In this research I intend to examine the way in which gender is portrayed through the generic conventions of melodrama in the films made by the British studio Gainsborough during the years of the Second World War. This research will be done by a close analysis of the cinematic texts, concentrating upon the particular social and historic context in which these films were produced. This period in British history is widely perceived as having been one of great social change, particularly in relation to gender roles. As more women entered the workforce, and gained a certain sexual freedom due to the absence of a large proportion of the male population, replaced by foreign troops, traditional systems of gender were challenged. In researching this area of gender representations, I will be focussing on the cinematic portrayals of both women and men, which is of particular importance as a large number of gender orientated studies have neglected the study of masculinity.
The films to be examined for this study are: The Man in Grey (1943) dir. Leslie Arliss Fanny By Gaslight (1944) dir. Anthony Asquith They Were Sisters (1945) dir. Arthur Crabtree The Wicked Lady (1945) dir. Leslie Arliss
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of these films is that, although produced during the war, they avoid direct reference to the conflict, whether set in historical periods or contemporaneously. The films are also very stylistically melodramatic in their forms of representation and narrative. This was perhaps the most influential reason for their dismissal by contemporary critics, who viewed the films as unrealistic. Despite this, the films were however extremely successful at the box office, often far more so than many of the realist war films of the period; Thumim states that throughout the 1940s, "melodrama was by far the most popular genre" (1992: 36). What I am therefore interested in is how, even though avoiding direct reference to the war, the films do indicate a concern with contemporary issues and relate to their audience, whilst also functioning as escapism.
The four films that I have chosen for this research provide a mixture between costume and domestic melodrama, as representative of Gainsborough's output at this time. Although I originally intended to look at a larger amount and wider range of films, a concentration upon these four films, made within a short space of time, is far more effective in successfully being able to read their possible meanings. These films are also linked together by the reoccurrence of directors and actors within them.
It will also be interesting in my research to analyse whether and in what ways the films differ according to whether they are set in a previous historical period or a contemporary time, as in They Were Sisters.
Although existing studies that have been carried out in this area have focussed on Gainsborough melodramas to some extent, the relations between the representations of gender and their historical context have not been fully analysed. I wish to build on the work done in these analyses in my study, although I would also want to examine more closely the particular mode of representation and the way in which the characters are portrayed. This is especially related to the male characters, which are generally absent from these pieces of research.
Although Gainsborough melodramas have been discussed to some length by film writers, I do not believe that this body of work has dealt with the films in enough detail in respect to representations of gender within the melodramatic form. Although a number of writers briefly discuss this area, they are not specific in regard to the films and do not deal with them in any particular depth. When a group of films have not been examined to a sufficient depth, there is the possibility of making generalised comments that then cannot be maintained. Therefore, in analysing these films closely and coming to a greater understanding of their meanings, my research would be successful in providing further information on the complex representations of gender, both male and female, in cinematic texts.
In designing this piece of research, it was decided that the specific area under examination would be best investigated by a generic analysis. This would enable me to look at both formal and thematic features of the films. That these films were perceived at the time of their release as being made according to a certain formula also makes a close reading of them as a group more interesting and effective; if they generally share certain characteristics, then these characteristics can both be examined and noted in the cases where they are deviated from.
I also intend to examine the at times contradictory relationship between narrative and closure within the melodrama. It has been suggested that, in regard to the female characters, "the narrative resolutions in which they got their comeuppance could not erase the exhilaration of seeing them act out forbidden desires onscreen" (Kuhn 1990: 169). This highlights the problem of trying to assess the moral stance of a film; these films seem in many ways to be both glamorising the lives of the female protagonists, but then also providing a narrative punishment for them at the end of the film. It will therefore be necessary to analyse the films whilst considering the possibility that the endings were deliberately contrived in order to ostensibly punish the characters whilst actually endorsing, in part at least, their previous actions.
However, before carrying out the analysis, it is first necessary to examine the literature concerning the subject areas surrounding the field of investigation.