The Snow Goose (film)

The Snow Goose
Directed by	Patrick Garland
Written by	Paul Gallico
Based on	The Snow Goose: A Story of Dunkirk by Paul Gallico
Starring	Richard Harris Jenny Agutter
Music by	Carl Davis
Production companies	Universal Television BBC
Distributed by	BBC
Release date	November 15, 1971 (1971-11-15) (USA)
Running time	50 mins
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Snow Goose is a 1971 British television drama film based on the 1941 novella The Snow Goose: A Story of Dunkirk by Paul Gallico.

It won a Golden Globe Award for Best Television Film and was nominated for a British Academy Television Award for Best Drama Production. It was also nominated for a nine Primetime Emmy Awards, winning one for Jenny Agutter for Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Drama. The film was shown in the United States on 15 November 1971 as part of the anthology series Hallmark Hall of Fame.^[1]

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Plot

The film follows the relationship between Fritha (Jenny Agutter), an orphaned young girl, and Philip Rhayader (Richard Harris), a lighthouse keeper in the fishing village Great Marsh in Essex. The two meet as Rhayader helps Fritha care for a snow goose she has found, despite his solitary lifestyle. The bird has been injured by hunters shooting at it.

Set at the beginning of World War II, the film uses the backdrop of the ongoing political events and battles throughout the narrative. As the goose heals, Fritha and the goose leave Rhayader. Rhayader once again becomes reclusive and confines himself to his lighthouse lodging.

As Germany invades Poland and the war begins, Rhayader applies to the Observer Corps, but is denied due to his disabilities. Fritha and the goose eventually return to Rhayader, but Rhayader ventures out to help rescue the British Expeditionary Force, trapped on the beaches of Dunkirk. He is killed during the Dunkirk evacuation, and the goose returns to Fritha, who is now grown up. She realises she had come to love Rhayader and is able to save one of the paintings he had made of her, as a child with the wounded goose, before the lighthouse and all other artwork are obliterated by a German pilot.

Cast

Richard Harris as Philip Rhayader
Jenny Agutter as Fritha
Graham Crowden as the recruiting officer
Julian Somers as Jim
Freda Bamford as the postmistress
Noel Johnson as the naval captain
Gary Watson as the narrator
William Marlowe as a soldier

Awards and nominations

Award	Category	Nominee(s)	Result	Ref.
British Academy Television Awards	Best Drama Production	Patrick Garland	Nominated	^[2]
Golden Globe Awards	Best Television Film		Won	^[3]
Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Single Program – Drama or Comedy	Frank O'Connor	Nominated	^[4]
	Outstanding Single Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role	Richard Harris	Nominated
	Outstanding Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Drama	Jenny Agutter	Won
	Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Drama – A Single Program	Patrick Garland	Nominated
	Outstanding Writing Achievement in Drama – Adaptation	Paul Gallico	Nominated
	Outstanding Achievement in Art Direction or Scenic Design – For a Dramatic Program or Feature Length Film Made for Television, a Single Program of a Series or a Special Program	Stanley Morris	Nominated
	Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography for Entertainment Programming – For a Special or Feature Length Program Made for Television	Ray Henman	Nominated
	Outstanding Achievement in Film Editing for Entertainment Programming – For a Special or Feature Length Program Made for Television	Ken Pearce	Nominated
	Outstanding Achievement in Music Composition – For a Special Program	Carl Davis	Nominated