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The Winslow Boy

Commentary

Made in 1948, The Winslow Boy was adapted from a play by Terence Rattigan (and directed by Anthony Asquith). Its domestic interiors recreate an era immediately before the First World War, and ‘belong’ to the respectable and upper-middle-class Winslow family. Mr. Winslow (played by Sir Cecil Hardwicke) is shown here in the drawing room of his home with family members and friends. As a rule, working-class families during this period did not use the domestic interior as a setting for sociability beyond the family itself. The middle-class home, however, was in many ways configured around the knowledge that it would be used for ‘entertaining’.

Themes

Consumer Practices
Gender / Sexualities
Identities
Human Relationships
Leisure
Social Position

Dominant Representational Strategies

Elements
Context

Dwelling

Type: Residential
Detail: Town house
Historical Terminology
Specified Social Level: Unspecified

Activities

Type: Eating and Drinking
Intellectual, Cultural and Spritual
Physical States and Actions
Detail: Eating
Smoking
Standing
Sitting
Talking

Rooms

Type: Leisure / Games Room
Multifunctional Living Space
Social and Sitting Spaces
Historical Terminology

Inhabitants

Type: People
Detail: Adults
: Male
Female

Objects

Type: Coverings and Hangings
Furniture
Equipment
The Arts, Recreation and Ceremony
Detail: Supporting, Storage and Display
Seating
Lighting
Heating