The Agitator *** (1945, William Hartnell, Mary Morris, John Laurie, Moore Marriott, Edward Rigby, George Carney, Elliott Mason, Frederick Leister)– Classic Movie Review 13,382

The 1945 British anti-socialism drama film The Agitator stars William Hartnell as a socialist who unexpectedly inherits the ownership of a major firm from the factory owner.

Director John Harlow’s 1945 British drama film The Agitator is based on the 1925 novel Peter Pettinger by William Riley, and stars William Hartnell, Mary Morris, John Laurie, Moore Marriott, Edward Rigby, George Carney, Elliott Mason, and Frederick Leister.

The Agitator is an interesting World War Two wartime think piece on the alleged pitfalls of socialism. William Hartnell (then billed as Billy Hartnell and on his way to stardom which didn’t really happen until middle-age and Doctor Who) stars as mechanic Peter Pettinger, a sour union spokesperson who becomes a better adjusted person as manager after unexpectedly receiving the the ownership of the major factory where he works in a bequest from the elderly owner (Frederick Leister).

The old man, Mark Overend (Leister), has heard that young mechanic Peter Pettinger (Hartnell) is bitter and angry because his father wasn’t financially compensated for his invention. So, basically, now, having inherited the large firm Overend Works, the hero tries to run it according to his socialist political beliefs but finds himself having to question those beliefs, coming up against the shop foreman (John Laurie).

This unusual film is I’m All Right Jack (1959) without the laughs, but with Hartnell’s powerful display of rage acting plus the good support cast compensating for the low-voltage if thoughtful script by Edward Dryhurst. Hartnell is a very good, if perennially unsympathetic actor, well cast here so he can show how abrasively good he is, given a meaty star role.

It is an odd, awkward film to have made in 1944, which must have been provocative and controversial at the time, but full of historical interest now. Inevitably, as audiences of the time were mostly looking to be amused and diverted, the script has to balance entertainment value with its self-imposed anti-socialism propaganda mission, and does a fair job of it. It is entertaining, but of course suspect as the product of a conservative-minded British film industry.

It is made by British National Films at their Elstree Studios, then National Studios, in Elstree, Hertfordshire, England.

Release date: 3 September 1945.

The cast

The cast are William Hartnell as Peter Pettinger, Mary Morris as Lettie Shackleton, John Laurie as Tom Tetley, Moore Marriott as Ben Duckett, J H Roberts as Mr Ambler, George Carney as Bill Shackleton, Frederick Leister as Mark Overend, Joss Ambler as Charles Sheridan, Elliott Mason as Mrs Pettinger, Cathleen Nesbitt as Mrs Montrose, Joyce Heron as Helen Montrose, Edward Rigby as Charlie Branfield, Philip Godfrey as Bert Roberts, Moira Lister as Joan Shackleton, Beatrice Varley as Mrs Shackleton, Cyril Smith as Dunham, Howard Douglas as Taylor, Lloyd Pearson as Derek Cunlyffe, Edgar Driver as Smith, and Bransby Williams as Salvation Army leader, Joss Ambler, and Sebastian Cabot.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,382

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