Pink String and Sealing Wax (1945 Robert Hamer & co-scr)

Period Ealing drama, festooned with unnecessary songs, one of several collaborations between Hamer and Googie Withers. Repressive household dominated by Mervyn Johns contrasted against easy living wife of seafront publican Withers, who's having affair with sleazy good-for-nothing John Carol.

The Johns family comprises Gordon Jackson, Mary Merrall, Jean Ireland and Sally Anne Howes. Publican is Garry Marsh (I See A Dark Stranger, Dead of Night), Catherine Lacey (Whisky Galore, The Lady Vanishes, The October Man) is a sort of tipsy commentator on the action.

Centres on the fact that strychnine poisoning can resemble tetanus. Roland Pertwee's play was adapted by Diana Morgan, music Norman Demuth, photography Stan Pavey (credited as Richard S. Pavey). I'm not sure it quite comes off - the ending is too pat - the most interesting thing cinematically is the long tracking shot of Googie emerging from the pub and walking to her death. But it's quite a tough world - the guy Googie's interested in has given his previous girl a nasty scar, is more interested in an elder widow because of her money, answers her 'You don't love me' casually with 'Well I never said I did'.

One of many interesting films from Hamer, whose full credits are:

Vessel of Wrath 1938 (editor)
Jamaica Inn 1939 (editor)
Turned Out Nice Again 1941 (editor) George Formby
Ships With Wings 1941 (editor)
The Foreman Went to France 1942 (editor)
San Demetrio London (co-scr) 1943. Crippled merchant navy ship in 1940. Hamer completed the film. Looks good.
Dead of Night ('The Haunted Mirror') 1945
Pink String and Sealing Wax (and co-scr) 1945
It Always Rains on Sunday (and co-scr) 1947
Kind Hearts and Coronets (and scr) 1949
The Spider and the Fly 1949 - French policeman, thief and girl in WW1 France, Eric Portman. 'The bleakest of all Hamer's films'. Not sure I'd agree with that...
His Excellency (and scr) 1952 - ex-docker becomes governor of Mediterranean colony, Portman again. 'A task for which he had little interest'.
The Long Memory (and scr) 1952
Father Brown 1954
To Paris With Love 1954
Bernard Shaw (doc) 1957
The Scapegoat 1959. Recut by MGM.
School For Scoundrels 1960
A Jolly Bad Fellow (scr only) 1963 - Black comedy about death inducing gas, with Dennis Price, and John Barry score.
55 Days at Peking 1963 (additional dialogue)

Full biog, by Robert Murphy, here, who provides comments above.