Review of Twilight Women

A taut, engaging little thriller. Laurence Harvey fans may be disappointed at the actor's small role in this film, still his character's fate looms large over one of the other characters. Fine performances all around, in a story set in a boarding house for unwed mothers. This film could never have been produced in the US at the time, it's quite frank about the women's circumstances and even has a healthy dose of humor. Freda Jackson is top notch as the deceptively humanitarian landlady. René Ray is good (she looks like a British Tallulah Bankhead) and Dora Bryan is in typically fine form as is Vida Hope. Harvey's two scenes are very well acted and it's easy to see what a superb actor he would soon prove himself to be. His singing is surely dubbed, but he handles that well too. This is high melodrama, well worth seeking out.