Women of Twilight

Other than for the presence of Laurence Harvey in a supporting role, Twilight Women would be long forgotten today. Some interesting performances characterize this film about a topic that would be seldom mentioned on the Code driven American cinema.

The topic is unwed mothers and Freda Jackson's home for them in London. An outwardly charitable woman, Jackson is quite ruthless and a touch mad as her only interest is getting control of the infants and selling them on the black market. And of course staying way below the radar of law enforcement and social welfare.

Harvey is the criminal father of Rene Ray's baby and is scheduled to hang for a murder which he does. Ray's struggle to survive against Jackson is what drives the film. Jackson however gets the kudos, you will not soon forget that woman. It's what gives this rather cheap production the reason to see it.

Originally a play, the director has chosen not to open it up, so that the story is housebound and, by the standards of 63 years later, hokey - I mean, 40% of American children are born out of wedlock today, yet back in 1952, when that figure was no more than 6 or 7 percent, the subject could hardly be mentioned in American films. One assumes more or less the same percentages in England, yet over there they could meet the challenge head on and actually make a film in which most of the female characters are unwed mothers, some expecting to be wed in time, others having given up hope, still others benefiting from the Total Woe. If that sounds unpromising, watch this film, for it is an object lesson in fine acting by (mainly) postwar British actresses (the only male role in the film with more than a few lines is Lawrence Harvey's), and despite the high theatrics, you may be riveted for its running length. It boasts some incredible talent, actresses who rarely crossed the ocean, so to speak (only Lois Maxwell, later of James Bond fame, would be well-known outside Britain, but she was Canadian and had her acting chops honed in Great Britain, too). Maxwell is fine, but there are several other actresses who were practically English stage, screen and variety royalty - and I do mean the ever-bonkers Freda Jackson (see her steal "Brides of Dracula" from Peter Cushing and Martita Hunt, if your heart can stand it); the greatly talented Rene Ray, the erstwhile 'young' star of the film, who by this time was past 40 (and looked it) and had been a star for 20 years in film, on stage, and as a singer (and would shortly go on to great success as a science fiction writer!); Vida Hope as Jackson's venomous assistant, exuding pure vitriol much of the time; and the ever-delightful Dora Bryan, who rather than being considered simply a British Institution was surely recognized as a National Treasure. Add to them the tragic Joan Dowling (a suicide at 26) as the Giggling One, Barbara Gordon as the Mad One, etc. and you have a feast of high-powered acting to wallow in. If you are not predisposed to such wallowing, this may not be your cup of tea, but it is the kind of film that could have been made (had they all been of the proper age at the same time) with Katina Paxinou in the Jackson role, Bette Davis in the Ray one, maybe early Eleanor Parker in the Maxwell role, maybe Shirley Maclaine as a good substitute for Bryan, Goldie Hawn in the giggling Dowling role, and Sandy Dennis as Gordon's Mad One. Or, given today's computer graphics, you could have had Glenn Close in her best FATAL ATTRACTION mode replacing Freda Jackson, and Meryl Streep playing everybody else! It's that kind of ensemble acting film, but Streep is an ensemble all by herself. Anyway, enjoy the wallow. Otherwise, pass it by. (But, if you do, you'll really be missing something!)

PS: IMDb gives Lois Maxwell's height as 5'8", but in every scene in this film in which she is standing with any or all of the acting ensemble, she seems to be a foot taller than anybody else in the room!

This film apparently has the distinction of being the first film to get the new X certificate.Was it I wondered the sight of a dubbed Laurence Harvey singing?The film betrays its stage origins and there is very little attempt to open out the film.It has a rather pre war feel about it.The music is certainly old fashioned as are some of the performances.Was illegitimacy such a problem in 1952.Bear in mind the effects of the war.Difficult to believe that having a baby out of wedlock was so stigmatised in those days.Dora Bryan stands out with her bright performance ,which is exactly what this grim film needed.Frieda Jackson gives it her all as the Landlady/baby farmer.Not likely to find much of an audience today,Indeed I think that this has not been shown here on TV.

When Freda Jackson's boyfriend, Laurence Harvey, is arrested and eventually found guilty of murder, she's left to deal with her pregnancy alone. Tossed out of his quarters, she finds a lodging house where the landlady runs several related rackets, including baby farming.

This movie has the distinction of being the first British film to be awarded an X certificate (no one under 16 admitted). It's quite frank for its era, with the women -- including Renee Ray, Lois Maxwell, and Clare James -- offering a melancholy bunch of losers. Cheaply directed by Gordon Parry, it offers a compassionate script by Anatole de Grunwald. It's depressing and not my cup of tea, but quite good in its own tawdry way.

Oddball British import, circa 1953. I'm not sure where this tricky flick would be shown in 1950's USA as it apparently was (Lippert Distributers). After all, it's about unwed mothers getting sanctuary in a run-down apartment run by a sinister landlady (Jackson). The whole topic of pregnancy was a touchy one in an age when not even Lucille Ball could say the word "pregnant" on TV's I Love Lucy. Still, the topic is soft-balled in the movie, such that the more pejorative aspects of unwed motherhood are elided, which may have made it more acceptable to US audiences.

Anyway, the narrative mainly occupies interactions between the women, with men hardly seen at all, including future star Harvey who gets only brief screentime. Then too, there's no attempt to glamorize or even prettify the girls. The plot itself develops into a growing bond between wounded-soul Vivianne (Ray) and kindly lady-like Christine (Maxwell). It's Ray's various shades of inner suffering that carry the drama, which she does quite well. At the same time, I couldn't help noticing how much the film resembles a women's prison flick with Nellie (Jackson) as the slyly cruel warden and the girls struggling to just get by. In fact, the crafty Nellie only houses the desperate girls in grim conditions so she can sell their wedlock babies. Oh my.

On the whole, it's a well-acted 90-minutes on a touchy subject that refuses to glamorize in any fashion. Thus, for all its interesting aspects, the movie's probably not a good choice if you're feeling need for uplifting eye-appeal.