The Angry Silence (1960) User Reviews (29)

Brilliant and deeply contentious

[MOscarbradley · 8/10 · 19 April 2006]

This brilliant, deeply contentious film has largely been ignored over the years. It came out just as 'the kitchen sink' was kicking in and, although dealing with the working class, was very much an establishment film. It's right-wing and anti-Union and it quickly became very unfashionable to think highly of it. But dramatically, it's first-rate; it has the feel of those good BBC 'Plays for today' that came out in the sixties even if does leave a very bad taste in the mouth.

It's about a man sent to coventry for not supporting an unofficial strike. He's played by Richard Attenborough and it's a great piece of acting. As written, the character isn't developed in dramatic terms but Attenborough is wonderfully naturalistic. It's an intuitive performance; he gets inside the character's skin and thought processes. He's very moving.

There is very fine work, too, from Pier Angeli as his Italian wife. (Angeli was probably brought in to sell the film in America, and there's an easy-going, unforced quality to her acting that is very 'un-British'). And Bernard Lee is excellent as the dictatorial shop steward. The film also has an unfortunate Mephistopolean character in the form of an infiltrator. He's evil and cowardly and used in such a blatantly metaphorical way you can't be sure exactly what his purpose is. And being a political, Union bashing film you may feel uneasy watching it. But there are very fine. sustained dramatic sequences, too and it is utterly unsentimental.

excellent kitchen sink drama from a bye-gone age

[fcasnette · 8/10 · 30 January 2007]

to anyone who lived through these times and these types of factory settings this film resonates.

The Burke character of the communist agitator invokes criticism of left bashing but anyone who had experience of the British motor/engineering industry in these times knows that it is much closer to the truth than many people want to believe.

However to those that think the film has right wing bias you only have to look at how the useless fat cat directors are portrayed (having no knowledge of the business they are taking large salaries from), hardly an advertisement of capitalism. Plus even the "sympathetic" management end up not supporting the worker who supported them, as bad as the agitator in their own way.

Good performances all round, outstanding from Richard Attenborough, Pier Angeli, an unusually good turn by Michael Craig and dependable Bernard Lee as the dim union man manipulated easily by the agitator.

A style of film-making gone now but interesting social commentary of the times. Recommended for social historians and affectionados of good acting.

A minor classic

[Dadge · 8/10 · 1 July 2003]

This film doesn't seem to be very well known but it has a lot to offer.

I've seen 50s/60s comedies based around factories but I can't remember many serious dramas like this. The plot holds few surprises but that leaves plenty of room for us to judge the acting, and I'd say it's consistently good. Richard Attenborough and Pier Angeli are a great combination as the young married couple - it's a shame Pier made so few films in English.

A lot of scriptwriters could do worse than watch this film and learn its lessons about how to tell a story in 90 minutes. And this is a good film for classroom use - leads nicely into a discussion of peer pressure and bullying.

Attenborough the actor

[didi-5 · 25 June 2003]

"The Angry Silence" can be read in two ways: one, it is a pretty accurate depiction of the way union relations were run in the late 1950s and the shadow of the far left; or, it is a propaganda piece for the far right and nothing like the truth. There are strong arguments for both camps to be correct.

What struck me about the film was the central performance from Richard Attenborough as the lone worker standing up against bullying and blackmail from his trade union colleagues. One scene in particular which takes place in the canteen is a masterclass in screen acting of its type, and there are also good scenes between Attenborough and his screen wife, played by Pier Angeli, and his work colleague and lodger, played by Michael Craig.

Bryan Forbes always seemed to be veering off in different directions with the various movies on his CV, and this is an odd one. Whatever your politics, it is a good film and provokes a reaction. Whether the reaction is one which matches the reality has to remain open to question.

Not as good as contemporary critics claimed!

[JohnHowardReid · 6/10 · 6 October 2014]

Critically acclaimed in its day, this movie still carries a timely message, although many of its domestic scenes are a bore. In fact, the film is at its best in the factory rather than the home where domestic situations are stereotyped and Pier Angeli is allowed to run riot with routine tears and predictable recriminations. Attenborough is more effective, although he too is weighed down at times by the script's domestic burden. Craig's character is a cipher as written and directed, so no wonder he walks walks rather glumly through the part. Alfred Burke as an infiltrating agitator, Laurence Naismith as the harassed director, Bernard Lee as the shop steward, and surprisingly Geoffrey Keen as the works foreman, come off best. The director makes good use of his real factory town and factory locations. Other technical credits are well up to par.

A rare and first-rate film about union politics and business complacency.

[grahamcombs · 9/10 · 12 June 2009]

I saw this film in my first year in law school in New York in 1991. A prior comment calls the film "right wing." Unfortunately, given the subsequent events in Britain in the 1970s and contemporary events in Detroit right now, it is prescient. Lord Attenborough's character faces a labor high noon many encounter in a union shop. One older worker in the film wants only to make a product that he is proud of. A pride that forces in the union movement obstruct. Anyone compelled to join a union by organizers who hire on only to unionize, will appreciate this film. I know. I've been there -- twice. White collar and blue collar jobs. That the film was made at all is amazing. But this often grim picture does have a comedic sibling -- the equally brilliant I'M ALL RIGHT JACK with Ian Carmichael and Peter Sellars. See both and you will understand what happened to Britain as well as too much of industrial America. If corporate greed has a partner, it is union executives who throw their members under a bus to save their jobs. THE ANGRY SILENCE should be required viewing for anyone who believes that political films -- not politicized films -- have a place in Hollywood. Heartbreaking story, economic direction, and brilliant acting. In dramatic black and white. The screenplay won a BAFTA Award for Bryan Forbes.

The Angry Silence

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 25 September 2022]

Though Richard Attenborough takes top billing in this drama, I think Bernard Lee actually delivers the more potent performance as the shop steward "Bert". He calls for an unofficial strike of the workers at an engineering plant. Out they go, well most of them do - and it is soon clear to the audience that there is an agitator amongst the workforce intent on using this dispute for a greater purpose. We also encounter a few local hoodlums who have few scruples when it comes to persecuting - violently at times - those few workers who cross their picket line and continue to work. "Curtis" (Attenborough) is one such man. He already has a young son, and his wife is expecting his second child - so money is too tight for him not to get a wage. Pretty soon he is the victim of a vendetta from his erstwhile colleagues as they ostracise him completely. Director Bryan Forbes and co-star Michael Craig ("Wallace") had a hand in the writing and that is powerful. It generates a genuine sense of menace as those daring to break the strike find their property and their physical safety compromised whilst their erstwhile friends struggle with their consciences. Brian Bedford also stands out as the thuggish "Barrett" and there is also a potent, if sparing, contribution from Pier Angeli as the young man's wife "Anna". Ordinarily, one might expect this story to be about the abuse of power by an employer; here, though, the abuses are clearly coming from those with a broader agenda quite capable of mobilising a workforce of political sheep. The ending is rather rushed - almost incomplete, unfortunately but the ensemble and the toic work really well here to create a thought-provoking piece of cinema that packs a lot into ninety minutes.

Smouldering 60's Industrial Drama

[john-3109 · 10/10 · 19 January 2006]

Guy Green's (1960) film of Bryan Forbes' screenplay is based on a treatment by Michael Craig and, brother, Richard Gregson. Set in London in the late 1950's it was the first release of the joint venture production company Beaver Films set up by Bryan Forbes and Richard Attenborough.

As the film opens, we join Tom Curtis (Richard Attenborough) at work in a small engineering factory beset with labour problems. Single-minded and fiercely independent, Curtis is slow to grasp the implications of the fomenting unrest among his workmates as they band together to challenge the management head-on in a dispute that ultimately leaves Curtis out in the cold.

We follow Curtis home at night where his workmate Joe Wallis (Michael Craig - also writer) lodges with Curtis, his wife Anna (Pier Angeli) and their young family.

But as industrial relations deteriorate at work we see Curtis becoming increasingly isolated and intimidated by his determined colleagues.

With solid performances from Bernard Lee (Bert Connolly), Geoffrey Keen (Davis) and Alfred Burke (Travers) as the sinister agitator, the audience sees Curtis left high and dry as even the management feel compelled to abandon him.

Increasingly out of his depth, we are drawn into Curtis' worsening situation as his family are also intimidated in an effort to break his indomitable will.

This film captures something of the early struggle for recognition by employees in small firms like this before employment protection became enshrined in the law of the land. It gives us a feel for the situation of the casualties along the way and the forces at play.

Contention.

[rmax304823 · 8/10 · 4 February 2015]

Ostensibly this is about the dynamics of a strike in Ipswitch but it really deals with a much more general question -- what attitude do we take towards someone who doesn't conform? Suppose there is a genuine source of concern about worker safety in a factory. Suppose management is willing to look into the matter and take corrective measures. Suppose, provoked by an outside organizer, the union strikes anyway, although without the backup of a national union they'll have to live on their own money. Suppose one poor factory stiff, in the person of Richard Attenborough, has a wife and kid to take care of and can't survive on the little he's saved and decides to work anyway.

What do you -- the average worker who has gone along with the rest and stayed home -- do about (or to) Richard Attenborough who is weakening the collective stance? In this instance, you'd use a tactic of alienation that the Old Order Amish call "shunning." You don't speak to him, look at him, or pay any attention to him at all. You give him non-person treatment. Then, as the general hatred gains its own autonomous momentum, you run him over with a car, hospitalize him, and cost him an eye. Then finally you wake up and realize that things have gone a little too far, especially in the face of the willingness of some in management to cooperate.

The more abstract questions, of course, have to do with non-conformity. Suppose, instead of an ordinary grimy factory worker, it's a homosexual? Or, in a community that belongs exclusively to one political party, the guy voices opinions too closely resembling those of the opposition party. Or maybe he's just unusually dumb, ugly, or fat. Suppose he smokes cigarettes.

You can see that this exceptional film is getting at more than labor relations in 1960s England.

It's well done without being a masterpiece. The direction by Guy Green is functional and not splashy. The performances are all up to par, as you'd expect from such a seasoned cast. Pier Angeli, as Attenborough's wife, is surprisingly effective. She's not a kid anymore but retains that piping girlish voice. The film doesn't glamorize her either, although she's quite beautiful despite the homely braids and drab garb.

Nice job overall.

Individuality in an age of mass production & mass hysteria

[kijii · 10/10 · 20 November 2016]

This 'angry young man' (aka 'kitchen sink') drama was filmed in Ipswich England. The story's factory-town setting is similar to that of Saturday Night and Sunday Morning , but unlike Albert Finney's character in Saturday Night and Sunday Morning , the 'angry young man' in this film, played by Richard Attenborough, is more interesting and compelling to me. In fact, this powerful film ranks among my 'best new discoveries for the year.' I love it; would put it up there with The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner in this sub-genre; and highly recommend it to those who may have never seen it.

Tom Curtis (Richard Attenborough) lives in a mid-20th Century English industrial town where he works at the local factory. He has a cute Italian wife, Anna (Pier Angeli), and two young children; also, one of his fellow factory workers, Joe Wallace (Michael Craig), lives with his family in their modest flat. As the film opens, Tom learns that Anna is going to have another baby. Trying to get ahead and not having a lot to live on, he is mildly angry at first but soon happily settles down to being a father—again. His main pastime is being the captain of the factory's soccer team.

Political tension at the factory starts to rise when the shop steward Bert Connolly (Bernard Lee) hires an outside union agitator, Travers (Alfred Burke), to organize a closed shop at the factory. After FIRST having the employees vote on whether or not they would strike if management failed to meet their offer, he makes an offer to the works boss—hoping to cause a wildcat strike. The works boss, Davis (Geoffrey Keen) turns down offer--hoping to negotiate a compromise. This gives Conolly the necessary leverage to order the workers to strike. But, 39 employees, including Tom, fail to join the strikers and cross the picket line, continuing to work.

The so-called 'scabs' are ostracize for working, Further, they, and their families, are victimized by violence and terror, in town, and in their homes. Soon giving into the violence, even the 'scabs' join the strike---everyone but Tom who holds out as the 'lone wolf.' Labor calls off the strike when Travers learns that management has been offered a big building contract and that, politically, more can be gained from the company later—after the company has committed to the contract.

When the workers returns to the factory, Tom is punished by his co- workers by being 'sent to Coventry' (ie being ignored) at work, as he and his family are being terrorized at home: He is being given 'the angry silence' by not formerly backing the union's position. When local and national newspapers, and TV stations (similar to cable news stations today) start to report on his situation, the violence only continues to grow. Not only is he removed from the plant soccer team—his housemate, Joe, has to tell him--but one of his children is seriously hazed and brutalized by the children of other workers. Anna wants to leave and go to Italy--or even Australia where people are backing him for his bravery in standing alone against the masses.

Management is also feeling the pinch from the media attention on the company—fearing that the publicity from Tom's story may cause them to lose the building contract. The owner asks Davis to fire Tom or accept whatever the union wants. But, Davis tells the owner that Tom's firing would only make the company look WORSE in the pubic eye, causing the company to lose both the contract and the workers. Tom and his family are now caught in the middle of a vise-like trap between labor and management, with no way out...

This film is one of the most powerful dramas of 'mass think' that I have ever seen!! It's mob hysteria could be compared to the that of Fritz Lange's Fury, or The Ox-Bow Incident. The standing of one man against an overpowering group might be compared, on a less physical level, to 12 Angry Men. It is riveting from the beginning to the very end. There are no simple answers here: No polemic union victory as in Norma Rae; no 'organized mob' as in On the Waterfront. Management isn't bad. Unions per se aren't totally bad. What is bad, here, is apathy and the need to thoughtlessly conform to a herd mentality. Tom is both a victim and a hero for individuality in an age of mass production and mass hysteria.

You Don't Get Me, I'm Part Of The Union...

[Lejink · 5/10 · 14 February 2023]

What goes around comes around, I guess. I'm old enough to not only vividly remember the industrial unrest in the U. K. of the early 70's if not quite the start of the 60's when this film was made, but also to see it come right back around again today in major strikes by teachers, rail workers and more. I guess that confers some kind of coincidental topicality to this drama concerning one man's stand against his union and the subsequent fall-out from his actions.

Cards on the table, my politics are left-leaning and instinctively favour the workers over the bosses although I like to think I can see both sides of an argument. There's little doubt though that this particular movie sees the unions as a distinctly bad thing, painting them as self-serving, anti-democratic bodies forever looking to lock horns with the management and cause unrest and dissent in the marketplace. More than that, at least in this movie, they're also shown to be open to infiltration by clandestine insurgents working to their own anti-capitalist agenda.

To be fair, the powers-that-be who run the factory here don't come out smelling of roses either as they hardly sympathise with Richard Attenborough's almost accidental defiance of the union's call to strike. With a young wife, two kids and another on the way, Attenborough's Tom Curtis character decides he can't afford to not work which eventually sees him emerge as the sole worker prepared to cross the picket line and go in to work. Naturally there's a price to pay as he's effectively "sent to Coventry" by all his workmates for his actions and even sees his mate and lodger Michael Craig's Joe join in with the silent majority against him.

It all goes too far however when Curtis's kid gets tarred and feathered for standing up for his dad and as he himself approaches something of a breakdown, some young thugs on the workforce take matters into their own hands to dish out a physical lesson which goes way too far.

I applaud the writers and director for at least having the guts to address a contemporary social issue, but consider it was done too broadly and pejoratively. Nowadays we'd surely find the bullying of Curtis and his quick-to-evaporate small band of fellow dissenters to be akin to both mental and physical harassment, plus I'm not too sure that the turning of Craig's worm, which may just have been only because he wants to boost his romantic prospects with the attractive new company secretary, seemed credible in the cold light of day.

There are good performances by Attenborough and Pier Angelo as the bemused young couple at the centre of the storm and the movie is paced well by director Guy Green with some neat eye-catching touches which show talent.

Ultimately though, for me, the fault in the movie was in the writing and particularly the stereotypical representation of the opposing political points of view central to events here, so that in the end, I just wasn't struck sufficiently by this particular strike.

A bygone age

[toonnnnn · 20 June 2003]

A film which shows how Britains factories worked in the 50s,a place which employs thousands of people,usually on low wages.The workers only protection is their union which of course is only fair.Then the union is taken over by a few dedicated socialists who then are manipulated by the far lft. .Everything that happens in this film is true to life,and shows that adults soon behave like spoilt children when they don't get there own way.The rights of the individual are soon gone,violence and bullying follows,the film ask questions and leaves you asking your self questions at the end.Well worth a watch 8/10

Drama and Documentary

[jd-116 · 10/10 · 3 May 2012]

It's quite hard to find a copy of this excellent film but it's well worth the effort seeking it out.

At the very start we see a sinister agitator (Alfred Burke) arriving to meet the useful idiot shop steward (Bernard Lee) whose job it is to foment industrial warfare in the engineering firm from whom they both take wages.

We are shown how the workforce is alienated by the creation of a series of trivial disputes culminating in a strike initiated on a pretext whose REAL motive is the destruction of the company. Bear in mind that the elimination of British industry one company at a time was a strategic objective of the Russian communists throughout the postwar period. (It was only after his death that it was learned that Jack Jones, a prominent Trades Union leader during the 1960s and 70s was a paid Soviet agent.)

At the centre of this drama is a dissenting figure played (in a strong and convincing performance) by Dickie Attenborough who resents being told what to do by a bunch of union thugs following a mass-meeting.

His story, the uncomfortable choices with which he was presented, and the distressing consequences of his actions are the subject matter of this important film.

It was not for another 20+ years after the making of this drama-documentary that the industrial relations climate in the UK was belatedly altered for the better by the Thatcher government. Better late than never, but by then much damage (including the destruction of the UK car industry) had been done.

Britain in the days of Black and White television

[whisperingtree · 9/10 · 14 June 2000]

Filmed in Ipswich, this screenplay, challenging in its time, gives a clear portrayal of British Industrial relations during the time 'We never had it so good.' Alfred Burke's agent provocateur with his sinister telephone calls does just enough to suggest that the cold war was blowing through British engineering. Attenborough's innocent at the power lathe is nicely offset by the underrated Michael Craig as his friend and lodger forced to go along with the Union's decision to send the strikebreaker to Coventry. Good location shooting and the knowledge that things were not so very different in reality makes this a handy movie from several perspectives. Viewed with 'I'm Alright Jack' you can gain a fair impression of Britain in the days of Black and White Television

Oozing with violence !

[nicholas.rhodes · 9/10 · 14 July 2005]

Although I saw this film many years ago when I was a university in the 1970's, it would not appear to be very well known. A couple of years ago it came out on DVD in the UK and I gobbled it up the day I found it ! In fact, the film is a masterpiece of acting. It depicts an age in Britain's Industrial Relations which was ( fortunately for us all ) swept away when Margaret Thatcher's government came to power in 1979. Prior to this, the British Economy was in a mess and all people could think about doing was going on strike. The film, made in 1959 presumably depicts somewhere around the beginning of this period. Nowadays, people don't speak of "closed shop" agreements, presumably because it has been made illegal, but at the time, if you weren't a member of a union, you had difficulties to be employed. T The film is extremely violent in its ideas and although the physical violence is limited, the underlying and implied violence in thought and ideas is rather frightening. Scenes of Attenborough trying to enter the factory to work and being intimidated by other striking workers really are very shocking and difficult to watch. Attenborough's wife on the screen the Beautiful and much regretted Pier Angela brings a soft and feminine touch to this world of bigoted louts and layabouts. Watching someone being sent to Coventry ( ie being ignored ) is no easy matter and I felt quite sick at the way Attenborough was treated by his colleagues, just because he refused to strike. Nowadays that sort of thing wouldn't happen but at the time the mentality was different ( which just goes to prove that the old mentalities are not always the better ones ) I was curious to know about the person who arrives on a train at the beginning and leaves just as furtively at the end. I don't know the actor's name but he certainly had a face corresponding to the part. I assume he was an agent from a competitor company sent by them to stir up trouble amines the Martindale Employées so that another company would get the orders. We don't have confirmation of this during the film by that is my own idea. I originally thought he was a commy infiltrator but then changed my mind after a few viewings of the film.

I personally found the film very nourishing and very intense, true it depicts a long lost era in British Labour Relations but the sheer intensity of the acting and the violence means that one cannot get it out of one's mind. What a shame we no longer have British Cinema today producing films of this intensity on problems in current-day Britain!

Red In Plating Shed

[writers_reign · 5/10 · 29 October 2015]

For reasons best known to themselves A.C.T. (or, as it was by then A.C.T.T.) allowed this union-bashing entry to proceed without let or hindrance. Presumably screenwriter Bryan Forbes did not yet have sufficient clout to slip wife Nanette Newman the role of Dickie Attenborough's wife though Dickie himself found the usual supporting role for brother-in-law Gerald Sim. Alfred Burke takes the pivotal role of the Communist agitator sent from 'London' to provoke the wildcat strike that leads to Attenborough being 1) sent to Coventry and 2) hospitalised after being attacked, ironically, by yobs with no political agenda. Beginning with Eight O'Clock Walk Dickie had utilised his penchant for non-English leading ladies and here Pier Angeli turns in a half-decent performance as his wife. Clearly an anti-union veteran Attenborough also starred in a more comedic/satirical take on the same theme in I'm All Right, Jack.

Aside from Port Afrique, this is the other incredible performance of Pier Angeli!

[sandibiaso · 10/10 · 15 March 2006]

I loved this movie. Pier Angeli keeps you entertained and her performance is riveting. Richard Attenborough is brilliant in this motion picture as well. I really enjoyed the message in this film. The corruption that goes on in unions is evident in this movie. I believe that this type of wrong-doing is still going on today in unions across the globe.

I read in a biography of Pier Angeli that she rehearsed the confrontational scene between herself and her on-screen husband's former friend the night before the directors filmed that scene. She apparently scared the hell out of the actor in that scene that night because she gave her all and she really got aggravated. She had just filed for divorce prior to taking on this role so I guess you can say that she had a lot of bent up frustration and wanted to release it. Love her!

A Prophetic Warning

[andrew-87-904401 · 9/10 · 10 March 2021]

How did I never see this? Another Talking Pictures TV gem. Preceded the year before by the excellent and similarly themed comedic classic, I'm Alright Jack, this hard-hitting drama is an ideal counterpart. A strong cast, headed by Richard Attenborough, with his wife very well played by Pier Angeli. I particularly liked Alfred Burke's scheming, Marxist, union activist, book-ending the film with his arrival and departure - on public transport, of course. It also features Bond regulars, Bernard Lee and Geoffrey Keen, an early role for Oliver Reed, and playing himself, Alan Whicker. It's not quite Kitchen Sink, which had more of a fashionable, if usually grim theme, but is in a similar vein.

Ignore comments about it being 'far-right', they are ridiculous. The film is a well-balanced, politically centrist take that in no way demonises unions or strikes, although occasionally feels a bit heavy handed with some of its messages. Clearly, pre-1970s, there was still a battle going on for the hearts and minds of the working class. A prophetic warning of the far-left politics that was to come over the next decade. By the time 1971's very silly and misjudged, but better known, Carry On At Your Convenience arrived, the battle was lost. Beyond politics, this is essentially a universal story about bullying, group think and the individual, and reminded me a lot of my school days. It deserves to be better recognised and watched.

Sent to Coventry.

[mark.waltz · 8/10 · 26 November 2021]

Certainly, American films had their share of working-class dramas in the late 1950's and 60's, but none of them were as greedy or NuWave like the British films of that era. A factory town become the subject of controversy and violence due to a strike that has one worker, Richard Attenborough, crossing the line and labeled a scab and eventually ostracized. He tolerates it in silent pain, that is until his family is harassed which causes him to erupt in a very public lambasting.

The performances of Attenborough, Pier Angeli (as his wife) and Bernard Lee are very strong, with a sensational ensemble and terrific direction by Guy Green and a wonderful Oscar nominated script by Bryan Forbes. "If you can't be yourself, what's the point of having children?" Attenborough expresses when seemingly beaten, a battle being fought on today.

His desire to stand up for what he believes in has been a theme in movies for years, and here, it's fought for in an extremely angry manner which indicates that the crowd is not always right. You really feel like you are in the middle of a headline-grabbing story in watching this, with the gritty lifestyle of these working class men turning them into robots manipulated by a system claiming to be on their side. Potent drama that stands the test of time and gives a not so pretty look into the worst of human nature.

Two ways of looking at things

[alisonfairgrieve · 30 January 2007]

I remember the reviews of this film in 1960 but did not manage to see it. Now (2007) I have seen most of it for the first time on afternoon TV. It struck me at first as an anti union film, but so much water has flowed under the bridge that it might be taken as a film about the herd instinct; about how unthinking people are so easily led whether by politicians of all persuasions or union reps with agenda of their own. I deplore the near destruction of the unions by Thatcher, but one can never return to voting by a show of hands any more than we can return to the the industrial Britain of the post war era. Unions need to be rebuilt but in another form.

The young couple are too saintly by half but there is an attempt to provide a certain amount of balance. Curtis actually says he can see "both sides".

Angeli angelic

[bombersflyup · 5/10 · 27 April 2018]

The Angry Silence is a watchable straight forwardly told drama, with a solid cast.

It's bland in parts, but the family moments kept it going for me. Pier Angeli's splendid throughout, raising the level of the film each scene she's in. Attenborough and Craig also had their moments. The scene where Anna verbally attacks Joe for not standing up for Tom and going along with the cruel behavior, was the only time I felt anything substantial. I didn't dislike the film, it's just that there are films where I don't even like most of the characters and they are still capable of giving me more than this did. Show me one person at least stand up for the guy or say something to appose the mob. Joe doing it after the damage has been done doesn't give it heart, he just feels guilty.

Thoroughly compelling

[Leofwine_draca · 9/10 · 7 October 2019]

THE ANGRY SILENCE is a little-mentioned but thoroughly compelling character study of an ordinary man who stands up to the power of the unions and comes a cropper as a result. It's notable for featuring another fine performance from Richard Attenborough, who burns up the screen with a simmering intensity that comes to a head during a beautiful monologue set in a cafeteria of all places. An outstanding ensemble cast play well in support, with Brian Bedford and Bernard Lee standing out in particular. The film is very well made and never rushes the story but instead paints a realistic picture of a complex situation in a time and place now relegated to history.

Sign of the times

[malcolmgsw · 8/10 · 12 August 2018]

When this film was made Trade Unions had no legal liability.Often as realistically shown in this film workers went on wildcat strikes with no sanction from the union.Striking was called the British disease.Now I am no fan of Thatcher who was our local MP.However she did bring in balanced union laws.So whilst strikes still happen they are a lot rarer and there has to be a written ballot with a simple majority in favour.This film accurately depicts the poor state of worker/employer relations till the eighties.I still remember the three day week.

Continuity needed attention

[corinnahoptroff · 9/10 · 14 December 2021]

Great film, Richard Attenborough as usual is a very natural actor, the kids are good too. Niggly and noticeable continuity errors always drop the standard.