The Halfway House

"The Halfway House" is one of the strangest films from the 1940s I can recall having seen. This is not a bad thing, as it abounds with originality and is well worth seeing.

The story is set during WWII and the film consists of many stories and characters who all share one thing in common...they all have gone to the same quaint Welsh inn to take their vacations. But most of these people are carrying burdens of one sort or another...such as broken marriages, sons killed in the war, ill health and much more. What none of them realize for some time is that this house is somehow back in time...and it's somehow a year earlier! Why and what all this means, you'll just have to see for yourself.

The film has exceptional writing and very nice acting. Stick with it, as it does start slowly and a few of the characters are at first rather annoying.

Mervyn Johns and his real life daughter Glynnis shine in this ghostly 1944 film and I disagree with most of the negative comments from other users above.Consequently I have rated this film 7/10.The other users seem to have either forgotten or misunderstood the average conditions that Britons were living under then and indeed up to 1955 when food rationing was abolished in the UK.

London Live TV station here in the UK is currently running a festival of Ealing films Mon-Sat starting @ 2p.m. which gives a chance for this slightly younger viewer (born in 1946), the chance to see their less frequently aired films.I notice they do tend to repeat these films so people who miss the original showing can catch up with it.This was my first viewing 17/7/15 and me and my wife (born 1947) enjoyed it immensely.I take on board the criticism of rather preachy dialogue about redemption but Britain dare I say was a more formally religious country then.Atonement for past misdemeanours was understandable with the population facing unexpected death from the V1 & V2s.

Never having been a fan of the concept of the dead returning to advise the living, I was none-the-less pleased with this charming film. The tragedies that occur during war-time can often be treated as 'due course' by most of us, but we are not usually those who have suffered a loss. Like many stories involving benevolent ghosts or angels, the supernatural beings are metaphors for the hand of God in the lives of the living, seeking to influence them along a better path than that which they currently pursue.

'Halfway House' is a kind-hearted, quirky little film, with talented character performances. Sally Ann Howes, the gifted musical actress, plays an early role as the daughter of an estranged couple heading for divorce. Her performance was amusing and poignant, as she tries to think of ways to get her parents back together. Françoise Rosay's character desperately attempts spiritualism, trying to contact her only son who has died in the war. They, and the other guests at a ghostly Welsh inn, seem to take a somewhat 'oh, well, so that's it' attitude toward their dearly-departed innkeepers, which makes the film that much more appealing. 'Halfway House' is exactly what it was intended to be, a comfort and a lesson.

I guess most reviewers are too young to remember the mind set of people at home during war. This film IMO reflects a very present concern of many people in coming to terms with grief. Spiritualism had always been important from the mid 19th century with a falling off towards the end of the century. But with a major resurgence in 1914 and WW1. The young men of whole communities in England died because of recruiting ploys like the "Pals Brigades". With this in mind, the central theme of this 1944 film (fifth year of WW2 for England) will have struck chords with many in the audience. Only 20 years separated the two WWs - not long enough to forget.

Spiritualism was never in "conflict" with science. Many 19th C. scientists studied spiritualism with the same avidity as electricity or radio waves. A couple of years ago, I went along with a friend to a spiritualist meeting in an English provincial town. I was surprised by some of what I saw and heard but most striking was the attempt by the spiritualist to give comfort to the people there. A comfort that was gratefully received.

I am not advocating spiritualism just as I would not advocate the use of placebos to the exclusion of doctors. But I have lived long enough in many countries and cultures to have experienced some pretty strange things. Keeping open a little window of uncertainty and doubt in a PC world where many know all the answers.

This tongue-in-cheek film is interesting from a number of aspects. The spiv (still reviled in my youth in England), the war-split couple, the lost child, the spiritualist seeking solace... They may seem quaint today but will have struck chords with many in the audience which is what cinema is all about.

Even the RAF father of one of the reviewers may have been unhappy with the film because it did not delve deeply enough into what was an everyday reality for him and his colleagues. Death for him was just around the corner, very real, and no theatrical imitation could possibly approach that reality.

This film taught me a few things and reinforced other things about what it was like for my parents generation.

Ealing Studio's The Halfway House is a heartwarming supernatural wartime parable intended to raise morale in its blitzed British audience with the message that, despite such troubled times, the United Kingdom shall prevail, whilst at the same time lifting the spirits of the bereaved by suggesting that death isn't the end. There's also time to bash those who remain neutral during wartime or who try to profit from the conflict.

These messages are hammered home rather heavily, but do not stop the movie from being an enjoyable time; if anything, the film's status as wartime propaganda only makes it more interesting. Of course, a cracking cast doesn't hurt, and this one's got great performances to spare: Mervyn Johns plays Rhys, the ghostly landlord of the titular inn, and his real-life daughter Glynis plays his on-screen daughter Gwyneth (whose husky Welsh lilt is particularly appealing). Support is given by a range of reliable character actors, including Tom Walls and Françoise Rosay as a couple who are struggling with the loss of their son, Esmond Knight as terminally ill conductor David Davies, Guy Middleton and Alfred Drayton as a couple of racketeers, and Valerie White and Richard Bird as an estranged couple whose daughter (played by a young and very plummy Sally Ann Howes ) tries to get her parents back together.

Before the halfway mark of The Halfway House, I had guessed that the visitors to the inn were dead (victims of an air raid), but I was wrong, and glad to be so. Instead of taking this trite route, the film treads another path, with a Twilight Zone-style time twister plot and an ending that sees each person finding redemption and leaving with hope in their hearts. It's the kind of feel-good finalé that makes the film ideal for a rainy Sunday afternoon.

6.5 out of 10, rounded up to 7 for lovely Glynis.