The Halfway House

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.

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.

"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.

A random group of characters go to the Halfway House in Wales to get away from the pressures of their daily lives. The innkeeper Mervyn Johns (Rhys) and his daughter Glynis Johns (Gwyneth) are on hand to greet the guests and give them advice. However, they don't seem to have reflections, they don't have shadows and they are living 1 year in the past - the calendar, the newspapers and radio broadcasts are out of date and the guest book hasn't been signed for a year. Who are the mysterious owners and what fate awaits the guests....?

The acting from some of the cast seems a bit stiff at times but the film keeps you watching. I like the more touching scenes, for instance, when Glynis Johns talks to the conductor Esmond Knight (David Davies) in the kitchen and tells him to come over to her "side", and the moment when they agree to see each other the next morning, knowing the fate of the inn. Captain Tom Walls (Harry Meadows) also has an impressive character transformation through the course of the film. It is a film with a mixture of strange incidents and it has, I think, an ambiguous ending. After several views, I think I get what happens…."Yea though I walk through the valley of death..........."

Britain, World War II.

A symphony conductor who has a few months to live.

A war profiteer.

A husband and wife coming to the end of their marriage, their daughter desperate to keep them together.

An elderly couple conflicted over the death of their son in the line of duty.

All of them wind up together at the Halfway House, a beautiful, yet strange Welsh country inn. Their hosts are Rhys and Gwyneth, the place appears to be stuck in a time warp, all the visitors here are here for a reason, a reason that will changed all their respective lives for ever.

Based on the Denis Ogden play, The Halfway House is brought to us from the wonderful Ealing Studios, it is, all things considered, an under seen gem from that particular Studio. There really is no great surprises as regards how the film unfolds, the makers, by way of Mervyn Johns first appearance, are not trying to bluff the viewer in any way, this is a halfway house after all. What drives the picture on is the unflinching stubbornness of the characters, despite the overwhelming evidence available to them, they all refuse to accept the mysterious hammer hitting them over the head. This makes the film a highly enjoyable piece, the mixture of comedy and mystery going hand in hand with it's fantasy led core, come the final reel the viewers should be in a state of warmth because in my honest opinion the film has undoubtedly done its job.

It's one of those films that wouldn't be out of place on Rod Serling's Twilight Zone show that aired some 15 years later, so enjoy the fantasy and the mystery unfolding, The Halfway House is a lovely little picture. 8/10