"Waterloo Road" is a most unusual film for when it was made. After all, it was made in the final months of WWII and is a story about a soldier on AWOL...and you are supposed to be pulling for the guy! This is a far cry from the usual jingoistic propaganda war film of the day!!
When the story begins, Private Colter (John Mills) receives word that his wife is spending time with a local playboy, Ted Purvis (Stewart Granger). The problem is that the Private cannot get leave...so he heads home anyway! When he's caught, he tries to explain the situation but isn't granted leave. In fact, he's being escorted back to his unit when he slips away and heads to London looking for his wife and the rotter. The film consists of his adventures leading up to the eventual confrontation scene.
The acting is good and the film well made. As for Granger, it's interesting to see him here in his pre-Hollywood days....as he's very thin and gangly. In fact, he really didn't seem nearly as handsome as he would just a few years later after he filled out a bit and perfected a prettier accent. The only weakness I noticed in the script is that the wife seemed like an empty-headed woman who had no ability to say no to the playboy. I wish they'd written her a bit better...with more personality and grit. Still, an enjoyable little curio...a film I just didn't expect to see coming from early 1945.
While this is a good film, I couldn't help but wishing "Waterloo Road" had captions. After all, the accents in this British movie are those of working class blokes....and they aren't quite so easy to always understand to us Yanks.
When the story begins, Private Colter (John Mills) receives word that his wife is spending time with a local playboy, Ted Purvis (Stewart Granger). The problem is that the Private cannot get leave...so he heads home anyway! When he's caught, he tries to explain the situation but isn't granted leave. In fact, he's being escorted back to his unit when he slips away and heads to London looking for his wife and the rotter. The film consists of his adventures leading up to the eventual confrontation scene.
The acting is good and the film well made. As for Granger, it's interesting to see him here in his pre-Hollywood days....as he's very thin and gangly. In fact, he really didn't seem nearly as handsome as he would just a few years later after he filled out a bit and perfected a prettier accent. The only weakness I noticed in the script is that the wife seemed like an empty-headed woman who had no ability to say no to the playboy. I wish they'd written her a bit better...with more personality and grit. Still, an enjoyable little curio...a film I just didn't expect to see coming from early 1945.
While this is a good film, I couldn't help but wishing "Waterloo Road" had captions. After all, the accents in this British movie are those of working class blokes....and they aren't quite so easy to always understand to us Yanks.