Daybreak (1949)

the audience applauded

Powerful

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

The acting in this movie is really good.

According to Quinlan this film was held back from release for 2 years because of problems with the censor.Since producers normally worked in co operation with the BBFC this does seem rather strange.Watching the film now and comparing it say with No Orchids For Miss Blandish it is difficult to understand what problems might have arisen.A more likely reason is the sheer grimness of this film.If it was made in 1945 it was hardly likely to appeal to an audience who had only recently been under attach from V2 weapons.So presumably the producers put it on the shelf waiting for a more appropriate moment to show.The film starts with Portman as the hangman approaching the cell of a condemned man and the mood goes down from there,if that is possible.The story is rather a mess and the pairing between Portman and Todd unlikely in the extreme.The ending is about as downbeat as you will ever find.Definitely not a film I would ever wish to see again!

The acting in this film noir is mostly wooden - Ann Todd apart. The best parts were probably left on the cutting room floor,courtesy of the censor. What's left is just the husk of a compelling story from Monckton Hoffe. The fight scene was atrocious and unconvincing, but the film is saved from itself because of the eeriness of the rain-soaked scenes, presumably shot at Hammersmith near the Riverside Studios. Shots of the Palais De Danse and the Rialto seem to give credence to this assertion. Bill Owen is his usual matter-of-fact self, and ends this sad story. The sound quality has suffered over the years - the opening music especially. All the criticism apart, the life on-board a barge and views of Gravesend riverfront before demolition to make way for soulless housing development are good reasons to buy the DVD (if you can find one)- and keep a strong drink handy for the ending. You have been warned.

This film is compelling for about the first third. British films could do naturalism so effortlessly then. I love the interiors - shabby rooms that still have (50-year-old) Victorian wallpaper, or fireplaces badly converted to ineffective gas fires. And the barber's shop with clients popping in and out and exchanging banter (the street it's in, though, is obviously a set with an omnipresent barrel-organ and someone always cycling carefully by). But then Ann and Eric go and live an idyllic, free, gypsy-like outdoor life on a Thames barge... There are some lovely shots of the riverbank with warehouses and cranes (now dull yuppie flats). The "living on a boat" fantasy was common in the late 40s/50s. Ann Todd as a happy wife seems to regress to childhood, skipping about wearing dungarees and flat shoes and being abominably cute. And the plot starts to roll... I rather like Maxwell Reed as a rule, even though he is wooden and 10 feet tall. But really, his Danish accent!

Eddie (Eric Portman) is a hangman, who makes a confession when he comes face to face with his final victim, Olaf, (Maxwell Reed). He tells the story of how he knows the victim to the Governor (Milton Rosmer). We learn of Eddie's double life - he uses an alias and has a share in a hairdresser business with Ron (Bill Owen). We follow the story as he inherits a fleet of barges and meets with Frankie (Ann Todd). They marry and settle down on a barge where Eddie hires Olaf as a workman...The cast are quite good despite some appalling accents. Eric Portman delivers a mish-mash of a southern/northern accent and God knows what planet Maxweel Reed thought Danish people come from! My favourite in the cast is actually Jane Hylton who has a small role as "Doris" the barmaid. It's a shame that more of a role wasn't given to her.With regards to the relationships between the characters, why didn't Eddie and Frankie just come clean with each other? He doesn't tell her of his role as a hangman and she doesn't mention anything to him about her fear of Olaf. This leads us to believe that maybe she had a previous job as a prostitute and maybe she loves it. She certainly has an independent streak as we see this on her first meeting with Eddie. I also felt that Eddie is too old for Frankie and his marriage proposal to Frankie and her acceptance after their 3rd meeting is laughable. The film has a very downbeat ending and my girlfriend cried - not because of any affiliation to any particular character but purely because of the film's atmosphere. It's bleak.