The Bells Go Down (1943)

[markfp]

Absolutely, while I've had a region 2 copy for a couple of years, I think most people have never heard of BELLS GO DOWN and would be surprised. I've always liked British films that were made with their own domestic audience in mind and not the foreign market. Another one that wouldn't be seen anywhere but on TCM. Thank You!

[JackFavell]

I love British films that show the mindset during the war. This one sounds like it was a gem.

[moira finnie]

I enjoyed seeing this movie, which veered from stark realism (with actual film of the Blitz in London) to occasional movie absurdities (that telephone call by a fireman during a conflagration was one instance of this)--though the people struggling to survive and forming bonds with one another in the process was often quite movie. It was particularly interesting to see James Mason as one of the fireman prior to his international stardom. Though Mason had appeared in a few films that had found some audiences in America, his accent, as King points out, seems hardly cockney--though I really thought that I heard much more of his natural Yorkshire coming out, (especially when he bellowed, which was quite often).

Any time Finlay Currie appears he brings the sense that a force of nature more than an actor to any role he endows with his unique blend of mystery and flinty wisdom, (I'd love to have seen him dance as he did on the music hall stage for so many years prior to the movies!).

Too bad this movie isn't available on DVD in the US.