"Friday the Thirteenth" is a British film about several people riding a London bus that crashes in a nighttime rain storm on Friday the 13th. It's not a horror flick, nor a film with the demonic or occult. It does have the touch of superstition in the conversations of some of the characters. And it plays on that somewhat in that the number of passengers on the bus is 13 when it crashes. Perhaps the writers or filmmakers had that in mind as a sort of draw or little mysterious edge to the film. But it's a very good drama with touches of light comedy - the comedy of life, rather than intentional humor for a film.
This film has a very good cast of actors of the time, including several prominent people from the British stage and cinema. Among them are Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Edmund Gwenn, Ralph Richardson, Alfred Drayton, and Cyril Smith. A host of other actors known mostly in the UK contribute very well to the film.
This is certainly a unique film for its day, for its style and the method of the plot and screenplay. The film is composed of seven mini-stories that are shown in three phases - sort of like acts in a play. The opening phase or segment has the driver and conductor of a London bus coming to work and going out on their night route. The next scene is late at night in a rainstorm. An aunt and her young nephew get off the bus and six different people board at stops along its route. Just before midnight there are 13 passengers onboard. When lightning strikes a huge construction crane above the street it comes crashing down, and the driver swerves to avoid the bus getting hit. But it crashes though a shop window before coming to a stop. The next scene shows the newspaper headlines the next morning that report two people were killed in a bizarre crash. The scene then shifts to a view of the Tower of Big Ben, and the hands of the clock move backward 24 hours.
Then, phase two of the story begins on the morning of the previous day, Friday the 13th. This is divided into seven scenes, each about one of the six passengers who boarded the night before, with other people, and the two bus men on their day off at the race track. This is where the audience gets to know something about the people. In some case, it's something that is pertinent to the outcomes in the film. But the audience will only understand that later. Yet, this is where one begins to suspect a moral of the film, in the individual story subplots. All are drawn more into the film as the audience learns more about the various characters. And then, knowing that two of these people will die in the bus crash that night, one begins to wonder who the two victims will be. And it's only natural to try and guess who they might be.
Then, the story segues into the third phase and goes forward to the day after the accident. Here, each of the seven mini-stories, including that of the two bus men, concludes. Now the audience finds out who died and who lived. And, if one looks closely the morality tale can be found. A heads up first occurs on the night of the accident. Ralph Lightfoot is the guy with the rambunctious dog He had been in the park flirting with infidelity after buying nylons for Dolly. She was the woman who gave him the come-on to rob him. Well, when Ralph boards the bus, he discovers that he's been robbed. Then, he takes a front seat in the bus and is jolted by the sign he sees on the back of the driver's compartment. It reads, "Be Sure Your Sins Will Find You Out."
More lessons are learned by others, justice is served for some, and some have happy outcomes. These stories have elements of crime, deceit, adultery, self-centeredness, avarice, distrust, and impatience. Most of the good people here escape with lessons learned. For the two men who die in the crash, justice is served in different ways.
The crook, William Blake (Emelyn Williams) just meets his end after extoling a check for 100 pounds from a man who had spent a hitch in prison but was going straight and planned to marry his sweetheart after working to save 200 pounds. The blackmailer had been know by the police for several crimes and a police officer returns the check to Frank Parsons (Frank Lawton).
The second person killed was a travel company clerk, Henry Jackson (Eliot Makeham). He was a good man who had saved for two years to buy a cruise for he and his wife. The 13th was their wedding day, and he left home with smiles, thinking that she would think he had forgotten their fifth anniversary. He had ordered roses for his wife, but had to work late. He called to tell wife, (Ursula Jeans), but didn't tell her about his surprise gift of a cruise. She then left him a note by the phone, and went off with her long-time secret lover, Max (D. A. Clark-Smith).
One might wonder where justice fits in the last incident. Well, Henry was a good, and decent man, and very faithful husband. Looking forward to his happy 5th anniversary and surprise for his wife, he was a happy man. So, he died a happy man. Eileen on the other hand, would be gone, probably to France or elsewhere in Europe. She may never know of Henry's death, and not therefore not inherit his property and savings. And, if she came forward later, it would be to her public shame at having running away from her husband. An interesting morality tale of sorts.
This film has a very good cast of actors of the time, including several prominent people from the British stage and cinema. Among them are Jessie Matthews, Sonnie Hale, Edmund Gwenn, Ralph Richardson, Alfred Drayton, and Cyril Smith. A host of other actors known mostly in the UK contribute very well to the film.
This is certainly a unique film for its day, for its style and the method of the plot and screenplay. The film is composed of seven mini-stories that are shown in three phases - sort of like acts in a play. The opening phase or segment has the driver and conductor of a London bus coming to work and going out on their night route. The next scene is late at night in a rainstorm. An aunt and her young nephew get off the bus and six different people board at stops along its route. Just before midnight there are 13 passengers onboard. When lightning strikes a huge construction crane above the street it comes crashing down, and the driver swerves to avoid the bus getting hit. But it crashes though a shop window before coming to a stop. The next scene shows the newspaper headlines the next morning that report two people were killed in a bizarre crash. The scene then shifts to a view of the Tower of Big Ben, and the hands of the clock move backward 24 hours.
Then, phase two of the story begins on the morning of the previous day, Friday the 13th. This is divided into seven scenes, each about one of the six passengers who boarded the night before, with other people, and the two bus men on their day off at the race track. This is where the audience gets to know something about the people. In some case, it's something that is pertinent to the outcomes in the film. But the audience will only understand that later. Yet, this is where one begins to suspect a moral of the film, in the individual story subplots. All are drawn more into the film as the audience learns more about the various characters. And then, knowing that two of these people will die in the bus crash that night, one begins to wonder who the two victims will be. And it's only natural to try and guess who they might be.
Then, the story segues into the third phase and goes forward to the day after the accident. Here, each of the seven mini-stories, including that of the two bus men, concludes. Now the audience finds out who died and who lived. And, if one looks closely the morality tale can be found. A heads up first occurs on the night of the accident. Ralph Lightfoot is the guy with the rambunctious dog He had been in the park flirting with infidelity after buying nylons for Dolly. She was the woman who gave him the come-on to rob him. Well, when Ralph boards the bus, he discovers that he's been robbed. Then, he takes a front seat in the bus and is jolted by the sign he sees on the back of the driver's compartment. It reads, "Be Sure Your Sins Will Find You Out."
More lessons are learned by others, justice is served for some, and some have happy outcomes. These stories have elements of crime, deceit, adultery, self-centeredness, avarice, distrust, and impatience. Most of the good people here escape with lessons learned. For the two men who die in the crash, justice is served in different ways.
The crook, William Blake (Emelyn Williams) just meets his end after extoling a check for 100 pounds from a man who had spent a hitch in prison but was going straight and planned to marry his sweetheart after working to save 200 pounds. The blackmailer had been know by the police for several crimes and a police officer returns the check to Frank Parsons (Frank Lawton).
The second person killed was a travel company clerk, Henry Jackson (Eliot Makeham). He was a good man who had saved for two years to buy a cruise for he and his wife. The 13th was their wedding day, and he left home with smiles, thinking that she would think he had forgotten their fifth anniversary. He had ordered roses for his wife, but had to work late. He called to tell wife, (Ursula Jeans), but didn't tell her about his surprise gift of a cruise. She then left him a note by the phone, and went off with her long-time secret lover, Max (D. A. Clark-Smith).
One might wonder where justice fits in the last incident. Well, Henry was a good, and decent man, and very faithful husband. Looking forward to his happy 5th anniversary and surprise for his wife, he was a happy man. So, he died a happy man. Eileen on the other hand, would be gone, probably to France or elsewhere in Europe. She may never know of Henry's death, and not therefore not inherit his property and savings. And, if she came forward later, it would be to her public shame at having running away from her husband. An interesting morality tale of sorts.