The Man in Grey

The Man in Grey is a 1943 British film melodrama made by Gainsborough Pictures; it is considered to be the first of a series of period costume dramas now known as the "Gainsborough melodramas". It was directed by Leslie Arliss and produced by Edward Black from a screenplay by Arliss and Margaret Kennedy that was adapted by Doreen Montgomery from the 1941 novel The Man in Grey by Eleanor Smith. The film's sets were designed by Walter Murton. The picture stars Margaret Lockwood, Phyllis Calvert, James Mason, Stewart Granger and Martita Hunt. It melds elements of the successful "women's pictures" of the time with distinctive new elements. Plot In 1943 London, a Wren, Lady Clarissa Rohan (Phyllis Calvert) and an RAF pilot, Peter Rokeby (Stewart Granger), meet at an auction of the Rohan estate, now being sold off. Making idle conversation, the pilot wonders what the Rohans did to deserve all this wealth. The auction is suddenly paused due to blackout restrictions, and the two agree to return the next day. As they leave, the film flashes back to the early 1800's and Miss Patchett's finishing school for young ladies. A naive but popular girl, Clarissa (Phyllis Calvert), insists on being friends with a proud, bitter junior teacher, Hesther Shaw (Margaret Lockwood), despite a fortuneteller's warning not to trust women—especially Hesther. Months later, Hesther runs away with a penniless ensign. Miss Patchett forbids mention of her name by her young charges. Resentfully, Clarissa leaves the school out of loyalty to Hesther. Upon her return home, Clarissa's godmother arranges her marriage to the wealthy Marquess of Rohan (James Mason), a notorious rake who wishes only to have an heir. Thus, the two live separate lives. One night, Clarissa rushes to a production of Othello in which Hesther plays Desdemona. On the way, her coach is waylaid by a mysterious man, Rokeby (Stewart Granger), who turns out to be the actor playing Othello. He demands a lift to the theater. After the play, Clarissa engages Hesther to be her son's governess. Eventually Lord Rohan invites Hesther to stay on as Clarissa's companion. Rohan tells Hesther that he knows she abandoned her husband, who later died in Fleet Prison. He admires her ruthless ambition, and they become lovers. At Epsom Downs, Clarissa and Rokeby meet again. They encounter the same fortuneteller who warned Clarissa about Hesther.