Is David Lean’s adaptation of Hobson’s Choice a good performance of the play? Comment on individual performances as well as the production as a whole.

Authors Avatar

Is David Lean’s adaptation of Hobson’s Choice a good performance of the play? Comment on individual performances as well as the production as a whole.

From the sexist, coarse proprietor of Hobson’s Boot Shop to the forthright, ambitious and “uppish” Maggie, Lean has, with the aid of some fantastic casting, excellently captured the unique characteristics of each character: the drunken pompousness of Henry Horatio Hobson, the cold sternness of “old maid” Maggie Hobson, the childlike innocence of Willie Mossop. The adaptation follows the play almost word for word, as well as the occasional addition by producer, director and screenwriter Lean. Charles Laughton, John Mills and Brenda de Banzie (as Hobson, Maggie and Willie) all give outstanding performances, portraying their characters perfectly. When reading the play, images are conjured up in the mind, and these images seem to have been projected onto the Silver Screen in the form of Laughton, Mills and de Banzie. Even the minor roles in the play (such as Jack Howarth’s Tubby Wadlow, or John Laurie’s Dr MacFarlane) contribute towards the overall gleam of this superb production.

        The part of the “crusty old curmudgeon” Hobson (according to the Baseline Motion Picture Guide) is played wonderfully by Charles Laughton, at the peak of his prowess as an actor. Laughton gives a marvellously hierophantic performance as the bitter boot maker and father of three “uppish” Victorian women. Hobson is truly a “parent of the period”, and is a stubborn figurehead of Victorian patriarchy, although he has no objection to using women in the workplace. As in the play, Laughton makes a fantastic job of Hobson’s speech in the first act regarding the “gradual increase of uppishness” towards him from the “rebellious females” of his household. As the play progresses Hobson’s dominance fades, and this factor is brought to life brilliantly by Laughton, resulting in the final convincingly meek “Yes, Maggie” at the end of the play.

Join now!

        Laughton’s outstanding performance is overshadowed only by one: John Mills as mentally stunted Willie Mossop, a humble, ambitionless man with a great talent for boot making. Mills portrays the simple charm of the dimwitted boot hand with extreme precision, and, along with furtive glances and exaggerated stammer, gives a shining performance as illiterate Salford-born Willie. Throughout the performance Mills excels, from the moment we see him in Act one as the rabbit-like shadow of a man, to the final scene where Willie has become a confident assertive businessman, the product of fine tutoring by capable wife Maggie. In my opinion, ...

This is a preview of the whole essay