Lad, A Yorkshire Story
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Richard B. Shean
Alan Gibson
Nancy Clarkson
Robert Hayes
| Lad: A Yorkshire Story | |
|---|---|
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| Directed by | Dan Hartley |
| Written by | Dan Hartley |
| Produced by | Dan Hartley Richard B. Shean |
| Starring | Bretten Lord Alan Gibson Nancy Clarkson Robert Hayes |
| Cinematography | David Mackie |
| Edited by | Dawn Feather Dan Hartley |
| Music by | Samuel Sim |
Production company | Rogue Runner |
Release date |
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Running time | 93 minutes |
| Country | England |
| Language | English |
| Budget | £65,000 |
Lad: A Yorkshire Story is a 2013 British film detailing the coming-of-age of 13 year-old Tom, who goes off the rails after his father dies. Tom is given community service after committing an offence, the sentence being to work with a Yorkshire Dales park ranger repairing paths and building stiles. The film was released in 2013 after being adapted from a short film from 2011 by the same director.
The film was only given a limited release as its director, Dan Hartley, could not find a distributor. However, during the 2020 lockdowns caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, online downloads of the film soared to over 400,000 and the film garnered praise from viewers.
Tom Proctor is a 13-year-old boy living in the Yorkshire Dales. One day, his father, who is a quarryman, unexpectedly dies, and when the bank threatens to foreclose on his deceased father's house mortgage, the family fear they will lose the quarry cottage.
In protest Tom borrows a tractor and sprays the local bank with manure, which gets him into trouble and he is made to do community service with Al, a Yorkshire Dales park ranger. At the same time, Tom and his mum worry about each other and Tom's older brother Nick, whom he idolises, joins the army.[1][2]
Cast
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Production
The film was shot in and around the Yorkshire Dales, (within a 10-mile (16 km) radius of Settle) where Dan Hartley, the writer and director, grew up.[3] It is partly autobiographical, with the character of Tom being based on Dan Hartley, and that of Al being based on a park ranger who Dan worked with in his teens.[4] Hartley said he is from the area originally and he came back "into the community to make the film, and the cast is people who live here." He went on to say that many members of the cast had never acted before, including both lead characters, Bretten Lord and former soldier Alan Gibson. He said they held open auditions in Cumbria and North Yorkshire in 2011 and it "worked out really well using people who hadn't acted before."[5]
One of the reasons why distributors were reluctant to sign up to distribute the film was the lack of a 'name' in the cast. In fact, prior to the filming of Lad, the two main actors had not acted professionally before. Alan Gibson, who played Al, the park ranger, claimed to have been a soldier in the SAS.[6]