Piccadilly Incident (1946)

The title of the review is describing what the W.R.E.N. Service is. However it is incorrectly spelt. WRNS is the correct abbreviation as it stands for Woman's Royal Navel Service and phonetically pronounced as Wrens.

First can I say that I consider Mr Reids review to be spot on.I would add that the key to the mediocre production values is that it was made at Welwyn studios,a small studio run by ABPC,used when they had no space at ElstreeI believe that the legalities are fundamentally flawed.In any event this aspect cannot save what is a dull stilted melodrama,which is deservedly forgotten.

Producer: Herbert Wilcox. An Associated British Film. Released but not copyrighted in the U.S.A. by M-G-M, January 1949. New York opening at the Elysee: 4 August 1948. (The New York critics were savage). U.K. release through Associated British-Pathé: September 1946. Australian release through British Empire Films: 12 June 1947. 9,528 feet. 106 minutes. The full-length version was released only in Australia. Cut to 102 minutes in the U.K., 88 minutes in the U.S.A. (Voted Best Film of 1946 in the Daily Mail annual poll). Alternative U.S. title: THEY MET AT MIDNIGHT. SYNOPSIS: Separated, believed dead, from her husband, the faithful wife returns home after a few years to find her beloved not only remarried but also a father. NOTES: The film easily overcame extremely negative reviews ("Slow, heavy-footed and overlong," even from kind-hearted F. Maurice Speed, noted for his tendency to bend over backwards to say something nice about even the most boring and inconsequential releases of the year), to bounce in at number three at the British box-office for 1946. Number three, mind you! Unbelievable!COMMENT: I am reviewing the full-length version! A British remake of Garson Kanin's "My Favorite Wife" (1940) only this time treated as a drama rather than a comedy and with much more footage on the preliminaries (so much so that the film ends thirty minutes after "My Favorite Wife" begins) and the desert island episode. As a result, the film seems more akin to a dramatic re-make of J.M. Barrie's "Admirable Crichton" or an equally somber dramatic precursor to Noel Langley's "Our Girl Friday".True, Herbert Wilcox's plodding direction is more suited to drama than comedy, but the pace is so slow here that it will bore all but Miss Neagle's most fervent fans to tears. In Wilcox's hands, the plot (when finally we come to it) seems impossibly contrived and silly. Though Miss Neagle battles on gamely, it is as difficult to believe in her characterization as in the impossible Michael Wilding or the even more incredible Michael Laurence (he gives it a good try but a part like that would nip even an Olivier's career in the bud).The support characters have nothing to recommend them either, though with true British pluck, people like A.E. Matthews give them a whirl.The lighting photography is also not all that might be desired — sometimes it is flattering to the players, sometimes it is not. Sometimes it lights the sets effectively, at other times the light falls in such a way as to pinpoint phony backdrops.To make matters worse the film ends with a "message", though due to its funereal pace it is unlikely many viewers will last the distance.Production values are not over-extensive and though some well-known songs are used in the score, they are presented in a most perfunctory and undistinguished manner, with the exception of a long-drawn-out boogie version of Beethoven which, despite the initial promise of its choreography, soon out-stays its welcome.

A wartime romance between two people (Anna Neagle, Michael Wilding) starts when they literally bump into each other on a London sidewalk during WW II. As they run for cover during a bombing they become instantly attracted to each other.There is a whirlwind romance during which we see a little of their lives. She dances; he has a sister (Coral Browne). But she's on a 72-hour pass and must see off a Canadian friend (Michael Laurence). When she returns to the flat he shares with his sister they decide to marry.Here's where this film takes a remarkable turn. In a role reversal she's the one being shipped out (to Singapore) while he stays home in an office job. When Singapore falls to the Japanese she's on a ship that is sunk. The war report back in London says she has been killed but she's shipwrecked on an island with a few other for 3 years.Meanwhile, Wilding meets another woman (Frances Mercer) and marries her and has a son. But after Neagle is rescued from the island and returns to London, we see the mess that has been created. Legally she is still the wife. Legally the son is illegitimate. This little wartime romance film takes a decidedly dramatic turn and presents us with quite a quandary.Neagle is excellent and has a terrific scene when she's in the little boat and watches the rescue plane go overhead, unsure of her own sanity. Wilding is also excellent as the innocent who tries to get on with his life. Neagle and Wilding are a terrific team.Co-stars include Edward Rigby as the butler, A.E. Matthews as Sir Charles, Reginald Owen as the judge, Brenda Bruce as Sally, and Michael Medwin as the radio operator.Nicely directed by the underrated Herbert Wilcox (Neagle's husband) and scripted by frequent collaborator Nicholas Phipps.