{ "id": "epq8p7fz55", "slug": "the-angry-silence", "title": "The Angry Silence", "updated": "2026-11-01", "topic_path": [ { "id": "culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture" }, { "id": "culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-1960s", "label": "Drama films 1960s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-1960s" }, { "id": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-1960s.yr-1960-1965", "label": "Released 1960 to 1965", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/topics/culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-1960s.yr-1960-1965" } ], "geo": [ { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-1960s", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000: Drama films 1960s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-1960s", "path": [ { "id": "geo.weu", "label": "Western Europe", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946", "label": "Western Europe · 1946 to 2000", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture", "label": "Arts and culture", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance", "label": "Screen and stage", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen", "label": "Film and television", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films", "label": "Films and standalone screen works", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works", "label": "Individual films by title and year", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical", "label": "Drama and biographical films (individual works)", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical" }, { "id": "geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-1960s", "label": "Drama films 1960s", "api_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/api/v1/geo/geo.weu.t1946.culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-1960s" } ] } ], "excerpt": "The Angry Silence (1960) is a British drama directed by Guy Green, Beaver Films' first release, in which Richard Attenborough's factory worker is ostracized for refusing an unofficial strike; it won the BAFTA for Best British Screenplay and earned an Oscar nomination.", "snippet": "The Angry Silence (1960) is a British drama directed by Guy Green, Beaver Films' first release, in which Richard Attenborough's factory worker is ostracized for refusing an unofficial strike; it won the BAFTA for Best British Screenplay and earned an Oscar nomination.", "node": "culture.performance.screen.films.films.individual-works.drama-biographical.drama-films-1960s.yr-1960-1965", "markdown": "# The Angry Silence\n\n**The Angry Silence** is a 1960 British black-and-white drama directed by Guy Green, in which factory worker [Tom Curtis](https://www.edgepedia.org/tom-curtis) ([Richard Attenborough](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-attenborough)) is socially ostracized by his workmates after refusing to join an unofficial strike.[1](https://www.rialtopictures.com/catalogue/the-angry-silence) It was the first release of Beaver Films, the production company founded by Richard Attenborough and [Bryan Forbes](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryan-forbes), and it won the 1961 BAFTA for Best British Screenplay while earning an Academy Award nomination for Best Writing, Story and Screenplay.[2](https://player.bfi.org.uk/rentals/film/watch-the-angry-silence-1959-online) • [1](https://www.rialtopictures.com/catalogue/the-angry-silence)\n\n| Key fact | Detail |\n|---|---|\n| Director / producers | Guy Green; produced by Richard Attenborough and Bryan Forbes[1](https://www.rialtopictures.com/catalogue/the-angry-silence) |\n| Production company | Beaver Films, the company's first release[2](https://player.bfi.org.uk/rentals/film/watch-the-angry-silence-1959-online) |\n| UK premiere | London, March 10, 1960[3](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053602/releaseinfo/) |\n| Budget | Predicted 138,000 pounds, cut to a final 96,000 pounds after the cast and crew deferred their fees for a share of profits[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) |\n| Principal cast | Richard Attenborough (Tom Curtis), Pier Angeli (Anna Curtis), Michael Craig (Joe Wallace), Bernard Lee (Bert Connolly), Alfred Burke (Travers)[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) |\n| Awards | Oscar nomination, Best Writing, Story and Screenplay (1961); BAFTA win, Best British Screenplay, with four BAFTA nominations in total; National Board of Review Top Foreign Films (1960)[1](https://www.rialtopictures.com/catalogue/the-angry-silence) |\n| Berlin result | Critics' favorite at the Berlin International Film Festival; Guy Green received three of the four awards for which the film was nominated[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) |\n\n## Spoilers\n\n### Plot\n\nTom Curtis is a hard-working machine operator, married with two children and a third on the way, at a factory in England.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) A new employee, Travers (Alfred Burke), acting in collusion with the shop steward Bert Connolly ([Bernard Lee](https://www.edgepedia.org/bernard-lee)), provokes an unofficial wildcat strike that Curtis considers unjustified.[7](https://vintageclassicsfilm.co.uk/movies/the-angry-silence/) When the men walk out, Curtis and a few others keep reporting to work; harassment drives the others away until Curtis alone remains, crossing the picket line after Connolly threatens his family.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) • [7](https://vintageclassicsfilm.co.uk/movies/the-angry-silence/)\n\nAfter the dispute is arbitrated and the men return, Curtis is shunned as a \"scab\" and \"blackleg,\" even by his friend Joe, in the silent treatment the British call being \"sent to Coventry.\"[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) • [8](https://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/titles/67404) Tabloid coverage makes matters worse: his small son is bullied and painted black at school, and the persecution builds to a near-tragic climax in which Curtis's fate decides the outcome of a local union rally staged to advance the cause of the behind-the-scenes agitator Travers.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) Oliver Reed, then unknown, appears early as Mick, one of the hooligans used to intimidate workers who cross the picket line.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence)\n\n## Production details\n\nSources differ on two basic credits. The BFI dates the film 1959 and lists a running time of 95 minutes, while Rialto Pictures' catalog dates it 1960 and lists 85 minutes; most commercial listings use 1960 and about 95 minutes.[5](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/62b749e6-390b-5b58-8785-b28987c7861b/the-angry-silence) • [1](https://www.rialtopictures.com/catalogue/the-angry-silence) • [6](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-angry-silence-1960) The screenplay is credited to Bryan Forbes from an original treatment by actor [Michael Craig](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-craig-actor) and [Richard Gregson](https://www.edgepedia.org/richard-gregson), brothers-in-credit on the story; Craig also plays Joe, Curtis's best friend.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) • [7](https://vintageclassicsfilm.co.uk/movies/the-angry-silence/) Arthur Ibbetson was the cinematographer, Malcolm Arnold composed the music, and Anthony Harvey edited.[1](https://www.rialtopictures.com/catalogue/the-angry-silence) • [4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence)\n\n**Financing.** Attenborough and Forbes had no experience preparing budgets or shooting schedules when they took the project to the distributor British Lion, which agreed to back the film only if the predicted budget of 138,000 pounds was cut to 100,000, requiring script trims they considered damaging. Instead, they persuaded everyone involved to defer their fees in exchange for a share of future profits, and handed British Lion a final budget of 96,000 pounds. Sets were built at [Shepperton](https://www.edgepedia.org/shepperton), and the film was partially shot on location in Ipswich, Suffolk, using local nonprofessionals alongside the professional cast.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence)\n\n**Casting.** [Kenneth More](https://www.edgepedia.org/kenneth-more), then one of Britain's biggest stars, agreed to play Tom Curtis, but two weeks before shooting he withdrew to take the lead in the Fox film *[Sink the Bismarck!](https://www.edgepedia.org/sink-the-bismarck)* (1960). Attenborough, the right age for the part and already familiar with the script, cast himself; he later called More's withdrawal the most monumental blessing in disguise of the production.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence)\n\n## Place in British cinema\n\nThe film was made at the height of the British New Wave, the filmmaking period that flourished in England between 1958 and 1963, and shares its gritty, documentary-like depiction of a working-class milieu.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) Its protagonist, however, differs from the angry young men of *Room at the Top* (1959), *Saturday Night and Sunday Morning* (1960), and *This Sporting Life* (1963): Tom Curtis is not rebelling against the class system but defending his individual choice within it.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) The BFI describes the film as a British variant on the industrial drama of *On the Waterfront* (1954), and reads it as a preview of the anti-union sentiment that would define the following two decades of British politics.[2](https://player.bfi.org.uk/rentals/film/watch-the-angry-silence-1959-online)\n\n## Reception and controversy\n\nThe film was a box office hit and an international success, but it aroused sharp controversy. Militant trade unions mounted mass demonstrations demanding it be banned, and in the Welsh valleys the [National Union of Mineworkers](https://www.edgepedia.org/national-union-of-mineworkers) voted overwhelmingly to deny it a public showing. When Attenborough drove to Aberdeen to face a hostile audience, he talked for half an hour about why the film was made; the miners then watched it and stood up and cheered, presenting him with a miner's lamp that he kept in his drawing room.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence)\n\nCriticism split along political lines. Nina Hibbin of *The Daily Worker* called the film's trade unionism a lying travesty that did not exist in Britain, while the *Daily Mirror*, a pro-Labour publication, called it a brilliant and haunting picture dealing with the problems of the factory and the bench, where most [British people](https://www.edgepedia.org/british-people) work. Most American critics agreed with the Mirror's view, and the film appeared on the New York Times Ten Best List for 1960.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) • [9](https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/379e8770-0e9b-4d3d-9273-9d646660a081/content) David Thomson later appraised it in *The New Biographical Dictionary of Film* as a portentous attempt to introduce realism to British features, vulgar and sentimental, made by an Attenborough who believed more in content than style.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) On Rotten Tomatoes the film holds an 80% Tomatometer from five reviews.[10](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-angry-silence)\n\n## Legacy\n\nThe Angry Silence began the amicable Attenborough-Forbes partnership at Beaver Films, which went on to produce *Whistle Down the Wind* (1961), *The L-Shaped Room* (1962), and *[Seance on a Wet Afternoon](https://www.edgepedia.org/seance-on-a-wet-afternoon)* (1964), with Jack Rix as associate producer on all four.[4](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence) The film was restored with funding from STUDIOCANAL in collaboration with the BFI's Unlocking Film Heritage program, and it remains available on Blu-ray and streaming services in the United Kingdom.[7](https://vintageclassicsfilm.co.uk/movies/the-angry-silence/) • [6](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-angry-silence-1960)\n\n## References\n\n1. [The Angry Silence, Rialto Pictures catalogue](https://www.rialtopictures.com/catalogue/the-angry-silence)\n2. [Watch The Angry Silence online, BFI Player](https://player.bfi.org.uk/rentals/film/watch-the-angry-silence-1959-online)\n3. [The Angry Silence (1960) release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0053602/releaseinfo/)\n4. [The Angry Silence by Jeff Stafford, Turner Classic Movies](https://www.tcm.com/articles/218133/the-angry-silence)\n5. [The Angry Silence (1959), British Film Institute](https://www.bfi.org.uk/film/62b749e6-390b-5b58-8785-b28987c7861b/the-angry-silence)\n6. [The Angry Silence (1960), JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/uk/movie/the-angry-silence-1960)\n7. [The Angry Silence, Vintage Classics](https://vintageclassicsfilm.co.uk/movies/the-angry-silence/)\n8. [Watch The Angry Silence, TCM clips](https://www.tcm.com/watchtcm/titles/67404)\n9. [Silver Screen, eCommons, Cornell University](https://ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/379e8770-0e9b-4d3d-9273-9d646660a081/content)\n10. [The Angry Silence, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the-angry-silence)\n\n---\n*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Drama and biographical films (individual works) › Drama films 1960s › Released 1960 to 1965*\n\n*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*\n\n*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*\n\nLicense: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license\n", "same_as": [], "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-angry-silence", "markdown_url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/the-angry-silence.md", "license": { "name": "Edgepedia Community License 1.0", "url": "https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license", "summary": "Free with credit, commercial use included. AI training is open to everyone. For other uses, organizations over USD 100M in revenue or 100M monthly users license separately.", "spdx": "LicenseRef-Edgepedia-Community-1.0" }, "credit": "\"The Angry Silence\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-angry-silence. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "credit_md": "\"[The Angry Silence](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-angry-silence)\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), [https://www.edgepedia.org/the-angry-silence](https://www.edgepedia.org/the-angry-silence). [Edgepedia Community License 1.0](https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license).", "credit_html": "\"The Angry Silence\", Edgepedia (EdgeChat), https://www.edgepedia.org/the-angry-silence. Edgepedia Community License 1.0.", "speakable": "The Angry Silence is a British drama directed by Guy Green, Beaver Films' first release, in which Richard Attenborough's factory worker is ostracized for refusing an unofficial strike; it won the BAFTA for Best British Screenplay and earned an Oscar nomination." }