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The Root of All Evil (1947) movie poster

Characters & Themes

The Root of All Evil (1947) Characters, Setting & Themes Explained

Release, runtime and language
1947 · 110 mins · English
Directed by
Brock Williams
Starring
Diana Decker, Hubert Gregg, Hazel Court, Michael Rennie, Arthur Young, George Merritt

Jeckie Farnish, a sensible and steady young woman, contrasts sharply with her pampered younger sister Rushie. Both become entangled with the charming businessman Charles Mortimer, whose involvement sparks a tragic turn that fuels Rushie's craving for vengeance. Throughout the turmoil, Jeckie knows she can rely on the steadfast support of Joe Bartle whenever she needs help.

On this page (7)
  1. 1 Characters explained (6)
  2. 2 Where & when it takes place
  3. 3 Themes & meaning (4)
  4. 4 Character & meaning questions
  5. 5 Movie threads
  6. 6 Movies like The Root of All Evil
  7. 7 Every angle

6 main characters · contains spoilers

The Root of All Evil Characters Explained: Who Is Who

The main characters of The Root of All Evil (1947), heroes and villains: what drives them, how they change over the course of the story and what each of them reveals about the film's bigger ideas.

  • Jeckie Farnish (Phyllis Calvert)

    A determined and ruthless young woman who climbs from poverty to wealth by using others and gambling on oil riches. Her rapid ascent reveals a capacity for manipulation and a painful willingness to betray those closest to her. Over the course of the story she confronts the moral costs of her ambition and the emptiness that wealth cannot fill.

    • 💼 Ambitious
    • 🧠 Cunning
    • 💔 Romantic-ambition
  • Joe Bartle (John McCallum)

    Jeckie's childhood friend who remains steady and loyal despite her temperamental choices. He embodies steadfast honesty and patient affection, ultimately representing the kind of love that endures when wealth has faded. His steadfastness contrasts with Jeckie's changing fortunes.

    • 🤝 Loyal
    • 💪 Grounded
    • 🕊️ Compassionate
  • Albert Grice (Hubert Gregg)

    Wealthy grocer's son who becomes the object of Jeckie's ambitions. He embodies the lure of social ascent but is also a catalyst for the moral consequences that follow. His actions incite Jeckie's ruse and the ensuing fortunes.

    • 💼 Ambitious
    • 🏷️ Social climber
  • Charles Mortimer (Michael Rennie)

    The handsome opportunist who claims oil riches and manipulates Jeckie for financial backing. He embodies the double life of charm and deceit, ultimately revealing his true nature as a husband in disguise. His schemes catalyze the rise and fall of the oil venture.

    • 🕵️‍♂️ Deceptive
    • 🧭 Charismatic
  • Scholes (Moore Marriott)

    The elderly owner of the land who feels betrayed by the swindle and seeks revenge by destroying the refinery. His anger drives the central crisis, and his actions set the stage for the story's moral reckoning.

    • 🧭 Grudging
    • 🧱 Vengeful
  • Rushie Farnish (Hazel Court)

    Jeckie's ally in social climbing, whose involvement shows the social pressures on women pursuing wealth. Their relationship and competition highlight the risks of ruthless ambition.

    • 💃 Ambition
    • 🧭 Influence

Last updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:02

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Setting

Where and When Does The Root of All Evil Take Place?

The setting of The Root of All Evil (1947): the year and time period, the places and locations, and how they shape the characters, the mood and the tension of the story.

Time period

Location

Small English town, Grice Emporium, Edge of town refinery

The story unfolds in a compact English town where two rival groceries – Jeckie’s shop and the Grice emporium – vie for customers. The Grice family business dominates the center of town, while a gleaming refinery on the town’s edge signals wealth and industrial power. This setting creates a sharp social divide between poverty and prosperity, and frames the rapid rise and fall of fortunes.

  • 🏙️ Provincial setting
  • 🛒 Cutthroat grocery trade
  • 🏭 Oil refinery on town's edge

Last updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:02

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4 major themes

The Root of All Evil Meaning: Themes & Message Explained

What is The Root of All Evil (1947) really about? The emotional, social and philosophical themes the film keeps returning to, its symbolism and the message beneath the surface.

  • Greed

    Jeckie’s ascent begins with a payout from a breach of promise and a relentless pursuit of money. She leverages wealth to reshape the town’s commerce, undercutting rivals and expanding beyond a simple grocer. The narrative shows how monetary ambition corrodes relationships and ethics, driving the plot toward a reckoning.

  • Power and Class

    Wealth creates a new social order in this town, lifting Jeckie into a grand life while isolating old friends and cementing alliances with dubious partners. The oil venture intensifies class dynamics, turning money into influence and demonstrating how quickly status can change the town’s hierarchy.

  • Love and Loyalty

    Joe Bartle remains a stable, unjudging presence even as Jeckie pursues wealth and risk. His quiet steadfastness contrasts with Jeckie’s volatile ambition, illustrating that genuine care can outlast fortune. By the end, Jeckie recognises that Joe’s loyalty was what she truly needed all along.

  • Consequences and Redemption

    Scholes’s vengeful act ignites a catastrophic fire that destroys the oil operation, forcing a reckoning with the consequences of Jeckie’s ruthlessness. The blaze exposes the fragility of wealth and power, pushing Jeckie toward self-reflection. In the end, Joe’s forgiving, constant presence guides her toward a more humane understanding of success.

Last updated: October 04, 2025 at 17:02

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Character & theme questions

The Root of All Evil Characters & Meaning: Your Questions Answered

The questions people ask about The Root of All Evil (1947): who the characters really are, their relationships, what the symbols mean, where it takes place and what the movie is really about. Each answer contains spoilers.

Q1

Where is the movie set?

The story takes place in a small English town centered around two rival grocery businesses. The Grice Emporium dominates the town center as the established wealthy competitor, while an oil refinery on the town's edge represents industrial wealth and power. This setting creates a stark contrast between poverty and prosperity that shapes the characters' ambitions.

  • english town
  • setting
  • grocery shop
  • grice emporium
  • oil refinery
Q2

Who is Jeckie Farnish?

Jeckie Farnish is the determined protagonist who rises from poverty to wealth through ruthless ambition. Using money from a breach of promise payout and gambling on an oil venture, she manipulates others to climb the social ladder, ultimately betraying those closest to her. Her journey forces her to confront the moral costs of her ambition.

  • jeckie farnish
  • protagonist
  • ambition
  • greed
  • social climbing
Q3

Who is Joe Bartle?

Joe Bartle is Jeckie's childhood friend who remains loyal and steadfast throughout her volatile journey. He represents honest, patient love that endures despite her temperamental choices and changing fortunes. His constant presence ultimately proves more valuable than the wealth Jeckie pursues.

  • joe bartle
  • loyal
  • love
  • childhood friend
  • steadfast
Q4

Who is Charles Mortimer?

Charles Mortimer is the charming businessman who claims to have oil riches and manipulates Jeckie into financial backing. He embodies charm and deceit, revealed as a husband in disguise whose schemes drive the oil venture's rise and fall.

  • charles mortimer
  • businessman
  • deceiver
  • oil venture
  • manipulator
Q5

What is the Grice Emporium's role in the story?

The Grice Emporium is the dominant grocery business in the town center, owned by the wealthy Grice family. Albert Grice becomes the object of Jeckie's ambitions for social ascent. The rivalry between Jeckie's shop and the Grice emporium drives the cutthroat commerce that defines the town's social hierarchy.

  • grice emporium
  • albert grice
  • grocery
  • rival
  • business rivalry
Q6

What are the main themes of the movie?

The movie explores several interconnected themes: greed drives Jeckie's ascent and moral corruption; power and class dynamics shift as wealth transforms the social order; love and loyalty are embodied by Joe Bartle's steady presence; consequences and redemption emerge through the fire that destroys the oil operation, forcing Jeckie toward self-reflection.

  • themes
  • greed
  • power
  • class
  • love
  • loyalty
  • consequences
  • redemption
Q7

What does the greed theme represent?

Greed represents Jeckie's relentless pursuit of wealth that corrupts her relationships and ethics. Her ascent begins with a payout from a breach of promise, and she uses money to reshape the town's commerce, undercutting rivals. The narrative shows how monetary ambition drives the plot toward a moral reckoning.

  • greed
  • ambition
  • money
  • corruption
  • moral cost
Q8

How does the movie handle power and class?

Wealth creates a new social order in the town, lifting Jeckie into grand life while isolating old friends. The oil venture intensifies class dynamics, turning money into influence and demonstrating how quickly status can change the town's hierarchy. This theme highlights the fragility of social standing built on wealth alone.

  • power
  • class
  • social hierarchy
  • wealth
  • status
Q9

What does the love and loyalty theme convey?

Joe Bartle remains a stable, unjudging presence as Jeckie pursues wealth and risk. His quiet steadfastness contrasts with her volatile ambition, illustrating that genuine care outlasts fortune. By the end, Jeckie recognizes that Joe's loyalty was what she truly needed all along.

  • love
  • loyalty
  • joe bartle
  • steadfastness
  • genuine care
Q10

How does the movie address consequences and redemption?

Scholes's vengeful act ignites a fire that destroys the oil operation, forcing a reckoning with Jeckie's ruthlessness. The blaze exposes the fragility of wealth and power, pushing her toward self-reflection. Joe's forgiving, constant presence guides her toward a more humane understanding of success.

  • consequences
  • redemption
  • fire
  • arson
  • self-reflection
  • forgiveness
Q11

What social divide exists in the movie's setting?

The story contrasts the poverty of those running small shops against the prosperity of established businesses like the Grice Emporium and the wealthy oil refinery on the town's edge. This divide frames the rapid rise and fall of fortunes as characters compete for economic power and social status.

  • social divide
  • poverty
  • prosperity
  • class divide
  • economic power
Q12

Who is Rushie Farnish?

Rushie Farnish is Jeckie's younger sister, portrayed as pampered in contrast to Jeckie's sensible nature. She becomes Jeckie's ally in social climbing, and their relationship highlights the social pressures on women pursuing wealth. Her involvement with Charles Mortimer ultimately leads to tragic consequences that fuel her craving for vengeance.

  • rushie farnish
  • sister
  • social climbing
  • vengeance

Movie threads

More Movies Like The Root of All Evil, by Mood & Story

Curated lists built around what makes The Root of All Evil tick: the same mood, the same kind of story or the same emotional payoff. Each list explains why these movies belong together.

Bittersweet sagas of female ambition like The Root of All Evil

Stories of women ruthlessly climbing to success, only to find it hollow. Explore movies like The Root of All Evil that chart the rise and moral reckoning of ambitious women. These films share a melancholic tone, steady pacing, and bittersweet endings, focusing on the personal price of success in stories of business rivalry and class struggle.

  • ambitious
  • melancholic
  • regretful
  • dramatic
  • steadfast
  • reflective
  • Tone: melancholic, reflective
  • Pacing: steady, deliberate
Why these movies?

The story pattern: The narrative arc typically follows a clear, linear progression of a woman's ambitious climb from a lower station, often involving rivalry, betrayal, and moral compromise. The climax is not a triumphant victory but a quiet, reflective moment where the protagonist confronts the isolation and regret her ambition has created, leading to a bittersweet resolution.

Why they belong together: Movies are grouped here for their shared focus on a female protagonist's ambitious journey, their melancholic and reflective mood, and their ultimate delivery of a bittersweet conclusion that balances material loss with emotional insight.

Moral reckonings in steady dramas like The Root of All Evil

Character-driven stories where ambition and revenge lead to a quiet, personal reckoning. If you liked the steady, character-focused drama of The Root of All Evil, you'll find similar movies here. These films share a moderate complexity and emotional weight, using a deliberate pace to explore the consequences of ambition and revenge, leading to a poignant moral reckoning.

  • dramatic
  • reflective
  • regretful
  • steadfast
  • moral conflict
  • methodical
  • Tone: melancholic, dramatic
  • Pacing: steady, character-driven
Why these movies?

The story pattern: Stories in this thread are built around a central character flaw, such as unchecked ambition or a thirst for revenge, which drives the plot in a linear fashion. The pacing is steady, avoiding jarring shifts, to methodically chart the cause-and-effect of decisions. The primary tension comes from moral and emotional dilemmas, culminating in a climax where the protagonist faces the full emotional impact of their journey.

Why they belong together: These movies are connected by their steady, deliberate pacing, medium intensity, and focus on a protagonist's moral and emotional awakening. They share a similar narrative structure that prioritizes character development over plot twists, resulting in a resonant, bittersweet conclusion.

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Every angle

The Root of All Evil (1947) Explained: Plot, Timeline & Characters

Everything about The Root of All Evil in one place: what happens in the plot summary, the timeline in chronological order, the characters and meaning and a spoiler-free summary. What's After the Movie adds the cast, box office and post-credit scenes.

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