Watch Daybreak For Free

One of my all time favorites.

Great Film overall

Don't Believe the Hype

This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.

According to Quinlan this film was held back from release for 2 years because of problems with the censor.Since producers normally worked in co operation with the BBFC this does seem rather strange.Watching the film now and comparing it say with No Orchids For Miss Blandish it is difficult to understand what problems might have arisen.A more likely reason is the sheer grimness of this film.If it was made in 1945 it was hardly likely to appeal to an audience who had only recently been under attach from V2 weapons.So presumably the producers put it on the shelf waiting for a more appropriate moment to show.The film starts with Portman as the hangman approaching the cell of a condemned man and the mood goes down from there,if that is possible.The story is rather a mess and the pairing between Portman and Todd unlikely in the extreme.The ending is about as downbeat as you will ever find.Definitely not a film I would ever wish to see again!

This film is compelling for about the first third. British films could do naturalism so effortlessly then. I love the interiors - shabby rooms that still have (50-year-old) Victorian wallpaper, or fireplaces badly converted to ineffective gas fires. And the barber's shop with clients popping in and out and exchanging banter (the street it's in, though, is obviously a set with an omnipresent barrel-organ and someone always cycling carefully by). But then Ann and Eric go and live an idyllic, free, gypsy-like outdoor life on a Thames barge... There are some lovely shots of the riverbank with warehouses and cranes (now dull yuppie flats). The "living on a boat" fantasy was common in the late 40s/50s. Ann Todd as a happy wife seems to regress to childhood, skipping about wearing dungarees and flat shoes and being abominably cute. And the plot starts to roll... I rather like Maxwell Reed as a rule, even though he is wooden and 10 feet tall. But really, his Danish accent!

Eddie (Eric Portman) is a hangman, who makes a confession when he comes face to face with his final victim, Olaf, (Maxwell Reed). He tells the story of how he knows the victim to the Governor (Milton Rosmer). We learn of Eddie's double life - he uses an alias and has a share in a hairdresser business with Ron (Bill Owen). We follow the story as he inherits a fleet of barges and meets with Frankie (Ann Todd). They marry and settle down on a barge where Eddie hires Olaf as a workman...The cast are quite good despite some appalling accents. Eric Portman delivers a mish-mash of a southern/northern accent and God knows what planet Maxweel Reed thought Danish people come from! My favourite in the cast is actually Jane Hylton who has a small role as "Doris" the barmaid. It's a shame that more of a role wasn't given to her.With regards to the relationships between the characters, why didn't Eddie and Frankie just come clean with each other? He doesn't tell her of his role as a hangman and she doesn't mention anything to him about her fear of Olaf. This leads us to believe that maybe she had a previous job as a prostitute and maybe she loves it. She certainly has an independent streak as we see this on her first meeting with Eddie. I also felt that Eddie is too old for Frankie and his marriage proposal to Frankie and her acceptance after their 3rd meeting is laughable. The film has a very downbeat ending and my girlfriend cried - not because of any affiliation to any particular character but purely because of the film's atmosphere. It's bleak.

This powerful British Noir is one of the bleakest films you'll ever see, but with enough empathy for its main characters to justify the gutting 'ironic' ending. The great Eric Portman plays Eddie, a barber and part-time hangman who meets a drenched, world-beaten Ann Todd in a London pub. They fall in love and soon marry, but the spectre of her lust for bad men hangs over them. When Danish seaman Olaf (Maxwell Reed, a touch stiff) takes an interest, you know things are going to go wrong, though just how wrong might surprise you. Portman is a little under-utilised in the final third – a few more scenes of him grappling with his personal demons around the gallows might have made this a classic – but Edward Rigby is strong in a pretty straight dramatic role, and Bill Owen nicely understated as Eddie's sole confidante.Atmospheric direction and terrific performances by Portman and Todd (who generate considerable chemistry) are the main selling points of this bold, original film, though those who prefer their crime pics with an ounce of optimism should avoid. The use of a flashback structure is of questionable value – was that just the demands of convention?(3.5 out of 4)