Pink String And Sealing Wax (1945)

In 1890s Brighton, a puritanical chemist (Mervyn Johns) rules his family with an iron fist as they chafe under his martinet like domination. Meanwhile, the wife (Googie Withers) of the local pub owner (Garry Marsh) is having an affair with one of the customers (John Carol). These two stories will merge into a tale of murder. Based on the play by Roland Pertwee and directed by Robert Hamer (KIND HEARTS AND CORONETS). This is an odd schizophrenic film with the two stories going in different paths for the longest time before merging. My dislike for the bullying father was much more intense than for the homicidal femme fatale stuck in an unhappy marriage. Yet the cruel father gets a pass by the end of the film while the immoral woman must pay for her sins (after all this is 1945). Still, the entertainment value is in full force and the acting is quite good. Notably Withers' manipulative landlady, Gordon Jackson's naive young man and Sally Ann Howes (CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG) is perfectly charming as an animal loving teen distressed by her father's experiments on animals. With Jean Ireland, Mary Merrall and Catherine Lacey.