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MysteryDramaFantasy

The Halfway House

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

Release Date : 1944-04-02

Language :EnglishWelsh

Adult : false

Status : Released

Production Company : Ealing Studios

Production Country : United Kingdom

Alternative Titles : The Half-Way HouseGhostly Inn

Cast

Mervyn Johns

Character Name : Rhys

Original Name : Mervyn Johns

Gender : Male

Glynis Johns

Character Name : Gwyneth

Original Name : Glynis Johns

Gender : Female

Sally Ann Howes

Character Name : Joanna French

Original Name : Sally Ann Howes

Gender : Female

Françoise Rosay

Character Name : Alice Meadows

Original Name : Françoise Rosay

Gender : Female

Tom Walls

Character Name : Capt. Meadows

Original Name : Tom Walls

Gender : Male

Esmond Knight

Character Name : David Davies

Original Name : Esmond Knight

Gender : Male

Guy Middleton

Character Name : Fortescue

Original Name : Guy Middleton

Gender : Male

Valerie French

Character Name : Jill White

Original Name : Valerie French

Gender : Female

Valerie White

Character Name : Jill French

Original Name : Valerie White

Gender : Female

Richard Bird

Character Name : Squadron Leader Richard French

Original Name : Richard Bird

Gender : Male

Pat McGrath

Character Name : Terence

Original Name : Pat McGrath

Gender : Female

Philippa Hiatt

Character Name : Margaret

Original Name : Philippa Hiatt

Gender : Male

Roland Pertwee

Character Name : Prison Governor

Original Name : Roland Pertwee

Gender : Male

C. V. France

Character Name : Mr Truscott - Solicitor

Original Name : C. V. France

Gender : Male

Eliot Makeham

Character Name : George - Davies' Valet

Original Name : Eliot Makeham

Gender : Male

John Boxer

Character Name : Doctor

Original Name : John Boxer

Gender : Male

Rachel Thomas

Character Name : Miss Morgan - Landlady

Original Name : Rachel Thomas

Gender : Female

Joss Ambler

Character Name : Pinsent

Original Name : Joss Ambler

Gender : Male

Jack Jones

Character Name : Welsh Porter

Original Name : Jack Jones

Gender : Male

Moses Jones

Character Name : Welsh Porter

Original Name : Moses Jones

Gender : Male

Reviews

C

CinemaSerf

@Geronimo1967

2022-11-10

When a group of weary travellers arrive at a rural inn, they immediately feel that something is amiss. It's run by "Rhys" (Mervyn Johns) and his (real life) daughter "Gwyneth" (Glynis Johns) who somewhat curiously never casts a shadow. The whole place looks like it's been stuck in a time-warp as the storm rages outside. Now, as the story develops we discover that each of the guests have their own skeletons in their closets, but the hostelry in which they shelter seems to be possessed with a sort of benevolence that manifests itself in different ways to help (nor not!). Made during the latter stages of the Second World War the story offers us a degree of poignant retrospective, paralleling some of the tales with the trauma many will have experienced during that conflict. It also features a charming and entertaining degree of chemistry between the father and daughter too. The individual stories themselves are maybe a bit too undercooked, but it has a decent cast of familiar British faces - Tom Walls and Esmond Knight amongst them - to deliver them solidly enough, and to help create a mysterious and poignant atmosphere for this quirky ninety minutes of wartime optimism.