Saloon Bar

This is probably the greatest film, set entirely inside a pub, ever made (admittedly a small field). The interest is not on the whodunit plot, and certainly not on the plausibility of the premise that the regulars in a pub could solve a mystery in a single night before closing time. But the combination of a group of vintage character actors doing their stuff, in a setting dripping with nostalgic possibilities, is irresistible. Mervyn Johns at his most lugubrious, spending virtually the entire picture on a barstool; Gordon Harker as a bumptious bookie; Roddy Hughes as a vague, cheery doctor; a wonderfully characterised set of bar staff; a hilarious group of cheeky carol singers (including the young Roddy McDowall). The film gives a tremendous sense of the small communities in the middle of London in the immediate pre-war, and the transient populations of rich and poor alike who might wander through. The historians and sociologists can detect the wartime social solidarity about to break down; those who lived through the times can enjoy the nostalgia. Warm, funny and brilliantly realised.

Supporting the rest of the reviews, this is a lovely little film, really worth watching (I've seen it twice). Indeed the story doesn't really matter, it is the pleasure of watching a tight knit cast who all seemed to be enjoying their work! Gordon Harker was brilliant as was Mervyn Johns, slightly out of the type of character he became better known for later in his career. There were no well known 'stars' just an ensemble of good character actors given a chance to shine.

The film, although released in 1940 is clearly set before the war as apart from anything else, all lights in the pubs were blazing away and there was no mention of the war and no sign of the blitz which started in September 1940.

A little light relief then and now!

This is a thoroughly enjoyable film, compulsive viewing for all who might enjoy drinking in the pre-War atmosphere of London in 1939 and early 1940 just before the Blitz. The film is based on a stage play, a kind of early 'Mousetrap' concept, a whodunnit essentially taking place in a single set. The atmosphere of this saloon bar, where the main characters congregate, is brilliantly conveyed. The film is stuffed full of delightful character actors all doing a great job. The film is well directed by Walter Forde, an experience old-timer, two of whose better known films are 'Rome Express' (1932) and 'Bulldog Jack' (1935). This is quintessentially English, and since things which are quintessentially English barely exist any more, the film has thus become an invaluable archaeological artifact. The film may not be 'multi-cultural', but it is certainly 'multi-social', as every class of society participates in the action and interacts in a manner which will be fascinating to social historians. My wife and I, as old friends of Judy Campbell, were delighted to see her performance in this classic as 'Doris of the Shakespeare', at which she thoroughly excelled as a rather embittered young barmaid from a rival pub. The lead character is an extroverted bookie, played by Gordon Harker, who takes the lead in trying to clear a friend of a murder charge for which he will be executed on the following morning. The condemned man's girlfriend, another barmaid, is played by Elizabeth Allan. She is far less charming than Judy. I sat next to her a couple of times at dinner when she was an old lady and found her vanity really too much to take. It shows in this film. Mervyn Johns is terribly funny in this film, glum and solemn as he sits on 'his stool' and will not get off it for any reason, making wry comments throughout all the action. While everything else is happening, a baby is being born, some scruffy kids are singing Christmas carols (12 year-old Roddy MacDowell amongst them), there is a parody of a feather-headed chorus girl ('he behaved like a perfect gentleman, he took his hands away as soon as I asked him'), and any number of amusing characters and incidents. What happens about the whodunnit aspects must remain a secret, but does not disappoint. This film is a real joy, and should be reissued on DVD so that people can see it.

I watched an absolutely charming piece of British ensemble called of all things "Saloon Bar" (1940), with Gordon Harker, Mervyn Johns, Elizabeth Allan, Joyce Barbour, Anna Konstam, Cyril Raymond, Judy Campbell, and others (among whom is a very young pre-teen Roddy McDowall. Taking place basically in a single setting on Christmas Eve or thereabouts, in an evidently pre-war bar, the ostensible idea behind this piece is to save a young man from being hanged in the morning for a murder he didn't commit. But - how to prove it... This began as a play written by Frank Harvey (who also contributed to the screenplay) and then was put on the screen by Angus MacPhail and Jon Dighton. This is one of the four films on Volume 10 of the Ealing Studios Rarities series put out in Britain in the last few years (total of 14 volumes). Mervyn Johns sits on his bar stool during the entire film without moving, drinking, and making wry and sarcastic comments endlessly, deliciously. Elizabeth Allan is Queenie, a bar tending girl the hapless accused was seeing before his sentence. A competing bartendress from another establishment is Judy Campbell. The landlord of the bar where nearly all of the action takes place has an expectant wife upstairs, and it seems that she's been bearing first a boy, then a girl, then a boy, then a girl, in alternate years for some time now. Meanwhile, between endless quaffs of endless Lion ale, Gordon Harker is trying to figure out who really murdered the old lady the young man on death row is accused of killing. If all this sounds, perhaps, somewhat predictable, maybe even stagnant, or boring - trust me, it isn't in the least. It crackles with wit and wonderful acting and direction and atmosphere. It is indelibly British, the definition of it for Americans who think they know what that means, but who really don't. If you're into what pre-World War II Britain was like, this is the essence, a time and a culture that just doesn't exist anymore at all, but which is captured here in a water drop under the spyglass perfectly. Simply great!

This film is based on a stage play but doesn't fall into the traps of adaptation. It is neither static not slow moving.

The film was made by the husband and wife team of Walter and Culley Forde. Very rare for a woman to be in such a position in those days.

A very experienced cast is a great help. Felix Aylmer in a very brief role. Martin Clunes father,Alec,plays the convicted murderer. One of my favourites,Gordon Harker,plays the lead role of a bookie trying to clear the convicted murderer before the following mornings execution. Mervyn John's is propped up in his corner giving forth with often inappropriate sayings.

A first class thriller.