}}
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "This little British B-movie is given great strength by the leading performance of veteran TV character actress Ruth Dunning. She stars as a widow trying to keep her young son Richard O'Sullivan on the straight and narrow. However, her older son Max Butterfield is beyond help. Slight and overplayed."{{Cite book |title=Radio Times Guide to Films |publisher=Immediate Media Company |year=2017 |isbn=9780992936440 |edition=18th |location=London |pages=38}}
References
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