RADIO

CBC wins praise for dramatic

presentation, ‘Six Men of Dorset’.

NGLAND in the first’ decades
of the last century, like Can-
ada itself, is a rich and largely
untapped source of material for
any dramatic effort. It was dur-
ing this period in England that
the struggles of the agricultural
laborers against hunger and tyr-
‘anny reached great heights. On
its Wednesday Night program
last week, Six Men of Dorset—
the story of the Tolpuddle Mar-
tyrs—the CBC did an expert job
in using some of the material
available. “‘\

Driven by hunger and poverty,
their only recompense for back-
breaking toil from dawn till dark,
the men of Dorset combined as

early as 1832 in an attempt to
increase their meagre wages.
Their efforts were vigorously re-
sisted by the squires with the
able assistance of magistrate and
parson. :

Despite a lack of real organiza-
tion, the men succeeded in forc-
ing wages up to 10 shillings a
week. But this same lack of
organization permitted the squires
to reduce wages again shilling by
shilling, until they had been fore-
€d down to seven shillings by the
following year. It was after this
experience that George Loveless
and his friends decided to join

with the agricultural laborers’
union. _ g

In 1834 the Dorset union lead-
ers were indicted on infonmation
. supplied by a planted stoolpigeon.

FILMS

Although it was an obvious frame-
up with no real evidence to .sup-
port the charge, the judge (John
Williams) meted out a’ savage
sentence of seven years transpor-
tation:

The summing up and sentenc.
ing by the judge was excellently
handled by John Drainey, the
script fully bringing out the vin-
dictive and vengeful nature of
this individual who sat on the
bench dispensing “justice.”

A high point of the presenta-
tion was reached in the descrip-
tion of the great London demon-
stration demanding the release of
the Dorset laborers. Two hundred

‘people (equal to about 700,000 in

the London of today) marched
through the streets singing “We
Will Be Free,” a song written by
George Loveless himself. The

pressure of the: people was suc-
cessful and by 1836 the remain-

der of the sentence was remitted. .

Of more than passing interest
to Canadians was the account of
the settlement of five of the six
men of Dorset on farms near
London, Ontario. George Love-
less and his wife, Betsy, were
buried in the cemetery at Siloam,
a few miles north of London. A
great-grandson is still in business
in London. 3

eg $e %

Last Sunday evening CBC’s
“Stage 54” presented The Investi-

\

‘The Maggie’ one of
year’s best pictures

Te best British comedy for
many a long day is The
Maggie, currently’ showing - in
Vancouver. Alexander Mackend-
‘rick, who directed Whiskey
Galore and The Man in the White
Suit has teamed with William
Rose, who wrote the script of
Genevieve, to give us Ealing
‘Studios’ finest effort to date.

The Maggie is one of the dis-
reputable-looking miniature cargo
steamers which ply among the
- islands and inland waterways of
Scotland. Her skipper is a genial
drunk and he has a mate, a griz-
zled and mutinous engineman and
a small boy as crew.

_ By false pretences they get the
job of carying a shipment of
materials for ‘an American busi-
ness tycoon who is going to
_ modernize a castle in one of the
islands as a surprise for his wife.

‘When the error is discovered, —

“the millionaire tries to get his
“cargo shifted to a more seaworthy
vessel, but the happy-go-lucky sly-

ness of the Maggie’s crew defeats -

him. :

_ In the course of their voyage
the men of the Maggie stop for a
spot of poaching, play hide-and-

- seek with the millionaire among

the islands, stop off for a day or

two to attend a centenarian’s

birthday party, wreck a pier, in-
jure the’ millionaire and nearly

. Sink the boat.

The ‘crew of the Maggie are
irresponsible, inefficient and in
every way unreliable. But they
have the sense of human dignity

and enjoyment of life which the
American has lost.

Before the voyage is over they
have taught him that money can-
not buy everything in Britain and

that the individual is entitled to
consideration.

Most of the main parts ‘are play-
ed by Scottish actors from the

Glasgow Citizens’ Theatre, Alex-

ander Mackenzie, -James Cope-
land and Abe Barker have a

simple, earthly style which suits

the film, and Fiona Clyne has a

_fresh Highland beauty.

Tommy Kearins, 15-year-old son
of a Glasgow laborer, does ex-
tremely well as the cheeky cabin
boy. :

And for once I gladly waive
my long-standing objection to Am-
erican stars in British films. Paul
Douglas plays the tycoon with
understanding and without un-
balancing the picture.

Beautifully photographed in the
Highlands, this film has a leisure-
ly good-humor and philosophy
which lift it right to the top.

—THOMAS SPENCER.

' sessed with sex

gator, a satire by Reuben Ship.

The cenfral character of the
play (obviously McCarthy) was
sent on his way to heaven as a
result of a plane crash. In order’
to gain entry he had to pass ex-
amination by an investigating
committee—a rather formal and °
perfunctory examination by the
committee under the chairman-
ship of a very mild gatekeeper. '

However, the remaining mem-
bers of the committee—Torque- -
mada of the Spanish Inquisition,
Judge Jeffries, the “hanging
judge” of the Bloody Assizes, and
Cotton Mather of the’ Salem
Witchhunt—had ambitions to in-
vestigate a “thousand years of
treason.” These members con-
nived with the newly arrived in-
vestigator to get rid of the ancient
Satekeeper and replace him with
McCarthy’. preparatory to launch-
ing a full-scale witchhunt.

After the success of the con-
Spiracy, the witnesses began to
be called up. Socrates, Galileo,
Garibaldi, John Milton, Karl
Marx, Cromwell, Thomas Jeffer-
son, William Lyon Mackenzie and
a host of others-were paraded be- _
fore the investigators.

The statement of beliefs made
by these illustrious figures con-
stituted a serious challenge to
the committee of investigation

~ and they were ordered deported

down below.

After numerous deportations
the ruler of the region below ap-
peared before the committee de-
“Manding the deportations cease
as the characters being sent were
stirring up trouble. Socrates was
continually exhorting him to lead
2 virtuous life, Cromwell and
Mackenzie were organizing a peo-
ple’s militia and “that character

Karl Marx is causing no end of
trouble,”

“Which Karl Marx?”

“How should I know. There
are hundreds of them and they
brought with them those pamph-
lets you asked them to identify -

_ and have printed thousands of

copies for distribution, They have
a slogan, ‘Workers of the under-
world unite, you have nowhere
to. go but up.’” :

Retribution finally overtook the
‘witch-hunters, the deportees were .
returned and the investigator —
himself was ordered deported
“down below.” But the devil in-
sisted that he too had rights and

' refused to accept the deportee.

He was ordered set down at the
Point where he first crossed the
border and so turned up as sole
survivor of the crash. Neither
heaven or hell would have him,
but We’ve got him!

There can be no comparison
between these excellent programs
and what passes for drama, ob-

and violence,
broadcast by U.S. Stations. It
makes you wonder how much of
the Outcry against the CBC, in
parliament and out, has its ‘origin
in the U.S—JACK SCOTT.

Paul Robeson to sing
again atPeace Arch |

ies the third straight year Paul

Robeson, world-renowned peo-
ple’s artist, will sing at the Peace
Arch, August 1, under sponsorship
of International Union of Mine,
Mill and Smelter Workers.. As

Robeson said on his first appear-
~ ance at the border, after U.S. im-

migration officials refused to al-
low him to attend a. Mine-Mill
convention in Vancouver, “No-
thing can keep me from m
friends in Canada!”

Last week in New York the
famous singer was honored at a
“Salute to Paul Robeson” event
which marked the opening of a
national campaign to restore his
right to travel abroad.

Invitations to do Othello in
London and to sing the lead role
in Moussogorsky’s Boris Godon-

ov have recently been tendered
Robeson.

The latest request to Robeson
has come from a group of prom-
inent British composers and con-
ductors, including Benjamin Brit-
ten and Vaughan Williams, .who
have offered to present the artist
ina series of concerts in Britain.

PARE Su euates
Robeson recently blasted U.S.
newspaper columnists, radio com-
mentators and magazine writers

who peddled the slander that he
is “changing his views.”

“Change my mind? Gentlemen
of the press, you had _ better
change yours, because what I be-
lieve in is happening,” said Robe-
son in a statement to the press.

“Let me say for the record,” he
continued, “the very essence of
my life is loyalty’ to my convic-
tions. I am, as I have been for
many years, firmly and fully de-
voted to the struggle for peace
and democracy throughout the

-world, for Negro liberation and 3
PACIFIC TRIBUNE — JUNE 4, 1954 — PAGE

Paul Robeson at the Peach Arch in 1953.

_ cease for a moment in his efforts

‘continuing massacre of my broth~

_with the vast majority of mam

» said ‘No.’

colonial freedom, for friendshiP
with the peoples of the Soviet
Unioon, the new Chiha and tHer ag
People’s Democracies of Europe

“The interests of the working
people of every land are my guid-
ing principle and I know no force
that can make me change.

“Ts it thinkable that Paul Robe-
son, the recipient of an Interna
tional Stalin Prize, would eve!

in the sacred cause of peace? .

“Am I, one of the three me?
awarded the title of ‘Champio®
of African Freedom’ in 1950, e*
pected to ignore in 1954 the

ers in Kenya? And here in ADY
erica is Jim Crow dead ane
buried? Has Congress passe?
the anti-lynch law? Have MY
people’s demands for economic
political and social equality ek
granted? If not, why should Pav
Robeson who has dedicated HS —
life to the struggle for thes¢
geals, change his mind abou
them now.

“The fact is that every oe
brings new proof that the ee
cause of peace and liberation, 4
which I am inseparably unll@®
kind, is invincible. The door
of imperialism has been sounde
in all Asia and soon Africa a0%
other colonial lands, now stra
ing against their chains, will ™§
in mighty freedom.

“And here at home it is begin’
ning to look as if those who war
to ‘go it alone’ into the new wor ‘
war cannot count on having ' ie
American people go with them

and everybody else has. already

4 ep

“Change my mind? ' Gentlem
of the press, you had peter
change your because what I :
lieve in is happening.”