It Always Rains on Sunday (1947)

89% of critics liked it
(9 reviews)
67% of users liked it
(150 ratings)

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… More 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, Rovi

Rating, Runtime: Unrated, 1 hr. 32 min.
Directed By: Robert Hamer
Written By: Henry Cornelius, Robert Hamer
Genres: Drama

In Theaters: Nov 25, 1947 Wide
Studio: Rialto Pictures

Critic Reviews

Michael Sragow, New Yorker
Hamer's artful and iconoclastic film mixes a day in the life of a working-class family with a startling prison-break melodrama.
Joel Brown, Boston Globe
This is a mostly forgotten gem.
J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader
[Hamer] shows a fluency with noir's shadowy visual vocabulary, but what really links this to the genre is its sense of haunting regret and lost opportunity.
, New York Times
Offers some nicely authentic backgrounds, an expert performance by Googie Withers and a breathtaking finale. But the net effect is disappointing.
Scott Foundas, Village Voice
It Always Rains on Sunday is a masterpiece of dead ends and might-have-beens, highly inventive... and brilliantly acted...
Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com
It's a cannily crafted and satisfying entertainment.
Stephen Garrett, Time Out
A resolutely downbeat - remarkably so for Ealing Studios - account of a day in the life of Bethnal Green...
, Film4
The emotions, atmosphere and humour still ring true...
Stephen Garrett, Time Out New York
A bleak thriller realized with utter vibrancy, Robert Hamer's savory stew of London's lower class roils with an emotional brutality and precision that most films don't dare attempt, let alone achieve.

Read all 9 critic reviews

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Featured Audience Ratings

Stella D

a nearly forgotten postwar noir from ealing studios; a rich slice of lower class life in london's east end. googie withers plays a tough housewife, settled in with older husband and stepkids, whose sense of adventure is rekindled when her lost lover escapes from prison and turns… More
a nearly forgotten postwar noir from ealing studios; a rich slice of lower class life in london's east end. googie withers plays a tough housewife, settled in with older husband and stepkids, whose sense of adventure is rekindled when her lost lover escapes from prison and turns up on her doorstep. lovely grimy desperation ensues. considered a precursor to kitchen sink dramas of 60s british cinema. this was my first experience with amazon on demand, good quality and if they keep turning up gems like this it won't be the last
Walter M

[font=Century Gothic]"It Always Rains on Sunday" is a movie that is impressive, complex and ahead of its time in depicting the citizens of an East End London neighborhood in a series of interlocking tales during a single day.(For example, one of the families portrayed is… More
[font=Century Gothic]"It Always Rains on Sunday" is a movie that is impressive, complex and ahead of its time in depicting the citizens of an East End London neighborhood in a series of interlocking tales during a single day.(For example, one of the families portrayed is Jewish but they are not stereotypes.) This is a working class neighborhood where the people work hard during the week but their one day of rest, Sunday, when they would like to get out and about, it rains which is symbolic of their entire situation. So to escape, they go to the market, the cinema, the pubs, the fights or a nightclub. At the same time, some are desperate enough to resort to crime which even though it is occasionally violent, is usually theft-related but it never pays. A trio of hapless burglars attempt to break into a safe but only manage to steal 144 pairs of roller skates. Another thief, Tommy Swann(John McCallum), has just escaped from Dartmoor leading Detective Sergeant Fothergill(Jack Warner) to see if any of his old friends might know where he is hiding. One person he talks to is Rose Sandigate(Googie Withers) who used to be involved with Tommy but is now married to George(Edward Chapman), 15 years her senior.[/font]

Cast

            Googie Withers as Rose Sandigate

            Edward Chapman as George Sandigate

            Susan Shaw as Vi Sandigate

            Patricia Plunkett as Doris Sandigate

            Sydney Tafler as Morry Hyams

            Betty Ann Davies as Sadie Hyams

            John Slater as Lou Hyams

            Jane Hylton as Bessie Hyams

            Meier Tzelniker as Solly

            John McCallum as Tommy Swann

            Jimmy Hanley as Whitey

            John Carol as Freddie Price

            Jack Warner as Detective Sgt. Fothergill

            Frederick Piper as Detective Sgt. Leech

            Hermione Baddeley as Mrs. Spry

            Michael Howard as Slopey Collins

            John Salew as Caleb Neesley

            Gladys Henson as Mrs. Neesley

            Edie Martin as Mrs. Watson

            Grace Arnold as Ted's Landlady

            Alfie Bass as Dicey Perkins

            Gilbert Davis as Pub Owner of the "Two Compasses"

            Fred Griffiths as Sam

            Vida Hope as Mrs. Wallis

            John Vere as Rev. Black

            Arthur Hambling as Yardmaster

            Betty Baskcomb as Barmaid of the "Two Compasses"

            Joey Carr as Joe

            David Lines as Alfie Sandigate

            Al Millen as Bill Hawkins
See full cast