The Halfway House

During World War II, various people converge on the Halfway House, an inn in the Welsh countryside. In flashback, we see the events that led them there. In Cardiff, David Davies, a famous orchestra conductor, is advised by his doctor to cancel a tour and rest. In London, Richard French and his wife Jill argue over their young daughter Joanna, who overhears them from outside discussing divorce. At Parkmoor Prison, Captain Fortescue, a thief expelled from service, is released. In a Welsh port, merchant captain Harry Meadows and his wife Alice quarrel about their deceased son, a victim of the U-boats. Black marketeer Oakley departs from London for some fishing, while Margaret and her Irish fiancé Terence take a train from Bristol.

At the inn, the proprietor Rhys seems to materialise out of thin air. He tells a puzzled Fortescue he was expected. And when Oakley signs the register, he notices a long gap after the last signature, dated a year previous. Over the day, the other guests arrive and register. A series of odd occurrences persist. For example, on being served tea, Alice Meadows is shocked to see no reflection of Rhys in a mirror. Outside the inn, Fortescue and Oakley notice that Gwyneth, Rhys's daughter, casts no shadow, though Joanna, standing nearby, does. Meanwhile, in an effort to reunite her parents, Joanna arranges a fake near-drowning, with the help of Captain Meadows. It nearly goes awry.

At dinner, Rhys relates how the inn was bombed and destroyed by German airplanes exactly a year ago. While helping Gwyneth wash the dishes afterwards, she tells Davies "you're coming our way". He understands. Alice arranges a seance, much to her husband's disapproval. He turns on the radio, breaking the mood, and Alice storms out. The captain tells the others that he just wants his son to rest in peace. Rhys suggests he tell his wife; he does and the couple reconcile. Then, radio broadcasts from 1942 convince everyone they have travelled a year back in time. Rhys explains they are all there because they needed a pause to consider their lives. The air raid proceeds as Rhys described. Richard French's paramount concern for his wife and Joanna's safety reunites them, while both Fortescue and Oakley repent their criminal ways. The guests leave behind a demolished inn.

The film premiered in London at the Regal, Marble Arch on 14 April 1944,[1] and The Times reviewer wrote: "The film elusively obtains its effects when it appears to be least striving after them, and an occasional frisson is achieved by acute touches of direction which light up not only depths of human tension and unhappiness, but also unobtrusively reckon with their cause—the war."[5]

George Perry wrote in Forever Ealing (1981), "No matter how well-acted, the fantasy is hard to sustain and never develops beyond a theatrical morality tale."[6] The Huffington Post reviewer disagreed, writing "I really can't recommend The Halfway House enough: unlike the more overt Ealing war films (which this resembles in many ways, not least the disparate group coming together and working together), this is subtler propaganda, and its overarching supernatural atmosphere is well done. Apart from that, however, it offers strong character portraits, great visual flourishes, and another solid turn from [Mervyn] Johns."[7] Flickering Myth called it "an unseen and unappreciated classic of British cinema".[8]

• The Halfway House at IMDb
• The Halfway House review at Variety
• The Halfway House at the BFI's Screenonline