Directed by Herbert Mason; produced by Josef Somlo
On his way to work one day, a crane-driver (Michael Redgrave) witnesses what he believes to be the murder of a woman (Sally Gray) by a man (Paul Lukas). Quickly summoning a policeman, he discovers that what he saw was merely the rehearsal of a stage-act. But as events pile up, and he is drawn into domestic turmoil, the innocent Samaritan may wish murder was what he had seen after all.
A Window in London is part melodrama, part crime story and part romance, with a dose of comedy. It concerns two couples, but to write that it centres on their marital troubles would be misleading, though it does, in fact, do just that. The story continues through the film at a good pace, introducing a rather large number of characters and managing to make them all fairly realistic. Redgrave may seem miscast as a working-class man, but his accent and the nickname he is affectionately given by his colleagues - ‘the Duke’ - suggests that his origins are elsewhere.
The writing moves from labourers’ banter to a party scene at a high-class entertainer’s flat, and seems equally convincing in both worlds. Motivations are particularly well-handled: the ease with which Redgrave becomes involved in romance with Gray, while his wife (Patricia Roc) is at home reflects their two year (!) dilemma of working alternating shifts, she during the night and he during the day, and therefore rarely seeing each other.
The direction is good, making use of outdoor locations to a greater extent than many movies of the era: Redgrave’s character is working on the reconstruction of Waterloo Bridge, a project that was on-going through the 1930s. (Though produced in 1940, the film makes no mention of the Second World War, so it should be assumed to take place in the few years prior to the conflict.)
While A Window in London may be a bit ordinary for some, a bit too melodramatic for others, those who stay with it will be satisfied, and probably not expect the ironic finale.
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