The Big Day

Three men at a small firm are in competition for rise to a directorship of the firm: Donald Pleasence, a meek man carrying on an affair with Andree Melly, a nineteen-year-old typist; Harry Corbett, who is married to the managing director's sister and who runs the shipping department; and William Franklyn, who is in charge of orders and contracts.

To the audience, they all three seem like small-minded men, with little to recommend them, although much of the movie is devoted to following Pleasence. The managing director, Colin Gordon, seems likewise a small-minded man, who maintains his control of the staff by finding fault; it seems likely that anyone of ability has left the place for better prospects and management. It seems, therefore, that this movie is intended as an indictment of British industry in general at the time, which would explain why whatever they manufacture is not specified, and why the score, when it appears, is in a minor key. A depressing, well acted, and potentially interesting movie is reduced in effectiveness by the fact there is not one of the executives to root for, and the entire firm runs on gossip and toadying.