Halfway House

Storyline

A group of travellers, each with a personal problem that they want to hide, arrives at a mysterious Welsh country inn. There is a certain strangeness in the air as they are greeted by the innkeeper and his daughter (Mervyn Johns and his real life daughter Glynis Johns). Why are all the newspapers a year old ? And why doesn’t Gwyneth seem to cast a shadow ?

So Glad This Was Made…

It’s a film you don’t watch on your own.

This is a wartime melodrama with a twist. I like that you can watch different actors in their prime or note some rising talent.

Of course this can’t stand up against some finer acting. This was a stage production transferred to film. So what? Well the “drowning’ scene is awful – otherwise just enjoy and share with friends and be prepared to be afraid.

This very much has some “sixth sense” appeal.

Very imaginative plot, good acting and photography, typical wartime mature subject life and death British quality.

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.

Dalva