Al Millen Movies

After the war, British films began avoiding the heiresses and lordships that had dominated the drama field and began pursuing "realism" -- which often was just as artificial as the earlier white-telephone pictures. John McCallum plays Tommy Swann, a product of the working class who tries to better himself by becoming a criminal. Escaping from prison, Swann hides out in the East London home of his former mistress Rose (Googie Withers), who has since married George Sandigate (Edward Chapman). The film is told from Swann's point-of-view, and a dismal view that is. Nor does Rose seem any happier with her drab lot in life. Swann's return does nothing but further their misery, tearing Rose' family apart and sending Swann back into the arms of the law. Considered a tension-laden slice of life in 1949, It Always Rains on Sunday seems a bit contrived today, though it does full justice to the Arthur La Bern novel on which it is based -- especially when the film leaves the environs of the house and zeroes in on its colorful roster of bit actors. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide

There Ain't No Justice turned out to be the "breakthrough" picture for youthful British actor Jimmy Hanley. The star plays a garage mechanic who has an inborn talent for boxing. Needing a lot of money in a hurry, he falls in with a crooked fight promoter (Edward Chapman), who advertises Hanley as the next champ with a series of fixed bouts. By the time he realizes he's being set up as the patsy for a gambling ring, our hero has figure out a way to flummox the crooks and arrange a financial windfall for his long-neglected father (Edward Rigby). Based on a novel by James Curtis, There Ain't No Justice was a fixture of American "Late Late Shows" in the early 1950s. ~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide