AN INSPECTOR CALLS (1954)

The wealthy Birling family has gathered for dinner. Around the table are the father Arthur, a factory owner; the mother Sibyl, a older socialite who busies herself with charity work; the daughter Sheila, present with her fiancé Gerald, wears a sense of entitlement in addition to her beauty and nice wardrobe; the brother Eric is a dissolute drinker who is always a little "squiffy," though both Sheila and his mother work hard to avoid any scenes that he might cause. In the middle of dinner, Inspector Poole (Alastair Sim, pictured) shows up somewhat mysteriously with the news that a young woman named Eva Smith has died, apparently a suicide. The family members don't seem to know her and don't know why Poole has called, but slowly the inspector jogs their memories with a photograph he presents to each, one at a time, and it turns out all of them had dealings with her that may have led her down the tragic road to death, which we see in a series of flashbacks prompted by Poole who seems to know more than he should about everyone. She once worked for the father, but he casually fired her for verbally defending a possible factory strike. Her next job was at a department store, but Sheila has her fired for an imagined slight. Going by the name Daisy, she winds up homeless and is taken in by Gerald who lets her stay at his small apartment in the city. His intentions are honorable at first, but soon she becomes his mistress until she realizes that their class differences are making him lose interest. Other sad and tawdry revelations involve Sibyl and Eric, and they all seem to have had a hand in Eva's sad end. When the family is confronted by their unfeeling ways, they feel guilty and want to atone (some more genuinely than others) until they discover that no woman named Eva Smith has been reported dead, and that no one named Poole works for the local police. So who is Poole and what does he want?

Based on a play by J.B. Priestley, this film uses its flashbacks to overcome its stage origins, though even the scenes set in the drawing room are shot with style and never feel overly stagy. In terms of genre, this isn't easily classifiable. No overt crime is committed and it's not really a mystery, despite how mysterious the inspector is. The lifestyle of the Birlings is attacked, but not satirically. I guess it's a morality play in the form of a melodrama which has a distinct Twilight Zone feel to it as it goes along. As interesting as the narrative is, it's the acting here that carries the film. Sim is always fine, and the only problem with his sleepy-eyed but sharp inspector character is that I wish there was more of him. Olga Lindo, as the mother, is a wonderful bitch whose pious bubble you can't wait to see burst. Eileen Moore as Sheila and Bryan Forbes (better known as the director of Seance on a Wet Afternoon and The Stepford Wives) flesh out their relatively sympathetic characters well. Arthur Young as the father and Brian Worth as Gerald are fine, as is Jane Wenham as Eva who actually comes off as a little too strong of a character to succumb to suicide. The moral lessons of the movie may seem a little simplistic nowadays but the social commentary is still relevant is this era when many people who loudly proclaim their Christianity seem to be completely in the dark as to what truly Christian behavior as outlined by Christ should be like. [DVD]