It Always Rains on Sunday
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| It Always Rains on Sunday | |
|---|---|
| Directed by | Robert Hamer |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Written by | Angus MacPhail, Robert Hamer and Henry Cornelius (from the novel by Arthur La Bern) |
| Starring | Googie Withers Edward Chapman Susan Shaw |
| Music by | Georges Auric |
| Cinematography | Douglas Slocombe |
| Editing by | Michael Truman |
| Distributed by | Ealing Studios |
| Release date(s) |  25 November 1947 13 February 1949 |
| Running time | UK: 92 min |
| Language | English |
| IMDb profile | |
It Always Rains on Sunday is a 1947 film adaptation of the eponymous novel by Arthur La Bern, adapted and directed by Robert Hamer. In its gritty, unsentimental depiction of everyday life in post-war Britain, and in its exploration of the tedium, frustration and desperation wrought by grinding poverty, the film is a notable precursor to the "kitchen sink" dramas that would become fashionable over a decade later.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
The film concerns events one Sunday, (23 March 1947 if the calendars in the film are to be believed), in Bethnal Green, a part of the East End of London that is still suffering the effects of bombing and post-war deprivation.
Rose Sandigate (Googie Withers) is a former barmaid married to a middle-aged man (Edward Chapman) who has two teenage daughters from a previous marriage. She is a bossy, strident Bethnal Green housewife, coping with the difficulties of rationing, near-slum housing and a drab, joyless environment. A former lover (John McCallum, Withers' real life husband), who was jailed years earlier for robbery with violence, escapes from prison and turns up at her door asking her to hide him until the heat is off. Rose initially refuses outright but, clearly still in love with him, her normal toughness dissolves and he persuades her to let him hide in the family's air raid shelter.
However, it proves extremely difficult to keep the presence of the surprise guest a secret in such a busy, bustling household - particularly with her former lover intent on seducing her. It is Sunday morning and the lunch must be cooked, the girls admonished for their misdemeanours of the previous night and the husband packed off to the pub out of the way. The strain is intolerable and as the day progresses, the police net closes, after a nosey newspaper reporter guesses where the man is hiding. By nightfall her secret is out and a panic-stricken Rose tries to kill herself, while the prisoner once again flees, only to be cornered in railway sidings and arrested by the detective inspector (Jack Warner) who has been patiently tracking him[1].
[edit] Cast
|
|
