They Knew Mr. Knight (1946)

★ 5.7 1h 33m IMDb

After a chance train encounter with Laurence Knight, Tom Blake's family's fortunes prosper on the beneficence of the great financier. A developing friendship leads to the Knights selling their home to the Blakes when they move back to London. All looks rosy for the Blakes as share prices in Mr Knight's new business venture soar, but is their confidence misplaced?

They Knew Mr. Knight

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Cast

Mervyn Johns
Mervyn Johns as Tom Blake Died 1992 · Pembroke, Pembrokeshire, Wales, UK Father of actress Glynis Johns, who appeared with him in The Halfway House (1944) and The Sundowners (1960). Stocky, benevolent-looking Welsh character who became an unexpected star of British movies...
Nora Swinburne
Nora Swinburne as Celia Blake Died 2000 · Bath, Somerset, England, UK [now Bath and North East Somerset, England, UK] From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Nora Swinburne (24 July 1902 - 1 May 2000) was a British actress, born Leonora Mary Johnson in Bath, Somerset, daughter of Henry Swinburne Johnson and his wife...
Joyce Howard
Joyce Howard as Freda Blake Died 2010 · London, England, UK Joyce Howard (28 February 1922 in London – 23 November 2010 in Santa Monica, California) was an English actress, writer, and film executive. After studying at RADA, she was spotted by film director A...
Joan Greenwood
Joan Greenwood as Ruth Blake Died 1987 · Chelsea, London, England, UK Joan Greenwood (4 March 1921 – 27 February 1987) was an English actress. Born in Chelsea, she studied at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art. Her husky voice, coupled with her slow, precise elocution, w...
Peter Hammond
Peter Hammond as Douglas Blake Died 2011 · London, England, UK Peter Charles Hammond Hill was an English actor and television director. Peter Charles Hammond Hill was born in Victoria, Central London. His father, Charles, was an art restorer and his mother, Ada,...
Marie Ault
Marie Ault as Grandma Blake Died 1951 · Wigan, Lancashire, England, UK From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia Marie Ault (2 September 1870 – 9 May 1951) was a British character actress of stage and film. She was a star in many British films of the silent era, but is mos...

Audience Reviews

CinemaSerf 6/10 Feb 13, 2023
"Mr. Knight" (Alfred Drayton) is the archetypal man made good. He walks to his first class railway carriage every morning fêted by the staff and the management. One morning he is prevented from treading on a banana skin on the steps by the struggling mill owner "Blake" (Mervyn Johns) and soon the two are inseparable. "Blake" is ambitious for success - for himself and his large family, and hopes his association with this successful man will bring him good fortune. Initially it does, and they move to big house and acquire the trappings of luxury - but as with anything that looks too good to be true, it usually is. Things take a turn for the worst and the friendship turns sour leaving "Blake" with quite an headache. This is a simple enough story of greed. Not necessarily of the venal sort. In the beginning "Blake" wants his money for his family - a laudable motive, no doubt. Like "Scrooge", though, his character finds the pursuit of wealth addictive. He gradually becomes subsumed by the need to make more, and more. Enough is never enough. When the bottom falls out of his dream, he is bereft - but not just of the cash, but of his integrity and his soul. His children are also quite an effective barometer of the toxicity of wealth too - not least the spoiled and selfish "Freda" (a strong performance from Joyce Howard) and his other daughter "Ruth" (Joan Greenwood). Like many British films made immediately post-WWII, it has a message to it and this well assembled cast delivers it clearly. For a Britain in 1946 - there are few quick wins.

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