An Inspector Calls (1954 film)

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An Inspector Calls
An Inspector Calls (1954 film) poster.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed byGuy Hamilton
Written byDesmond Davis (screenplay)
Based onAn Inspector Calls
by J.B. Priestley
Produced byA. D. Peters
StarringAlastair Sim
CinematographyTed Scaife
Edited byAlan Osbiston
Music byFrancis Chagrin
Distributed byBritish Lion Film Corporation
Associated Artists Productions
Release date
  • 16 March 1954 (1954-03-16)
Running time
80 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

An Inspector Calls is a British 1954 film directed by Guy Hamilton and written for the screen by Desmond Davis. It is based upon the 1945 play An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley. It stars Alastair Sim.

Plot[]

Set in 1912, a dinner party held by the upper class Birling family is interrupted by a man calling himself Inspector Poole, investigating the suicide of a working class girl Eva Smith whose death is linked to each family member.[1]

Cast[]

Production[]

An Inspector Calls was filmed at Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Middlesex, England, under the auspices of the Watergate Productions Ltd.[2]

In the original play, the Inspector's name was Inspector Goole.[3]

Although the play never shows Eva Smith, the film opens in flashbacks that show each member of the family's involvement in Smith's life.

In the play, Eva is first sacked for being involved in a strike; in the film, she is simply sacked for suggesting that the wages requested were necessary to live on. Similarly, in the play, Sheila is trying on a dress when the incident with Eva occurs in the shop; in the film, the incident is over a hat.

In the play, the Inspector is ushered in by the maid, while in the film he simply appears suddenly in the dining room as if from nowhere, accompanied by an ominous chord in the background music. In the middle of the film, he inspects his pocket watch and asks Eric to enter the room. He states he has just heard Eric come through the door; but before Eric does come through the door. At the end, when the family receives the phone call that the local police are on their way to question them, the Inspector is supposedly in the study, but when the family checks to see if he is there, they find an empty chair and that he has gone.

Reception[]

C. A. Lejeune, film critic of The Observer, recommended the film; despite its lack of technical polish, its slow pace and often trite dialogue, she found it thought-provoking.[4]

References[]

  1. ^ A.W. (26 November 1954). "An Inspector Calls (1954) At the Plaza". The New York Times. Retrieved 9 October 2008.
  2. ^ "An Inspector Calls (1954)".
  3. ^ "An Inspector Calls". The Internet Broadway Database. 2008. Retrieved 18 September 2008.
  4. ^ Lejeune, C A (14 March 1954). "GUILTY PARTY". The Observer.

External links[]

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