Film 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 fruitful 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, Alastair Sim 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. More than just a propaganda
piece, it serves as a testimony to the resilience of the British
during their darkest hour.
© James Travers 2008
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Next Sidney Gilliat film:
Green for Danger (1946)
Film Synopsis
In 1940, towards the start of the Second World War, Jim Colter is away doing
his bit in the fight against Hitler whilst his wife Tillie stays at home
in London with his mother and sisters, Ruby and Vera. With her husband
away, Tillie begins a secret affair with Ted Purvis, a womanising spiv who
resorts to cunning to avoid being called up. When Jim receives a letter
from Ruby informing him of his wife's infidelity he deserts from the army
and heads back to London, to his home in Waterloo Road. Dodging the
military police, Jim goes chasing after Tillie, who is now completely smitten
with Ted, not realising that he has already broken the hearts of many other
women...
© James Travers
The above content is owned by filmsdefrance.com and must not be copied.