Rent It Always Rains on Sunday (1947)

Nice tickle, but not enough slap. - It Always Rains on Sunday review by NA

Several characters navigate their day of rest while gossiping about an escaped convict who is being concealed in a bedroom by his ex. An early example of the kitchen sink film, with crime elements somewhere between Brighton Rock and The Blue Lamp. It concerns crime like those two (even having the lead copper played by Dixon of Dock Green) but falls much more into the drizzly, dreary side of the sink than the grittiness of the aforementioned.

So it's not quite as exciting, despite a stunning looking last act chase, but it does get a bit saucy, rooting around the bored housewife's bedroom and suggesting the more permissive times to come for the ladies...which is interesting. Perhaps it's that willingness to break taboo and show the psychological realism of everyday life choices that has made its legacy. Anyway, interesting social realist/noir cross-over which could have had a little more bite, but makes up for it with the tickle. 8/10

Atmospheric post-war years - It Always Rains on Sunday review by HL

This black and white film offers an exciting story, but what amazes is the wonderful, atmospheric depiction of a particular time - immediately post-WW2 - and place - the East End of London. There is also a big cast of fascinating characters, with superb leads. The whole thing just pulses with life. I watched it through twice.

Social Realism. - It Always Rains on Sunday review by Steve

No other film better captures the grit in the soul of Britain after WWII. Robert Hamer's realist masterpiece doesn't just document the squalid poverty of working class London, but saturates it in a gloomy, damp despair. Even now, the title (from Arthur Le Bern's novel) captures something of England's inherited pessimism.

 The story is a collection of interwoven vignettes from a street in the East End. The dominant strand relates to Googie Withers, stuck in a marriage of convenience with the stolid Edward Chapman She is surprised by an old flame (John McCallum) on the run from Dartmoor. All the old passions are stirred up, but for no gain.

Everyone is trapped. The convict escapes, but only briefly. This is the London of the black market. The local economy is crooked. Jack Warner plays the neighbourhood cop not only in pursuit of the hunted fugitive, but a trio of petty stooges who have stolen roller skates no one wants. They are more tragic than comic.

A day in the life of a community is assembled on the wet grey of the screen, from threadbare hardship to tawdry glamour. Escape means infidelity, religion, or a stiffener. Opportunity is crime or a quick sale of fleeting youth. Googie Withers is heartbreaking. Haunted by disappointment, her only solace is numb acceptance.