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Waterloo Road
1945 Drama / Romance / War
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Credits
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Director: Sidney Gilliat
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Script: Sidney Gilliat
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Photo: Arthur Crabtree, Phil Grindrod
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Cast: John Mills (Jim Colter),
Stewart Granger (Ted Purvis),
Alastair Sim (Dr. Montgomery),
Joy Shelton (Tillie Colter),
Alison Leggatt (Ruby),
Beatrice Varley (Mrs. Colter),
George Carney (Tom Mason),
Leslie Bradley (Mike Duggan),
Jean Kent (Toni),
Ben Williams (Cpl Lewis),
Anna Konstam (May),
Vera Frances (Vera Colter),
Wylie Watson (Tattooist)
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Country: UK
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Language: English
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Runtime: 73 min; B&W
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Summary
London, 1940. Not long after his marriage to Tillie, Jim Colter is
enlisted in the fight against Nazi Germany. Whilst Jim is away,
Tillie falls under the spell of Ted Purvis, a womanising spiv who
managed to evade being called up. As soon as he hears of his
wife’s infidelity, Jim deserts from the army and returns to
London...
Review
Waterloo Road was the third
in a loose trilogy of low key wartime films directed by Sidney Gilliat
and produced by Edward Black for Gainsborough Pictures. It
followed Millions Like Us
(1944) and Two Thousand Women
(1944). Gilliat would go on to achieve greater success through
his partnership with Frank Launder, with such films as The Rake's Progress (1945), The Story of Gilbert and Sullivan (1953)
and The Belles of St. Trinian's
(1954).
As well as being a poignant, well-scripted melodrama, convincingly
played by John Mills and Stewart Granger, the film offers a realistic
picture of how life was in London at the time of the Blitz. What
is perhaps most surprising for anyone watching the film today is how
unperturbed everyone in the film is by the wartime drama they are
living through. The mood of quite resignation and acceptance of
the daily reality of air raid sirens and bombings is hard to comprehend
and provides an insight into the famous Blitz spirit that helped to see
Britain through the war. Waterlood
Road is an engaging little film which deserves much wider
recognition that it currently enjoys.
© James Travers 2008
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