Best movie of this year hands down!

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

It’s fine. It's literally the definition of a fine movie. You’ve seen it before, you know every beat and outcome before the characters even do. Only question is how much escapism you’re looking for.

The plot isn't so bad, but the pace of storytelling is too slow which makes people bored. Certain moments are so obvious and unnecessary for the main plot. I would've fast-forwarded those moments if it was an online streaming. The ending looks like implying a sequel, not sure if this movie will get one

According to Quinlan this film was held back from release for 2 years because of problems with the censor.Since producers normally worked in co operation with the BBFC this does seem rather strange.Watching the film now and comparing it say with No Orchids For Miss Blandish it is difficult to understand what problems might have arisen.A more likely reason is the sheer grimness of this film.If it was made in 1945 it was hardly likely to appeal to an audience who had only recently been under attach from V2 weapons.So presumably the producers put it on the shelf waiting for a more appropriate moment to show.The film starts with Portman as the hangman approaching the cell of a condemned man and the mood goes down from there,if that is possible.The story is rather a mess and the pairing between Portman and Todd unlikely in the extreme.The ending is about as downbeat as you will ever find.Definitely not a film I would ever wish to see again!

This film is compelling for about the first third. British films could do naturalism so effortlessly then. I love the interiors - shabby rooms that still have (50-year-old) Victorian wallpaper, or fireplaces badly converted to ineffective gas fires. And the barber's shop with clients popping in and out and exchanging banter (the street it's in, though, is obviously a set with an omnipresent barrel-organ and someone always cycling carefully by). But then Ann and Eric go and live an idyllic, free, gypsy-like outdoor life on a Thames barge... There are some lovely shots of the riverbank with warehouses and cranes (now dull yuppie flats). The "living on a boat" fantasy was common in the late 40s/50s. Ann Todd as a happy wife seems to regress to childhood, skipping about wearing dungarees and flat shoes and being abominably cute. And the plot starts to roll... I rather like Maxwell Reed as a rule, even though he is wooden and 10 feet tall. But really, his Danish accent!

Eddie (Eric Portman) is a hangman, who makes a confession when he comes face to face with his final victim, Olaf, (Maxwell Reed). He tells the story of how he knows the victim to the Governor (Milton Rosmer). We learn of Eddie's double life - he uses an alias and has a share in a hairdresser business with Ron (Bill Owen). We follow the story as he inherits a fleet of barges and meets with Frankie (Ann Todd). They marry and settle down on a barge where Eddie hires Olaf as a workman...The cast are quite good despite some appalling accents. Eric Portman delivers a mish-mash of a southern/northern accent and God knows what planet Maxweel Reed thought Danish people come from! My favourite in the cast is actually Jane Hylton who has a small role as "Doris" the barmaid. It's a shame that more of a role wasn't given to her.With regards to the relationships between the characters, why didn't Eddie and Frankie just come clean with each other? He doesn't tell her of his role as a hangman and she doesn't mention anything to him about her fear of Olaf. This leads us to believe that maybe she had a previous job as a prostitute and maybe she loves it. She certainly has an independent streak as we see this on her first meeting with Eddie. I also felt that Eddie is too old for Frankie and his marriage proposal to Frankie and her acceptance after their 3rd meeting is laughable. The film has a very downbeat ending and my girlfriend cried - not because of any affiliation to any particular character but purely because of the film's atmosphere. It's bleak.

Daybreak is totally fascinating - the kind of movie you can stare at, open mouthed, for the full hour and a half. Ann Todd as always is wonderful, but this has to be one of her best performances by far. Apparently a lot of the movie was cut by the censors upon its release leaving gaps in the story, and you do get this sense at least with Todd's character - there's a slight hint that she may have been a prostitute but this isn't followed through and is just forgotten.Without spoiling the ending - and don't read the plot summary before you see the film! - this is one of the most heartbreaking shows of misunderstanding ever. Todd lives with husband Eric Portman on a barge and his business sends him away for long periods of time, leaving her along with the very seedy Norwegian "Olaf", and leaving it up to the audience to guess what he does to her. One night she begs her husband to stay, or take her with him, but he can't, and yet she won't tell him why. He comes home and finds Olaf present, but unfortunately gets the wrong idea about why he is there.It's a shame so much was cut from this fine film, but what is left is sufficient to garner it a 10/10. The scene especially where Todd and Portman meet is an utter delight!