English presentation

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Submitted to: Vansh devgun
Mrs Kusum Lata XI-A
Novel – THE BROWNING VERSION
Index
● Introduction
● Plot Synopsis
● Author Biography
● His picture
● Life and Career
● Stage plays
● Television Plays
● Our Textbook includes
● Summary of the part of the drama that our textbook includes:
● Word - Notes
● Movies made on this Novel
● British Motion Picture(1944)
● Picture of the DVD
● Cast and introduction
● British Motion Picture(1951)
● Picture of the DVD
● Cast and introduction
INTRODUCTION

The Browning Version is the play that cemented Terence Rattigan's reputation as a
serious, mature playwright. It is viewed as one of his best works, and one of the best
one-acts ever written. First performed at the Phoenix Theatre, London, England, on
September 8, 1948, The Browning Version was coupled with another one-act by
Rattigan entitled Harlequinade under the umbrella name, Playbil l. This show ran for
245 performances, and Rattigan received the Ellen Terry Award for The Browning
Version, his second. (The first was won two years earlier for The Winslow Boy.)
The Browning Version made its New York debut with Harlequinade on October 12,
1949, but only ran for sixty-two performances. While praise from British audiences
and critics was nearly universal when the play was performed in England, American
critics were generally not as kind to the Broadway version, perhaps due to the
subject matter.
The Browning Version concerns the life of Andrew Crocker-Harris, a classics
schoolmaster at a British public school concerns the life of Andrew Crocker-Harris, a
classics schoolmaster at a British public school. Andrew is disliked by his unfaithful wife
Millie, his colleagues, and his students. Rattigan based the character and the story of
The Browning Version on a classics master he had at school as a student.
The Browning Version is sometimes derided for being too sentimental, but many
critics draw a distinction between its sympathetic sentiment and overt sentimentalism.
Most critics and scholars be lieve that Rattigan' s skills as a playwright transcend such
problems. Though only a one-act play, The Browning Version is a well-crafted and
complete psychological study, indicative of his future direction as a playwright.
As John Russell Taylor writes in The Rise and Fall of the Well-Made Play, "The
Browning Version, as well as being at once Rattigan's tightest and most natural-
seeming construction job up then and his most deeply felt play, marks the beginning
of his most distinctive and personal drama."
 Plot Synopsis
The story is about Andrew Crocker-Harris, he’s been teaching at a public school for
eighteen years, and is forced to retire prematurely owing to ill-health. Lack of success
with his pupils has blighted his youthful ambition and promise and, with his embittered
wife Millie, he faces a future of poverty and disappointment. Millie's desire for her own
particular brand of love, emotional and physical, is as great as Andrew's desire for the
fulfilment of his own platonic ideal.
The tragedy is that neither can satisfy the other's needs. Millie has been seeking
consolation in an affair with Hunter, the science master, who is about to discard her.
Andrew finds his protective armour of indifference and lovelessness pierced by the
action of a small boy, Taplow, who gives him a second-hand copy of Browning's
translation of The Agamemnon of Aeschylus, his maser's favourite play. The violent
outburst of emotion which greets this little gesture of goodwill, and Millie's spiteful
attempt to destroy its value in Andrew's eyes -pretending the gift was only a piece of
flattery calculated to evade a punishment -brings the marriage to a crisis. In the last few
minutes before he leaves, Andrew makes an unexpected gesture of defiance towards
the Headmaster who has constantly humiliated him, and finds in the applause that
greets his frank apology for his failings to the assembled school, courage to face a new
life. He rejects Millie, who has by this time also been cast off by her lover.
Author
Terence Rattigan
Author Biography -Terence Rattigan
Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (June 10Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (June 10, 1911Sir Terence Mervyn Rattiga
(June 10, 1911 – November 30Sir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (June 10, 1911 – November 30, 1977Sir
Terence Mervyn Rattigan (June 10, 1911 – November 30, 1977) was one of EnglandSir Terence Mervyn
Rattigan (June 10, 1911 – November 30, 1977) was one of England's most important 20th centurySir
Terence Mervyn Rattigan (June 10, 1911 – November 30, 1977) was one of England's most important 20th
century dramatistsSir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (June 10, 1911 – November 30, 1977) was one of
England's most important 20th century dramatists. He was born in LondonSir Terence Mervyn Rattigan
(June 10, 1911 – November 30, 1977) was one of England's most important 20th century dramatists. He
was born in London of IrishSir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (June 10, 1911 – November 30, 1977) was one o
England's most important 20th century dramatists. He was born in London of Irish extraction, educated at
HarrowSir Terence Mervyn Rattigan (June 10, 1911 – November 30, 1977) was one of England's most
important 20th century dramatists. He was born in London of Irish extraction, educated at Harrow and
Trinity College, Oxford, and his plays are generally situated within an upper middle class background.
Life and career
Success as a playwright came early, with the comedy French Without Tears in 1936, set in a crammer.
Rattigan's determination to write a more serious play produced After the Dance (1939), a satirical social
drama about the 'Bright Young Things (1939), a satirical social drama about the 'Bright Young Things' a
their failure to politically engage. The outbreak of the Second World War scuppered any chances of a lon
run. After the war Rattigan alternated between comedies and dramas, and after the war, establishing hims
as a major playwright: the most famous of which were The Winslow Boy (1946), The Browning Version
(1948), The Deep Blue Sea (1952), and Separate Tables (1954). Rattigan believed in understated
emotions, and craftsmanship, which after the overnight success of John Osborne (1954). Rattigan believe
in understated emotions, and craftsmanship, which after the overnight success of John Osborne's '
Look Back in Anger' in 1956 was deemed old fashioned. Rattigan responded to his critical disfavour wit
some bitterness. Some churlish interviews served only to confirm the view that he had no sympathy or
understanding of the modern world. His plays Ross, Man and Boy, In Praise of Love, and
Cause Célèbre, however show no sign of any decline in his talent.
His Stage Plays
● 1934 First Episode (written with Philip Heimann)
● 1936 French Without Tears
● 1939 After the Dance
● 1942 Flare Path
● 1943 While the Sun Shines
● 1944 Love in Idleness
● 1946 The Winslow Boy
● 1948 Playbill (comprising Harlequinade and The Browning Version)
● 1949 Adventure Story
● 1950 Who is Sylvia?
● 1952 The Deep Blue Sea
● 1953 The Sleeping Prince
● 1954 Separate Tables (comprising Table By the Window and Table No. 7)
● 1958 Variation on a Theme
● 1960 Ross
● 1960 Joie de Vivre (written with Robert Stolz (written with Robert Stolz and Paul Dehn)
● 1963 Man and Boy
● 1970 A Bequest to the Nation
● 1973 In Praise of Love (comprising After Lydia and Before Dawn)
● 1976 Duologue (stage adaptation of All On Her Own, see below)
● 1977 Cause Célèbre
Television Plays
•Stage Plays
• 1951 Final Test
• 1962 Heart to Heart
• 1964 Ninety Years On
• 1966 Nelson - A Portrait in Miniature
• 1968 All On Her Own
• 1972 High Summer

• Several of his later plays were adapted for film and/or television. The best-
known are:

•The Winslow Boy (1948 and 1999)

• The Browning VersionThe Browning
Version (film: 1951 and 1994; TV: 1955 and
1985)
• The Deep Blue Sea (1955)
• Separate Tables (1958)
Summary of the part of the drama
that our textbook includes:
Two School Masters
This one-act-play is a story of two school teachers and a student named Taplow. Mr
Crocker Harris is a middle aged teacher while Mr Frank is a young colleague of Mr
Harris. Taplow is a student of lower fifth class. He is a boy of 16. Both the teachers
provide a striking contrast. They have only one thing in common. They belong to
the same school.

Frank is Open ; Crocker Harris is Reserved

Young Frank is quite open to his students. He doesn’t keep any distance while
dealing with his students. Taplow is not a student of his class but still he takes a lot
of interest in him. His long conversation with Taplow reveals his open nature. On
the other hand, Mr. Crocker Harris is quite reserved. He doesn’t mix up with his
students. He maintains some distance with them.

Frank Cares Little ; Crocker Harris a strict Follower of Rules

Frank doesn’t believe in observing formalities. He cares little regarding rules and
regulations. Mr. Crocker Harris follows them very strictly. In this regard he is different
from other teachers. He never leaks out results till they are formally announced.
Frank-Envious of Crocker Harris
Mr Crocker Harris is feared and even respected. He has a wonderful hold over
his students. They are scared of him. Frank admits that he is envious of Mr
Crocker Harris. Perhaps he lacks that ‘effect’ which Harris has left over his
students. Frank encourages Taplow to criticize Crocker Harris. Actually, he
urges him to intimate Harris. This clearly reveals the working of his mind. He
even asks Taplow to ‘cut’ Crocker Harris. He lacks Harris’s devotion. He
teaches science but shows no interest in his subject. This shows his lack of
dedication and commitment towards his profession.
Crocker Harris-Shrivelled Inside Like a Nut
Taplow says that Crocker Harris is shriveled inside like a nut. It is quite true.
He is a not open. He doesn’t like flattery. Nor does he like anyone who likes
him. He is a hard task-master. He gives extra work to Taplow even on the last
day of school. This he does to punish Taplow for being absent for a day last
week. Sometimes he cracks jokes. His ‘classical’ jokes lack humour. No one
understands them except him. They are as dry and humourless as he himself
is.
Millie Crocker
Millie Crocker is the wife of Crocker Harris. She is a thin woman in her late
thirties. She is rather more smartly dressed than the ‘general run of
schoolmasters’ wives. Both Frank and Taplow feel her presence. Taplow
feels uneasy. He fears that perhaps she heard him talking ill of Mr. Harris.
She sends Taplow to a chemist. She agrees to take the blame on her in
case Mr Crocker Harris comes in Taplow’s absence
WORD - NOTES

Excerpt a part taken from a book or an article etc.

Lower fifth in lower fifth standard
Remove result of promotion
Form class of school
Term fixed or limited period of school year
Criterion a standard of judgement
Favourable suitable/that favours
Slackers idlers/lazy
Muck useless/dirt
Aeschylus a great Greek dramatist
Agamemnon a play written by Aeschylus
Strung bound/woven
Sound appear/look
Bitter displeased/unpleasant
Kept in detained after the class as punishment in school
Comfort consolation
Pretty well quite
Chap person
Outright straight
Imitating copying
Throaty that comes out of throat/heavy
Human human qualities
Evidently clearly
Severe hard/harsh
Sadist one who enjoys troubling others
Pause lull
Frightening that causes fear
Shrivelled reduced/squeezed
Funny Strange
Exaggerating over stretching
Classical old fashioned
Readily at once
General run common
Infinitely endlessly
Frantically like a mad man
Cape cloak
Bursar a person who manages the financial matters of a
School/college
Prescription medical recommendations by a doctor
THE BROWNING VERSION
British Motion Picture(1944)
THE BROWNING VERSION
British Motion Picture(1944)
United Kingdom, 1994
U.S. Release Date: 10/14/94 (wide)
Running Length: 1:37
MPAA Classification: R (Mature themes, language)
Theatrical Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Cast:
Albert Finney
Greta Scacchi
Matthew Modine
Ben Silverstone
Michael Gambon
Julian Sands
Director: Mike Figgis
Producers: Ridley Scott and Mimi Polk
Screenplay: Ronald Harwood based on the film by Terence Rattigan
Cinematography: Jean Francois Robin
Music: Mark Isham

"The Browning Version is the story of a man and his wife and the school -- a
triangle set in a beautiful prison. It is a film about a man finding the courage
to transcend all the things in his life that conspire against him."
- Mike Figgis, director of The Browning Version
THE BROWNING VERSION
British Motion Picture(1951)
THE BROWNING VERSION
British Motion Picture(1951)
The Browning Version, British motion picture about a boarding school teacher trying to cope with his
wife’s infidelity, based on a play by Terence Rattigan. Released in 1951, the film won awards at the
Cannes Film Festival for Rattigan’s screenplay and for Michael Redgrave’s performance as Andrew
Cocker-Harris, the schoolteacher.
Director
Anthony Asquith
Cast
Michael Redgrave (Andrew Crocker-Harris)
Jean Kent (Millie Crocker-Harris)
Nigel Patrick (Frank Hunter)
Wilfrid Hyde-White (Frobisher)
Brian Smith (Taplow)
Bill Travers (Fletcher)
Ronald Howard (Gilbert)
Paul Medland (Wilson)
Ivan Samson (Lord Baxter)
Josephine Middleton (Mrs. Frobisher)
Peter Jones (Carstairs)
Sarah Lawson (Betty Carstairs)
Scott Harold (Reverend Williamson)
Judith Furse (Mrs. Williamson)
Awards
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Male Performance (1951): Michael Redgrave
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Screenplay (1951): Terence Rattigan
Thank you!!!