The Halfway House (1944)

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

Denis Ogden (play)
Angus MacPhail (writer) ...

Release Date:

February 1944 (UK)

Genre:

Drama | Fantasy | Mystery

Plot:

A group of travellers, all with something to hide in their past, take shelter from a storm in an old inn. The inn-keeper seems a little mysterious...

Plot Keywords:

Ealing | Ghost | Based On Play

Cast

Mervyn Johns	...	Rhys
Glynis Johns	...	Gwyneth
Sally Ann Howes	...	Joanna French
Richard Bird	...	Richard French
Valerie White	...	Jill French
Françoise Rosay	...	Alice Meadows
Tom Walls	...	Captain Harry Meadows
Guy Middleton	...	Captain Fortescue
Alfred Drayton	...	William Oakley
Esmond Knight	...	David Davies
Philippa Hiatt	...	Margaret
Pat McGrath	...	Terence
John Boxer	...	John, Davies' doctor
Roland Pertwee	...	Prison governor
Eliot Makeham	...	George, Davies' valet

Also Known As:

Halfway House
The Half-Way House (USA) (alternative spelling)

Runtime:

95 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Barlynch Farm/St Nicholas' Priory, Barlynch, Dulverton, Somerset, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

The end or the beginning?

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