I visited the scene of the location work for ToftheT a few years ago and interviewed the camera operator Eric Cross then 91 on Beta SP, Robin Hood's Bay the small North Yorkshire fishing village has in fact changed v.little since- but the fishing industry is finished. The original story was based on a Leo Walmsley novel and the feuding families it portrays are real - and are around the area today still. I think influenced by the documentary movement of the time-Flaherty especially, this film conveys a superb sense of realism and the dialogue is unusual for British films of this time that dealt with the working class - it is naturalistic and convincing. The British cinema was notorious for its stereotyping of the working classes, ToftheT is sympathetic and not at all patronising. This was J Arthur Rank's first baby and it strongly reflects his methodist values which makes it a valuable piece to study on many levels. Rank could not get the film distributed, his frustration with the system led him to actually buy up a major distributor: GDF and so began the Rank film empire.
Andrew Youdell of the BFI is the ToftheT champion and is mainly responsible for the recent revival.
Andrew Youdell of the BFI is the ToftheT champion and is mainly responsible for the recent revival.