The Crowded Day

This is a fascinating ensemble film, with many fine performances of the large cast, about people working in a London department store in the early 1950s. As such, it is an important 'social document'. The film was shot in the real London department store of Bourne & Hollingsworth, so that the location and settings are wholly accurate. The film is a mixture of comedy and tragedy, but the comic part of it may have been the origin of the hilarious television series ARE YOU BEING SERVED? (1972-1985), which was one of the funniest comedy series ever made for British television and ran for 69 half-hour episodes. Some incidents in the film, such as the love note dropped on the floor and trampled by the feet of customers so that it does not make its way to the correct person, are studies in the cruelty of fate. Particularly unsettling is the depiction of 'commission stealing' by supervisors from the sales girls under them. Although department stores still exist, at this time they were full of throngs of people, perhaps one should say rampant hordes, since the smaller boutique shops had not yet been invented. Queues of impatient women with shopping bags are shown pouring into the store as soon as the doors open in the morning. Commercialism was also still at an early stage and had hot yet strangled everyone with a lust for things which they do not need. The film features popular leading man of the day, John Gregson, and a marvellous cast of well-known character actors and actresses, including Dora Bryan, Thora Hird, Sid James, Joan Hickson, Prunella Scales, and Dandy Nichols uncredited as a charwoman. Rachel Roberts was in only her second year as a screen actress. The film is ably directed by John Guillermin, well known for numerous important British films, such as the excellent GUNS AT BATASI (1964) and DEATH ON THE NILE (1978); he retired from films in 1988 but is still alive, aged 86. This film is well worth watching, like stepping into a time machine.

It's the holiday season at a busy London department store, and there are a number of stories, some sad, some funny, but most salacious, on view. A girl breaks up with her boyfriend; he goes away to look for work and she finds herself pregnant. Another girl finds her customers are being stolen by her supervisor. The man who dresses the mannequins keeps fouling up. And so forth.

There is such a welter of plots, some of them left dangling at the end, that this movie lacks focus and plot. As is typical for British movies, the acting is excellent. The direction seems competent, although trivial. The problem seems to lie in the editing, which, as noted above, leaves too many threads dangling.

On tubi streaming, a crowded day, but in europe and imdb, it's shop spoiled. For those familiar, it runs like an episode of the british television series are you being served! The owners are pretty accessible, and even interact with the floor workers at the company events! Some fun with the social classes at the parties. A running gag where one boyfriend resists selling an old jalopy, which the girlfriend hates. The story has several concurrent storylines running. And on the more serious side, yvonne has a very serious personal issue that she's trying to resolve, but can't seem to locate her boyfriend. And the boyfriend's mother isn't helping. It's mostly fun, light and upbeat, with a more serious side to keep it balanced. It's fun and kind of a snapshot of the 1950s, with the young working class and what's going on in their daily lives. Directed by john guillermin. His big hits were towering inferno and the 1978 death on the nile, with so many huge stars of the day.

For some reason in the 1950s films that were based on a day in the life of an institution were very popular.This allowed a number of stories to be crammed into 80 or so minutes.Most of this film could be described as romantic comedy with the exception of one story which quite frankly feels rather out of place.John Gregson is the main star and is quite good as the salesman who seems able to bluff his way to a good job.Vera Day seems to be a prototype Barbara Windsor.She is no great actress but has a winning way about her and her scenes with Sidney Tafler are quite funny.However a rather gloomy note is struck by the story of the shopgirl who is going to have a baby but cannot locate the father and who contemplates suicide.Shows how attitudes have changed.In the end she is literally chased into a church by a would be rapist.An interesting look at life in the fifties.

Films like this that switch from comedy to drama in such a clumsy and alarming manner can prove tiring and although I love British film from the 1950's I may not look at this one again. I am a John Gregson fan and he is always personable so I might keep my copy for him alone. However all the other characters (and there are so many of them) annoy me. To sum it up give me "Trouble in Store" any day.