Love on the Dole Blu-ray

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S E A R C H D V D B e a v e r

Directed by John Baxter
UK 1941

Adapted from the celebrated novel of the same name by Walter Greenwood, Love on the Dole was one of the most controversial British films of its time, having been banned from production by the British Board of Film Censors and labelled a ‘very sordid story in very sordid surroundings’. It was eventually made in 1941 at a time when the Second World War had radically altered the country's social conditions and attitudes.

During the Depression in 1930s Salford in the North of England, young Harry Hardcastle (Geoffrey Hibbert, In Which We Serve) and his sister, Sally (Deborah Kerr, The Chalk Garden, The Innocents), fall victim to poverty and unemployment, and are forced to make difficult decisions to survive.

Making its US debut on Blu-ray, Love on the Dole is complemented by a selection of contexualising archival extras, including the feature-length 1947 documentary A City Speaks, which is co-scripted by Greenwood.

***

Depressing and realistic family drama about the struggles of unemployment and poverty in 1930s Lancashire. The 20-year-old Kerr gives an emotionally charged performance as Hardcastle, one of the cotton workers trying to make life better. Interlaced with humour that brings a ray of sunshine to the pervasive bleakness, this remains a powerful social study of life between the wars, and was a rare problem picture to come out of Britain at the time.

Posters

Theatrical Release: April 2nd, 1941

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Comparison:

BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray vs. Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray

Box Cover		Bonus Captures:
Distribution	BFI - Region 'B' - Blu-ray	Indicator - Region FREE - Blu-ray
Runtime	1:38:17.041	1:38:20.936
Video	1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,485,328,525 bytes Feature: 31,097,407,488 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.94 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video	1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 43,728,110,716 bytes Feature: 25,205,325,120 bytes Video Bitrate: 30.03 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video
	NOTE: The Vertical axis represents the bits transferred per second. The Horizontal is the time in minutes.
Bitrate BFI Blu-ray:
Bitrate Indicator Blu-ray:
Audio	LPCM Audio English 2304 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 2304 kbps / 24-bit	LPCM Audio English 1152 kbps 1.0 / 48 kHz / 1152 kbps / 24-bit Commentary: Dolby Digital Audio English 192 kbps 2.0 / 48 kHz / 192 kbps
Subtitles	English, None	English, None
Features	Release Information: Studio: BFI 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 41,485,328,525 bytes Feature: 31,097,407,488 bytes Video Bitrate: 37.94 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • Our Film (Harold French, 1942): enthralling propaganda film contrasting the Russian and British home front (14:00) • The Call for Arms (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1940): Government sponsored film about life at a munitions factory (7:46) • Island People (Paul Rotha, 1940): a film surveying of aspects of the British way of life (10:21) • Illustrated booklet with new writing by Chris Hopkins and Jo Botting and full film credits DVD Blu-ray Release Date: January 18th, 2016 Standard Blu-ray Case Chapters 12	Release Information: Studio: Indicator 1.33:1 1080P Dual-layered Blu-ray Disc Size: 43,728,110,716 bytes Feature: 25,205,325,120 bytes Video Bitrate: 30.03 Mbps Codec: MPEG-4 AVC Video Edition Details: • The BEHP Interview with Barbara K. Emary (1988): archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring Love on the Dole screenwriter and regular collaborator with John Baxter in conversation with Bob Allen and Bob Dunbar • Island People (1940): documentary short, co-directed by Paul Rotha and Philip Leacock, taking a look at pre-war life in Britain from a French perspective (10:23) • A Call for Arms! (1940): short film, produced and directed by Brian Desmond Hurst, focusing on a pair of chorus girls who join the war effort (7:49) • Our Film (1942): short film, directed by Harold French and produced by a filmmaking co-operative, about the benefits of national unity during wartime (14:03) • A City Speaks (1947): feature-length documentary, produced and directed by Rotha, surveying the development of post-war Manchester, England. Co-written by Love on the Doleauthor Walter Greenwood (1:09:13) • Limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Neil Sinyard, archival articles, new writing on A City Speaks and the short films, and film credits Blu-ray Release Date: July 19th, 2022 Transparent Blu-ray Case Chapters 11

Comments:

NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Indicator Blu-ray (August 2021): Indicator have transferred John Baxter's Love On The Dole to Blu-ray. While both are on dual-layered discs - but BFI having a higher bitrate - the Indicator has more pure contrast. The BFI can tend to look a shade damped or green beside it. Both have the same light scratches and marks but the overall HD presentation on the Indicator is a shade brighter and may export superior grain. It marginally wins in terms of video, imo.

NOTE: We have added 42 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Indicator also use a linear PCM (24-bit) mono track, in the English language, but it is one channel mono - sounding authentically flat and having a modicum, better support for the high-end. Love On The Dole has a score by Richard Addinsell, who is notable for the Blithe Spirit and the 1951 A Christmas Carol and who also composed the score for the Vivien Leigh films Dark Journey + Fire Over England. It sounds consistent and clean in the uncompressed. Indicator also offer optional English (SDH) subtitles but their Blu-ray is Region playable worldwide!

The Indicator Blu-ray offers a 1998 BEHP interview with Barbara K. Emary. It is an archival audio recording, made as part of the British Entertainment History Project, featuring the Love on the Dole screenwriter and regular collaborator with John Baxter in conversation with Bob Allen and Bob Dunbar. It runs to the complete film and is not present on the BFI release. Repeated from the BFI Blu-ray are three early 40's British shorts as supplements; Our Film (Harold French, 1942) runs 14-minutes and is an enthralling propaganda film contrasting the Russian and British home front. The Call for Arms (Brian Desmond Hurst, 1940) is less than 8-minutes. It's a Government sponsored film about life at a munitions factory and Island People (Paul Rotha, 1940) is just over 10-minutes - a film surveying of aspects of the British way of life. But a notable new addition by the Indicator is 1947's A City Speaks which is a feature-length (1-hour 9-minutes) documentary, produced and directed by Rotha, surveying the development of post-war Manchester, England. It was co-written by Love on the Dole author Walter Greenwood. Indicator also add a limited edition exclusive booklet with a new essay by Neil Sinyard, archival articles, new writing on A City Speaks and the short films, and film credits. So, predictably, Indicator have, extensively, more supplements.

John Baxter's Love On The Dole is a touching, and at times, brilliant slice-of-life drama about working class poverty in 1930s Northern England. The book (1933) and the play (1934) were quite successful, but the British Board of Film Censors (BBFC) disallowed a film to be made during the 1930s as it was "regarded as 'dangerous' ". "Love on the Dole" has the distinction of being the first English-made feature film to show British police wielding truncheons against a crowd. The author, Walter Greenwood, stated that he "...tried to show what life means to a young man living under the shadow of the dole...". It's an enjoyable melodrama showcasing Kerr as a stand-out with themes of morality, corruption, survival etc.. It poignantly focuses on social problems in Britain - similar to Tony Richardson's Look Back in Anger and Ken Loach's Cathy Come Home. The Indicator Blu-ray of Love On The Dole - their first solely released in the US - is the best available and another magnificently compete package from them. Absolutely recommended!