Daybreak

Daybreak

2/7/1949 1h 15m 6.0/10

Overview

A mysterious barber hides a secret identity that eventually leads to tragedy.

Director

Compton Bennett

Top Billed Cast

Bill Owen

Bill Owen

Ron

Edward Rigby

Edward Rigby

Bill Shackle

Maxwell Reed

Maxwell Reed

Olaf Tyson

Ann Todd

Ann Todd

Frances "Frankie" Tribe

Eric Portman

Eric Portman

Eddie Tribe

Eliot Makeham

Eliot Makeham

Mr. Walter Bigley

Reviews

CinemaSerf

CinemaSerf

7/9/2022

7/10

I reckon this has to be the best outing for Ann Todd ("Frankie") that I've seen. Here she plays the girlfriend of Eric Portman ("Eddie") who is really a hangman, but who doesn't want her to know so pretends to be a salesman to explain his frequent, and often overnight, absences from their home on a barge he has inherited. It's during one of those absences that she finds herself the focus of the unwarranted attentions of the rather uncouth "Olaf" (Maxwell Reed) and... Compton Bennett has created a clever piece of cinema here; we are given much of the bones of the story but have to come to a few of our own conclusions as tragedy ensues. According to the BBFC, the film wasn't cut at the time but it doesn't look like it - there are gaps that sort of make sense, but there are quite a few that clearly don't and that disjoints the narrative and occasionally spoils what is otherwise a complex tale. Well worth a gander.

Similar Movies

Johnny Allegro

6.4

Johnny Allegro

1949

The Money Trap

4.8

The Money Trap

1965

New Orleans Uncensored

4.5

New Orleans Uncensored

1955

Footsteps in the Fog

7.0

Footsteps in the Fog

1955

Hollywood Story

6.6

Hollywood Story

1951

Chicago Confidential

4.8

Chicago Confidential

1957

The Case Against Brooklyn

5.8

The Case Against Brooklyn

1958

The Night Holds Terror

5.5

The Night Holds Terror

1955

The Gambler and the Lady

5.2

The Gambler and the Lady

1952

The Glass Alibi

3.9

The Glass Alibi

1946