Give Us This Day

Give Us This Day is a 1949 British film, directed by Edward Dmytryk. This film was released in the United States as Christ in Concrete. Another alternate title was Salt and the Devil.

The film was based on the 1939 novel Christ in Concrete by Pietro Di Donato. The title is taken from the Lord's Prayer.

Plot

Geremio is an Italian bricklayer living with his family. The film depicts how Geremio and his family endure the struggles of living in Brooklyn during the Great Depression.

Production

Red Scare

At the time this movie was made, Dmytryk had been blacklisted as a member of the Hollywood Ten. Wanamaker had also been blacklisted. The movie was filmed entirely in London due to Dmytryk's and Wanamaker's negative perception in the United States at the time. 

Reception

The film received a mixed review from New York Times film critic Bosley Crowther. He called it "a film drama of considerable graphicness but of oddly limited power." While praising the movie for its "careful and earnest attempt to capture the hard yet wistful quality of Mr. di Donato's tale," Crowther said that "the spirit and compulsion of this deeply distressing tale of poverty and frustration are absent from the film."  

Cast

• Sam Wanamaker.....Geremio
• Lea Padovani.....Annunziata
• Kathleen Ryan.....Kathleen
• Charles Goldner.....Luigi
• Bonar Colleano.....Giulio
• William Sylvester.....Giovanni
• George Pastell.....The Lucy (as Nino Pastellides)
• Philo Hauser.....Head of Pig
• Sid James.....Murdin
• Karel Stepanek.....Jaroslav
• Ina De La Haye.....Dame Catarina
• Rosalie Crutchley.....Giulio's wife