The acting in this film noir is mostly wooden - Ann Todd apart. The best parts were probably left on the cutting room floor,courtesy of the censor. What's left is just the husk of a compelling story from Monckton Hoffe. The fight scene was atrocious and unconvincing, but the film is saved from itself because of the eeriness of the rain-soaked scenes, presumably shot at Hammersmith near the Riverside Studios. Shots of the Palais De Danse and the Rialto seem to give credence to this assertion. Bill Owen is his usual matter-of-fact self, and ends this sad story. The sound quality has suffered over the years - the opening music especially. All the criticism apart, the life on-board a barge and views of Gravesend riverfront before demolition to make way for soulless housing development are good reasons to buy the DVD (if you can find one)- and keep a strong drink handy for the ending. You have been warned.
Review of Daybreak
