Factory girls Fanny Hawthorne and Marcy Hollins decide to take their vacation at Blackpool - Britain's version of Coney Island. There, Fanny meets Allan, the wealthy son of factory owner Nathaniel Jeffcoate. The two impetuously ditch Marcy to spend some time alone. When her family discovers what has occurred, they confront Nathaniel, who forces his son to propose marriage to the girl. Fanny's decision shocks everyone...

In filming the popular stage play, director Maurice Elvey decided to provide a complete back-story. In doing so, he liberated the film from the conventions of the theater. The scenes shot in the streets and mills of Lancashire have an astonishing documentary realism, while the incredible moving camera shots in Blackpool are as good as any in cinema history. The viewer seems to fly in and around the seaside resort's famed rides - plunging down the Big Dipper and climbing the heights of the Tower.

When Stanley Houghton's play opened in 1912, a near riot broke out in London. Famed anarchist Emma Goldman proclaimed it as one of the most important advancements in liberating women from society's sexual double standards. Even today, Fanny's final decision - a choice that ripped apart the conventional morals of Edwardian society - astonishes audiences with its pure courage. For many, HINDLE WAKES is England's equivalent to Ibsen's A Doll's House (1922).