To Have and to Hold * (1951, Patrick Barr, Avis Scott, Robert Ayres, Eunice Gayson, Ellen Pollock) – Classic Movie Review 13,345

The 1951 British second feature drama film To Have and to Hold is adapted from Lionel Brown’s play, and stars Patrick Barr, Avis Scott and Robert Ayres.

Director Godfrey Grayson’s 1951 British second feature B movie drama film To Have and to Hold is adapted from Lionel Brown’s play, and stars Patrick Barr, Avis Scott, Robert Ayres, Eunice Gayson, and Ellen Pollock.

To Have and to Hold is a peculiar, shaky and rather contrived Hammer Films drama about a disabled horse-accident victim, country gentleman Brian Harding (Patrick Barr), with a short while left in life, who tries to force his wife June (Avis Scott) to leave him and go off with his recently divorced friend with whom she has been having an affair, her lover Max (Robert Ayres).

Cheap looking and stage bound (it’s adapted by screen-writer Reginald Long from Lionel Brown’s play), with lead performances from Barr, Scott and Ayres that fail to ring true fully, it never quite overcomes its artificiality. Harry Fine and Ellen Pollock do better work though as Brian’s greedy relatives Robert and Roberta, who want to inherit the estate. And it’s nice to see a young Eunice Gayson, billed as ‘introducing Eunice Gayson’.

It is an odd project for Hammer Films. Time probably hasn’t been very kind to it and clearly it hasn’t worn very well. Its mini running time of 63 minutes is on its side, but they are having a trouble to compress the story into an hour.

The cast are Avis Scott as June Harding, Patrick Barr as Brian Harding, Robert Ayres as Max, Harry Fine as Robert, Ellen Pollock as Roberta, Richard Warner as Cyril, Eunice Gayson as Peggy Harding, and Peter Neil as Dr Pritchard.

Avis Scott (22 February 1918 – 31 May 2010)

Avis Scott (22 February 1918 – 31 May 2010) was a BBC continuity announcer during the early 1950s but was fired for being too sexy for British TV.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,345

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