This is not Chicago
this is postwar London. This is not Bogart
this is John Mills. This is film noir
the English way. I discovered this little known gem on TV the other day, while swapping between channels. I spent the next hour and a half glued to the screen. At first, John Mills would seem an unlikely choice for the leading role, but the film would not work without him. He perfectly portrays Davidson, a common man framed by his own girlfriend for a murder he did not commit. He is released after twelve years in prison and finds his girlfriend Fay now married to Lowthers, the policeman who investigated the case. Will Davidson seek vengeance? Or will he start a new life with Ilsa, a refugee girl he has just met? I cannot even imagine Humphrey Bogart or Robert Mitchum questioning if revenge is worthy. However, Mills possesses the innocence and fragility required to make his doubts believable. His tender relation with Ilsa is the best thing in the film. Both characters work as reflections of each other: Ilsa has been made orphan and destitute by the war, while Davidson's parents died while he was in jail. Ilsa works in a bar in the docks, where she suffers constant humiliations and abuse by the male customers. She falls for Davidson when he saves her from a rapist, and literally offers herself to him (no prizes for guessing: he is unable to resist her). We could be cynical about their motives for getting together
or we could see them as two human beings who desperately need to feel loved.
One of the comments wonders why the Lowthers sleep in separate beds. The answer is censorship. Till the late 50s (this film was released in 1953), not even married couples were allowed to share a bed on screen. Davidson and Ilsa also sleep in twin beds in his tiny shack, even when a previous scene clearly suggests that they have become lovers. However, the film turns censorship to its advantage. One sequence alternatively shows both couples talking in bed. Davidson and Ilsa, the couple who are falling in love, have their beds joined at the headboard, so the camera can show them together in the same shot. Lowthers and Fay, the couple who are falling apart, have their beds separated by a bedside table, so their conversation is shown by means of alternate shots of one or the other. I totally agree that the title could not be more appropriate: this film will stay in your memory for a long time.
One of the comments wonders why the Lowthers sleep in separate beds. The answer is censorship. Till the late 50s (this film was released in 1953), not even married couples were allowed to share a bed on screen. Davidson and Ilsa also sleep in twin beds in his tiny shack, even when a previous scene clearly suggests that they have become lovers. However, the film turns censorship to its advantage. One sequence alternatively shows both couples talking in bed. Davidson and Ilsa, the couple who are falling in love, have their beds joined at the headboard, so the camera can show them together in the same shot. Lowthers and Fay, the couple who are falling apart, have their beds separated by a bedside table, so their conversation is shown by means of alternate shots of one or the other. I totally agree that the title could not be more appropriate: this film will stay in your memory for a long time.