Review: “Spring and Port Wine”

Set in the mill area of Lancashire and its moors (though lacking most of the cliche Lancashire gags and mannerisms), this is the story [from the play by Bill Naughton] of a generation clash in a small family and the points of view of both parents and children are fairly, compassionately and interestingly brought out.

James Mason plays the patriarch of the family, a kindly but stubborn man who brings up his family with a startling strictness. Remembering his own youth he is determined the house he reigns over shall not be such a mess.

Chief rebel is the high-spirited Susan George whose refusal to eat a herring for tea sparks off a handful of situations that remind Mason that ‘you can spend a lifetime creating a family and break it up in a weekend.’