Anyone who likes film noir, murder mysteries, Hitchcock type adventures about a wrongly accused man on the run from the law or just superbly made 1930s films should watch this.
This isn't set in the care-free, art-deco festooned sunny London seen in most 1930s pictures. This is reality, a dirty smelly reality with real people - at times it almost looks like a documentary but it's not one of those miserable dark and dingy films when nothing happens - a lot happens in this: murders, rapes, kidnapping - plus a bit of comedy to make it palatable. In this it just feels like it's happening to real people making it seem real to you.
For starters, the cinematography is amazing. As film noirs go, this has to be one of the most visually impressive. Expressionism is expressing the feelings of the protagonist through what we see on the screen. Every scene with Emlyn Williams' Shorty is in murky disturbing shadows and as his situation gets worse, that darkness increases and contrasts with the bright lights of Molly's optimism. It's a clever and beautifully made film.
It's a magnificently evocative picture. It immerses you into late 1930s working class life and into London, a proper working class city. A city not of top hats and walking canes but of pubs, petty criminals and prostitutes. We learn there were two groups of prostitutes: dance hall girls (taking their work home) and lorry girls who entertain lonely lorry drivers - those who drive by night.
It's not all darkness however, Ernest Thesiger whose character is the opposite of a nice chap is both horrendously creepy but also hilariously funny. His very dark humour makes this film even better.
This isn't set in the care-free, art-deco festooned sunny London seen in most 1930s pictures. This is reality, a dirty smelly reality with real people - at times it almost looks like a documentary but it's not one of those miserable dark and dingy films when nothing happens - a lot happens in this: murders, rapes, kidnapping - plus a bit of comedy to make it palatable. In this it just feels like it's happening to real people making it seem real to you.
For starters, the cinematography is amazing. As film noirs go, this has to be one of the most visually impressive. Expressionism is expressing the feelings of the protagonist through what we see on the screen. Every scene with Emlyn Williams' Shorty is in murky disturbing shadows and as his situation gets worse, that darkness increases and contrasts with the bright lights of Molly's optimism. It's a clever and beautifully made film.
It's a magnificently evocative picture. It immerses you into late 1930s working class life and into London, a proper working class city. A city not of top hats and walking canes but of pubs, petty criminals and prostitutes. We learn there were two groups of prostitutes: dance hall girls (taking their work home) and lorry girls who entertain lonely lorry drivers - those who drive by night.
It's not all darkness however, Ernest Thesiger whose character is the opposite of a nice chap is both horrendously creepy but also hilariously funny. His very dark humour makes this film even better.