Daybreak

7/2/19491h 15m

Theatrical Release (US)

Overview:

A mysterious barber hides a secret identity that eventually leads to tragedy.

Director:

Compton Bennett

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

river thames
hangman
film noir
british noir

Cast

Ann Todd

~ as ~

Frances "Frankie" Tribe

Eric Portman

~ as ~

Eddie Tribe

Bill Owen

~ as ~

Ron

Maxwell Reed

~ as ~

Olaf Tyson

Edward Rigby

~ as ~

Bill Shackle

Eliot Makeham

~ as ~

Mr. Walter Bigley

Jane Hylton

~ as ~

Doris

Margaret Withers

~ as ~

Mrs.Bigley

John Turnbull

~ as ~

Superintendent

Maurice Denham

~ as ~

Inspector

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
7
I reckon this has to be the best outing for Ann Todd ("Frankie") that I've seen. Here she plays the girlfriend of Eric Portman ("Eddie") who is really a hangman, but who doesn't want her to know so pretends to be a salesman to explain his frequent, and often overnight, absences from their home on a barge he has inherited. It's during one of those absences that she finds herself the focus of the unwarranted attentions of the rather uncouth "Olaf" (Maxwell Reed) and... Compton Bennett has created a clever piece of cinema here; we are given much of the bones of the story but have to come to a few of our own conclusions as tragedy ensues. According to the BBFC, the film wasn't cut at the time but it doesn't look like it - there are gaps that sort of make sense, but there are quite a few that clearly don't and that disjoints the narrative and occasionally spoils what is otherwise a complex tale. Well worth a gander.