The Halfway House (1944) User Reviews

The end or the beginning?

[hitchcockthelegend · 8/10 · 26 August 2008]

Britain, World War II.

A symphony conductor who has a few months to live.

A war profiteer.

A husband and wife coming to the end of their marriage, their daughter desperate to keep them together.

An elderly couple conflicted over the death of their son in the line of duty.

All of them wind up together at the Halfway House, a beautiful, yet strange Welsh country inn. Their hosts are Rhys and Gwyneth, the place appears to be stuck in a time warp, all the visitors here are here for a reason, a reason that will changed all their respective lives for ever.

Based on the Denis Ogden play, The Halfway House is brought to us from the wonderful Ealing Studios, it is, all things considered, an under seen gem from that particular Studio. There really is no great surprises as regards how the film unfolds, the makers, by way of Mervyn Johns first appearance, are not trying to bluff the viewer in any way, this is a halfway house after all. What drives the picture on is the unflinching stubbornness of the characters, despite the overwhelming evidence available to them, they all refuse to accept the mysterious hammer hitting them over the head. This makes the film a highly enjoyable piece, the mixture of comedy and mystery going hand in hand with it's fantasy led core, come the final reel the viewers should be in a state of warmth because in my honest opinion the film has undoubtedly done its job.

It's one of those films that wouldn't be out of place on Rod Serling's Twilight Zone show that aired some 15 years later, so enjoy the fantasy and the mystery unfolding, The Halfway House is a lovely little picture. 8/10

Ealing with feeling.

[BA_Harrison · 7/10 · 18 April 2019]

Ealing Studio's The Halfway House is a heartwarming supernatural wartime parable intended to raise morale in its blitzed British audience with the message that, despite such troubled times, the United Kingdom shall prevail, whilst at the same time lifting the spirits of the bereaved by suggesting that death isn't the end. There's also time to bash those who remain neutral during wartime or who try to profit from the conflict.

These messages are hammered home rather heavily, but do not stop the movie from being an enjoyable time; if anything, the film's status as wartime propaganda only makes it more interesting. Of course, a cracking cast doesn't hurt, and this one's got great performances to spare: Mervyn Johns plays Rhys, the ghostly landlord of the titular inn, and his real-life daughter Glynis plays his on-screen daughter Gwyneth (whose husky Welsh lilt is particularly appealing). Support is given by a range of reliable character actors, including Tom Walls and Françoise Rosay as a couple who are struggling with the loss of their son, Esmond Knight as terminally ill conductor David Davies, Guy Middleton and Alfred Drayton as a couple of racketeers, and Valerie White and Richard Bird as an estranged couple whose daughter (played by a young and very plummy Sally Ann Howes ) tries to get her parents back together.

Before the halfway mark of The Halfway House, I had guessed that the visitors to the inn were dead (victims of an air raid), but I was wrong, and glad to be so. Instead of taking this trite route, the film treads another path, with a Twilight Zone-style time twister plot and an ending that sees each person finding redemption and leaving with hope in their hearts. It's the kind of feel-good finalé that makes the film ideal for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for lovely Glynis.

Well worth a visit

[Spondonman · 8/10 · 1 March 2015]

This was the first Ealing film I saw, knowing it was an Ealing film, because it was shown as part of a long Ealing film series on UK BBC2 from May 1977. I thoroughly enjoyed it, although then at 18 years old the wartime propaganda element of it paradoxically irritated much more than it does forty years later. Is it blood running cooler or a more resigned luxury of perspective in operation? I feel I have to repeatedly point out with British films made in wartime that present day allowances must be made: if the people in this movie had lost the war they were fighting I wouldn't be here writing this nor you reading it. But if the people who made the film could come back would they think their efforts then were worthwhile is another matter though… Every week during that TV series my admiration and awe grew until I realised that British cinema would never again match the art and craft displayed by Ealing at their peak in the '40's and '50's; and by now I've watched some of their classics over a dozen times. However I find that I've seen The Halfway House for only the fourth time - maybe it was meant to be revisited only once in a while, like the ghostly inn itself.

A group of relatively unhappy temporal travellers find themselves drawn to and ensconced in a weird country inn in Wales complete with an unsettling landlord and his daughter who cast no shadows but end up casting large ones over the guests (and us), and for their own good. They were all fighting their own battles and problems but I admit! the biggest problem was that mine host Mervyn Johns was so firmly robotic in his anti-Nazi propaganda and posturing that his imperiousness ultimately became unconvincing and tiresome. It's a very gentle ghost story but at least it wasn't a musical like Brigadoon. Rather moralistic too and there's an array of familiar faces in here to back it all up: Tom Walls, more taciturn now; Alfred Drayton, Joss Ambler and rakish Guy Middleton, all as sharp as ever; Esmond Knight, in rural Wales one year before he memorably played a village idiot and a psycho in rural England; Sally Ann Howes, so posh you realise what today's inclusive society has lost or gained depending on your own prejudices. Sure that's not Wylie Watson playing one of the Welsh porters? There's plenty of beautiful atmospheric photography amid some lovely country and excellent sets. Favourite bits: Johns in a remarkably underplayed scene of mirror-trickery and his daughter Glynnis – like Peter Pan, in a clever for the time scene of shadow-trickery; the extended dinner conversation.

There's a few trite moments mainly involving the belief in the afterlife and the acting is rather stagey at the best of times but all in all it's still great escapist entertainment, which has imho er withstood the test of Time. And to hopefully echo back to the cast Glynnis's gentle farewell: good night to you all, see you in the morning.

Father & Daughter Shine

[howardmorley · 7/10 · 17 July 2015]

Mervyn Johns and his real life daughter Glynnis shine in this ghostly 1944 film and I disagree with most of the negative comments from other users above.Consequently I have rated this film 7/10.The other users seem to have either forgotten or misunderstood the average conditions that Britons were living under then and indeed up to 1955 when food rationing was abolished in the UK.

London Live TV station here in the UK is currently running a festival of Ealing films Mon-Sat starting @ 2p.m. which gives a chance for this slightly younger viewer (born in 1946), the chance to see their less frequently aired films.I notice they do tend to repeat these films so people who miss the original showing can catch up with it.This was my first viewing 17/7/15 and me and my wife (born 1947) enjoyed it immensely.I take on board the criticism of rather preachy dialogue about redemption but Britain dare I say was a more formally religious country then.Atonement for past misdemeanours was understandable with the population facing unexpected death from the V1 & V2s.

A taste of the past with lovely camera work

[happychick-52014 · 6/10 · 3 March 2017]

Surprisingly good camera work and color balance for a drama filmed in 1944. Even the out-of-doors scenes are crisp and the light is well balanced.

A group of strangers check-into an inn, each have their own emotional problems. The plot is interesting enough to hold the audiences attention, although a little slow moving in parts. The acting was very solid.

This is a very time-period relevant film. It really accurately reflects the attitudes, values and behaviors of middle class wartime Britain. A little slice of the Welsh countryside during war years.

Ship not sheep

[AAdaSC · 7/10 · 3 October 2009]

A random group of characters go to the Halfway House in Wales to get away from the pressures of their daily lives. The innkeeper Mervyn Johns (Rhys) and his daughter Glynis Johns (Gwyneth) are on hand to greet the guests and give them advice. However, they don't seem to have reflections, they don't have shadows and they are living 1 year in the past - the calendar, the newspapers and radio broadcasts are out of date and the guest book hasn't been signed for a year. Who are the mysterious owners and what fate awaits the guests....?

The acting from some of the cast seems a bit stiff at times but the film keeps you watching. I like the more touching scenes, for instance, when Glynis Johns talks to the conductor Esmond Knight (David Davies) in the kitchen and tells him to come over to her "side", and the moment when they agree to see each other the next morning, knowing the fate of the inn. Captain Tom Walls (Harry Meadows) also has an impressive character transformation through the course of the film. It is a film with a mixture of strange incidents and it has, I think, an ambiguous ending. After several views, I think I get what happens…."Yea though I walk through the valley of death..........."

Importance of spiritualism in war time

[damiller85 · 7/10 · 20 May 2016]

I guess most reviewers are too young to remember the mind set of people at home during war. This film IMO reflects a very present concern of many people in coming to terms with grief. Spiritualism had always been important from the mid 19th century with a falling off towards the end of the century. But with a major resurgence in 1914 and WW1. The young men of whole communities in England died because of recruiting ploys like the "Pals Brigades". With this in mind, the central theme of this 1944 film (fifth year of WW2 for England) will have struck chords with many in the audience. Only 20 years separated the two WWs - not long enough to forget.

Spiritualism was never in "conflict" with science. Many 19th C. scientists studied spiritualism with the same avidity as electricity or radio waves. A couple of years ago, I went along with a friend to a spiritualist meeting in an English provincial town. I was surprised by some of what I saw and heard but most striking was the attempt by the spiritualist to give comfort to the people there. A comfort that was gratefully received.

I am not advocating spiritualism just as I would not advocate the use of placebos to the exclusion of doctors. But I have lived long enough in many countries and cultures to have experienced some pretty strange things. Keeping open a little window of uncertainty and doubt in a PC world where many know all the answers.

This tongue-in-cheek film is interesting from a number of aspects. The spiv (still reviled in my youth in England), the war-split couple, the lost child, the spiritualist seeking solace... They may seem quaint today but will have struck chords with many in the audience which is what cinema is all about.

Even the RAF father of one of the reviewers may have been unhappy with the film because it did not delve deeply enough into what was an everyday reality for him and his colleagues. Death for him was just around the corner, very real, and no theatrical imitation could possibly approach that reality.

This film taught me a few things and reinforced other things about what it was like for my parents generation.

A truly lovely film

[paddymurphy-38833 · 9/10 · 14 November 2017]

I can't understand how anyone could fail to love this film. It is touching not least because it was made while the war was still on, even if by 1944 the outcome was beyond doubt. There was a special magic in knowing that the innkeeper and his daughter were actually played by a real life father and daughter.

Yes, it is shameless propaganda and pulling at the heartstrings - but isn't that forgivable during the worst war ever fought?

SPOILER ALERT I only wish that people from the past would get in touch with me and let me know what the present situation is.

I'm a sucker for these early Ealing films

[patherwill · 7/10 · 17 March 2022]

I've seen this film several times since the early '60s and I liked the story and plot which was really different to most other Ealing films I have seen. Loosely based on an unsuccessful play, it gained its idea from a somewhat odd incident when a single bomb fell on an inn in what was then a small Welsh village. The inn was destroyed but nothing else was by way of property, the 'bomb' was not dropped as a result of known enemy aircraft and absolutely NO OTHER bombs were dropped in the area, ever and it was never established definitively from where the bomb came. It's set in a beautiful area and I don't pretend to know how things were in the 1940s but as far as the unspoilt countryside, single lane roads and lanes, low human count, it could have been the '50s. The Inn concerned cannot initially be seen by one regular visitor played by Guy Middleton accompanied by a friend, then when he DOES see it in the distance lying low down in a vale, they share a cycle and when they arrive are greeted welcomly. Then more 'guests' arrive, a couple at the point of ending their marriage, another older couple who have lost their son during the War she being into the Spirit World. Other people make up the numbers and the whole film has an air of strangeness and mystery about it. The publican is played by Mervyn Johns (Went the Day Well) and his real life daughter Glynis is in the part of his daughter in the film. Valerie White (Hue and Cry) also stars. I tried to "locate" the Inn or site of it on Google Maps from limited info but unfortunately was unable to.

Good story but atrocious acting and badly directed (a review from 1944)

[louise-123 · 4/10 · 8 March 2011]

This review was written by my Grandad in 1944 in a letter sent to my Grandmother whilst he was serving at the RAF camp at Woodbridge...

Tonight I've just seen another picture here in camp... It was "Half Way House" and was about a lonely Welsh inn to which a number of people are fated to find their way. The hosts a charming young Welsh couple are really ghosts and the inn too was ghostly for it had been bombed and burnt out a year before, though no signs are visible and the only strange thing is that the young couple have no shadows. These two help the other people to sort out their lives and the final scenes show the inn being bombed again just as it had been a year before.

The acting in this picture was atrocious, the worst I've seen for years, and it was in my opinion badly directed for it could have been an outstanding picture.

House of the Dead....it isn't just a video game!

[planktonrules · 8/10 · 25 February 2017]

"The Halfway House" is one of the strangest films from the 1940s I can recall having seen. This is not a bad thing, as it abounds with originality and is well worth seeing.

The story is set during WWII and the film consists of many stories and characters who all share one thing in common...they all have gone to the same quaint Welsh inn to take their vacations. But most of these people are carrying burdens of one sort or another...such as broken marriages, sons killed in the war, ill health and much more. What none of them realize for some time is that this house is somehow back in time...and it's somehow a year earlier! Why and what all this means, you'll just have to see for yourself.

The film has exceptional writing and very nice acting. Stick with it, as it does start slowly and a few of the characters are at first rather annoying.

The Halfway House

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 10 November 2022]

When a group of weary travellers arrive at a rural inn, they immediately feel that something is amiss. It's run by "Rhys" (Mervyn Johns) and his (real life) daughter "Gwyneth" (Glynis Johns) who somewhat curiously never casts a shadow. The whole place looks like it's been stuck in a time-warp as the storm rages outside. Now, as the story develops we discover that each of the guests have their own skeletons in their closets, but the hostelry in which they shelter seems to be possessed with a sort of benevolence that manifests itself in different ways to help (nor not!). Made during the latter stages of the Second World War the story offers us a degree of poignant retrospective, paralleling some of the tales with the trauma many will have experienced during that conflict. It also features a charming and entertaining degree of chemistry between the father and daughter too. The individual stories themselves are maybe a bit too undercooked, but it has a decent cast of familiar British faces - Tom Walls and Esmond Knight amongst them - to deliver them solidly enough, and to help create a mysterious and poignant atmosphere for this quirky ninety minutes of wartime optimism.

Halfway Decent

[Jeremy_Urquhart · 5/10 · 6 October 2023]

One of the stars of this, Glynis Johns, just turned 100. I believe she's also the oldest actor/actress to have an Oscar nomination (her best-known role is probably that of the mother in Mary Poppins). I think Eva Marie Saint is the oldest Oscar-winning actor or actress, at 99.

That centennial and the fact that The Halfway House had an interesting premise made me want to check it out. If anything, it sounded a bit like The Hateful Eight on paper, just not violent and not a western, given this follows a bunch of strangers who all end up at an inn where everyone feels uneasy.

There's not a great deal beyond the premise. I feel like it was all a bit limited and underwritten, with intriguing ideas and an ambitious premise, but not much beyond that to make it great. You can get some enjoyment out of the acting, and when it gets a little more fantastical or mysterious, it can feel like it's going somewhere... but it never really takes off, and might just be too restrained.

Anyway, compared to some of the horror movies I've been watching lately, at least this was watchable. Maybe not good exactly, but watchable. It's an old, dry British film, but it's still kind of cool that one of its stars is still living.

Last Year in South Wales

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 18 December 2022]

Basil Dearden's second solo feature for Ealing Studios owes a lot to 'Outward Bound' and anticipates 'The Amazing Mr Blunden'. It was the first of three fantasies the studio made just before war's end and probably the only film the studio ever made to feature a seance.

Unusual in that the spirit world manifests itself by radio, as a curtain raiser to 'Dead of Night' Mervyn Johns this time plays one of the spooks (uniquely paired with his daughter Glynis - the latter probably the only cast member still alive - as father and daughter). Also from the later film is Sally Anne Howes as an engaging scamp who doesn't cast a shadow and declares "Daddy, if I die of pneumonia I want my stamp collection to go to Mummy and Daddy".

An exercise in liminality

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 8 January 2019]

THE HALFWAY HOUSE is another spooky drama from Ealing Studios; anyone who enjoyed their sublime anthology DEAD OF NIGHT will be sure to like this one too. The slow-pased story involves a bunch of characters who through various twists of fate come to stay at the titular location, a country inn hosted by the excellent Mervyn Johns as the nervy proprietor. His real-life daughter Glynis is around too. After the usual camaraderie the characters begin to notice odd things about the location, although the plot twist will be very obvious from the outset for any modern viewers. Still, this is well acted and well directed, exploring wartime nihilism, nostalgia, and liminality in a fresh and moving way.

Not timeless

[Igenlode Wordsmith · 6/10 · 26 August 2010]

The concept sounds interesting and I wanted to like this film; but in practice it didn't really draw me in.

It's more or less a portmanteau picture, where multiple separate stories are presented under an umbrella device (in this case, travellers all staying at the same inn), but it doesn't work so well as, for example, "Dead of Night", which Ealing was to bring out a couple of years later. All the characters end up getting rather cursory treatment, possibly due to lack of screen time; my instinctive reaction was that the various guests don't really interact with each other, but I'm not sure this is strictly true. Still, I feel that the only case where the ensemble really has an effect on the outcome is in the case of the sea captain and his wife, where it is precisely the interaction with strangers that is significant in tipping the balance...

Special effects are, unfortunately, rather clumsy. This really wouldn't matter if they hadn't been gratuitously introduced in the first place: if the script hadn't made such a to-do over characters 'not casting a shadow', I wouldn't have found myself noticing all the subsequent occasions in which they most undoubtedly do so, not to mention the fact that a shadow is, alas, clearly visible beneath the girl's feet in the very scene in question. Likewise back-projection on the close-ups would be less noticeable if the long shots of the same scene hadn't shown that the characters actually were present on location at the time... Technical facilities during wartime were, obviously, limited and this sort of thing wouldn't matter if the film itself had been more absorbing; but sadly it evidently wasn't.

The innkeeper and his daughter are presented as unwarrantedly saintly by virtue of being dead; they are clearly supposed to have a direct line to The Truth, and everything they say is to be taken as gospel. It did come across as a bit heavy-handed, and a lot of the film suffers from this same preachy atmosphere: it's almost a Ministry of Information production lecturing on how the populace should handle Problems of Wartime. Sally Ann Howes has a "Parent-Trap" role which is generally directed to provide comic relief, though she has a couple of effectively-played moments as the little girl out of her depth in the middle of divorce; Esmond Knight, as the only man with prior knowledge of the inn's fate, has little to do but play the piano in the background.

(I did find this character's Acceptance of Fate particularly baffling; he is informed at the outset that he has only a few months to live if, and only if, he continues sacrificing his health to his work, and that otherwise he may live on for years. He arrives at the Halfway House with the specific intention of taking a rest, thus presumably having taken the doctor's warning to heart. And yet his final outcome is to accept imminent death -- a death that will surely only occur if he persists in his self-destructive conducting schedule? David Davies is no R.J.Mitchell, nor even a Vicky Lester -- driving himself to death will not save Britain, or even create irreplaceable art. So why does the film lecture us that he needs to contribute to his own demise, rather than simply slow down a little and save his talent for future performances?)

"The Halfway House" does contain some lovely landscape photography of Wales, and there are some charming and effective scenes. But I wouldn't honestly bother recommending it to anyone as a long-lost Ealing gem, and -- ironically for a picture whose plot revolves around an inn suspended in time since its destruction -- it doesn't possess that timeless quality that enables the best of British films to go on entertaining long after their intended audience has passed.

We'll Keep A Welcome

[writers_reign · 6/10 · 24 April 2010]

I had high hopes for this once I discovered that it existed and was available to view at the newly-named Southbank Centre. In the event I was disappointed in the extreme. The acting in the main veers from Balsa wood to out-and-out mahogany and you can see what's coming from the first reel. Speaking of first reels this one seems very clumsy in its exposition - basically we're in Ten Little Indians territory i.e. we need to establish several assorted people converging on a specific location - telegraphing its intention with banner captions - Cardiff, The West End, etc - then going into seemingly endless 'business' to explain exactly who everyone is and why they are particularly unhappy and in need of the kind of R&R that can only be provided by an inn (shades of The Enchanted Cottage) that no longer exists. Father and daughter Mervyn and Glynis Johns are the hosts and apart from them the only half-decent acting comes from Francoise Rosay. Arguable novelty appeal.

A sweet little ghost story.

[silvrdal · 8/10 · 20 April 2007]

Never having been a fan of the concept of the dead returning to advise the living, I was none-the-less pleased with this charming film. The tragedies that occur during war-time can often be treated as 'due course' by most of us, but we are not usually those who have suffered a loss. Like many stories involving benevolent ghosts or angels, the supernatural beings are metaphors for the hand of God in the lives of the living, seeking to influence them along a better path than that which they currently pursue.

'Halfway House' is a kind-hearted, quirky little film, with talented character performances. Sally Ann Howes, the gifted musical actress, plays an early role as the daughter of an estranged couple heading for divorce. Her performance was amusing and poignant, as she tries to think of ways to get her parents back together. Françoise Rosay's character desperately attempts spiritualism, trying to contact her only son who has died in the war. They, and the other guests at a ghostly Welsh inn, seem to take a somewhat 'oh, well, so that's it' attitude toward their dearly-departed innkeepers, which makes the film that much more appealing. 'Halfway House' is exactly what it was intended to be, a comfort and a lesson.

Halfway through and I was feeling little bored

[Stevieboy666 · 6/10 · 1 September 2023]

Set in 1943 "The Halfway House" is a tale of a group of various travellers who stay at an old inn located in rural mid-Wales (though actually filmed on Exmoor in south-west England). Contrary to some guides they are not there seeking shelter from a storm. The inn is run by Rhys and his daughter Gwyneth (played by real life father and daughter Mervyn and Glynis Johns), who turn out to be a pair of friendly and wise ghosts. It is observed by one guest that Gwyneth casts no shadow in the sun, however the film makers failed to hide her shadow when inside! The cast has an engaging variety of characters and the acting is quite good. Made by Ealing Studios, who a year later produced the classic horror "Dead of Night", also starring Merv Johns, this is a good example of their work, an interesting drama with a touch of the supernatural. My only problem with it however is that it is very talky and took some time to get down to the nitty-gritty, however the last half hour is worth waiting for.

Nothing like it

[Glenrd · 9/10 · 21 January 2020]

Very imaginative plot, good acting and photography, typical wartime mature subject life and death British quality.

Not half bad.

[adamjohns-42575 · 6/10 · 28 March 2023]

The Halfway House (1944) -

The story of this film was quite odd in the way that the writer must have had an extraordinary mind to even think about it. Somewhat based on a true incident, in which a Welsh Inn, a father and his daughter were the only victims of an off course bomber in World War II and of any bomb in that area at all, it brings together a group of misfits and worn out people who all have issues in their own lives to resolve.

It did take a long time to get down to the crux of it all and it seemed to show the people of Wales as a bit backwards, but that aside it was clever and somewhat sad, but also very poignant.

There were hints of 'The Parent Trap' (1961/98) and a book about an Inn that I can't quite recall, but along the lines of Charles Dickens or Edgar Allen Poe, but obviously more up to date, almost a century after many of their works. It wasn't as spooky as Poe, but it certainly had a supernatural mystery to it.

None of the cast stood out as exemplary, they all just did their jobs well and sometimes that's all that's needed.

Overall it was a very charming little film that would be pleasant to watch on a summers afternoon with a nice cup of tea and it stands to commemorate that odd occurrence and the father and daughter who died inexplicably during WWII.

569.41/1000.

A virtually unknown little gem.

[MOscarbradley · 9/10 · 26 March 2023]

This virtually unknown little gem was recently picked by my friend Alex Ramon as one of his ten best films in the 2022 Sight and Sound poll of the greatest films ever made. While I wouldn't go that far it's certainly extraordinary and hopefully, thanks to Alex, a film well worth discovering.

"The Halfway House" of the title is a place not dissimilar in cinema to many other houses in which a group of people find themselves trapped, metaphorically or literally, in what we might describe as a loose genre that stretches from "The Old Dark House" through "Dr. Terror's House of Horrors" all the way to some of the home invasion movies of today.

Set during the closing years of the Second World War, the people here are a sundry bunch who arrive at an Inn in the Welsh countryside but it's an Inn that really shouldn't exist, having been destroyed by a bomb the previous year. Their hosts are Mervyn Johns, (always good in a ghost story, for indeed this is what it is), and his real-life daughter Glynis Johns, and all of them have problems that need sorting out.

It's clear from quite early on that this will indeed be a ghost story of sorts. It's also an Ealing comedy and a piece of wartime propaganda, (Ireland's neutrality and possible 'friendship' with Germany is touched on and how many war films of the period would think of that angle). You might even say it's an anti-war film since the futility of war is also a theme.

Very loosely adapted by Angus MacPhail and Diana Morgan from the play "The Peaceful Inn" by Denis Ogden it's also beautifully acted by its ensemble cast with Francoise Rosay, Esmond Knight, Alfred Drayton and Tom Walls the standouts. Basil Dearden was the director though Alberto Cavalcanti also had his hand in it and it's not only one of Dearden's most neglected films but also one of his best. Perhaps not top ten material, then, but one for the ages nevertheless.

I always want to like this film more than I do

[lucyrf · 8/10 · 19 April 2019]

...which is about as paradoxical as its plot. I love black and white wartime propaganda films with women in shoulderpads, so there's that in its favour. The war looms large, and the "lifeboat" cast take in much of the British Isles - and France. Meanwhile the Americans were making moves about that squad that contains O'Malley, MacTavish, Kowalski and Goldstein.

Yes, it's not just England fighting this war - the Welsh may be bombed and fired on too, even deep in the country. Also present is an Irishman working for his government, who is about to be posted to Berlin.

The opening is very effective, with the characters arriving in twos and threes, walking along a lonely, sunny country road carrying suitcases. They already seem in another world.

Sally Ann may talk posh, but she is very effective as the daughter of the estranged couple. How does she sob so convincingly? She's great in Dead of Night, too. Tom Walls and Francoise Rosay are affecting as the couple who have lost a son and fall out over spiritualism.

I like the two spivs and hope Major Fortescue will rejoin the army as a private and do his bit. Not sure about salvation for the main spiv, who has a certain charm. The scene where his character is established - doing dodgy deals in a hotel bar - is very funny.

But I find the saintliness of the revenants annoying, and their accents irritating. Silly, I know, as they were genuinely Welsh. Is there something patronising about the way they are presented as quaint? And why is Glynis/Gwyneth wearing an ill-fitting New Look dress in the middle of the war?

So glad this was made...

[ouzman-1 · 10/10 · 28 May 2020]

It's a film you don't watch on your own.

This is a wartime melodrama with a twist. I like that you can watch different actors in their prime or note some rising talent.

Of course this can't stand up against some finer acting. This was a stage production transferred to film. So what? Well the "drowning' scene is awful - otherwise just enjoy and share with friends and be prepared to be afraid.

This very much has some "sixth sense" appeal.

The Halfway Old Dark House.

[morrison-dylan-fan · 10/10 · 15 January 2022]

Despite having found The Night My Number Came Up (1955-also reviewed) to be wonderfully creepy, I've never got round to looking at the other supernatural class slices from Ealing.

Aware of the title since Edgar Wright shared Martin Scorsese's list of the 50 British films that inspired him, I was happy to see it appear on Talking Pictures free online catch-up service, leading to me visiting a house halfway.

View on the film:

Making her English language debut after doing incredible work with her husband Jacques Feyder on titles such as Le Grand Jeu, (1934-also reviewed) Francoise Rosay gives a haunted performance as Alice, whose sorrow over the death of her son, is carried by Rosay across Alice's agonized face, as Tom Walls plays Alice's husband becoming increasingly downcast and abrasive, with each attempt made by his wife to speak to their son from beyond.

Greeting all the guests arriving at their new house, Glynis Johns gives a finely balanced turn as Gwyneth, which walks between a youthful innocence and an enticing, ghostly presence.

Looking to the grounds outside the family house where his daughter Gwyneth is playing, Mervyn Johns gives a marvelous performance as Rhys, with Johns delivering the dialogue with a real relish as he shakes everyone's hand, that are released with Johns holding Rhys with nervous, concerned body language when major revelations begin to land in the household.

Halfway between life and death, the screenplay by regular Ealing collaborators Angus MacPhail,Diana Morgan, Roland Pertwee and T. E. B. Clarke welcome all the guests to the old dark house, (or in this case,inn) and thoughtfully adapt Denis Ogden's original play with a supernatural twist, which instead of going for ghostly Horror chills, instead leans more towards the reflective, as all the guests open up about the losses they have suffered during the war.

Dropping a time loop twist into the middle of the inn, the writers brilliantly loop it into their warm character drawings, who along with taking digs at those profiting from arming the other side and the position Ireland took during the war, also find in their shared grief a bond which helps them to find light in their darkest hour.

Taking a casual approach to revealing the ghosts, director Basil Dearden (and un-credited co-director Alberto Cavalcanti & Stage Fright (1950-also reviewed) cinematographer Wilkie Cooper record the spirits making no shadows under wide-shots of a burning hot sun, which melt into beautiful dissolves, face match-cuts and refine long panning shots down the corridors of the halfway house.