Love on the Dole (Limited Edition) (Blu-ray)

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.

INDICATOR LIMITED EDITION BLU-RAY SPECIAL FEATURES

• High Definition remaster
• Original mono audio
• 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 credit
• 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
• 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
• Our Film (1942): short film, directed by Harold French and produced by a filmmaking co-operative, about the benefits of national unity during wartime
• 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
• English subtitles for the deaf and hard of hearing
• US premiere on Blu-ray
• Limited edition of 3,000 copies

Starring: Deborah Kerr, Clifford Evans, George Carney, Mary Merrall, Geoffrey Hibbert, Joyce Howard, Frank Cellier, Martin Walker, Iris Vandeleur, Maire O'Neill

Rating: NR