''Good-Time Girl'' is a 1948 British

film noir Film noir (; ) is a style of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood Crime film, crime dramas that emphasizes cynicism (contemporary), cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of Ameri ...

crime drama Crime film is a film belonging to the crime fiction genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and fiction. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine with many other genres, such as Drama (film and television), dr ...

film directed by David MacDonald and starring

Jean Kent Jean Kent, born Joan Mildred Field (29 June 1921 − 30 November 2013), was an English film and television actress. Biography Kent was born Joan Mildred Field (sometimes incorrectly cited as Summerfield) in Brixton, London in 1921, the only c ...

Dennis Price Dennistoun John Franklyn Rose Price (23 June 1915 – 6 October 1973) was an English actor. He played Louis Mazzini in the Ealing Studios film ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) and the omnicompetent valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptation ...

and

Herbert Lom Herbert Charles Angelo Kuchačevič ze Schluderpacheru (11 September 1917 – 27 September 2012), known professionally as Herbert Lom (), was a Czech-British actor with a career spanning over 60 years. His cool demeanour and precise, elegan ...

. A homeless girl is asked to explain her bad behaviour in the juvenile court, and says she's run away from home because she's unhappy there. They explain in detail what happened to the last girl who thought she could cope on her own, and this becomes the main plot.

Plot

The film opens with Miss Thorpe, chairwoman of the Juvenile Court, giving advice to troubled teenager Lyla Lawrence. Miss Thorpe tells Lyla that her life has a similar beginning to that of Gwen Rawlings. She then recounts Gwen's story in a series of flashbacks. Gwen is a 16-year-old girl who repeatedly falls in with the wrong crowd. Her troubles begin with her employer, a pawnbroker, who catches her "borrowing" a brooch from his shop. Although Gwen had only borrowed it to wear at a dance and had every intention of returning it, she is fired. When she arrives home and informs her father, he beats her. The next day Gwen packs her things and moves into a boarding house. There she meets Jimmy Rosso, a sharply-dressed man who immediately takes a liking to her good looks, telling her he could get her a job at the club where he works. Jimmy tells her to go to the Blue Angel night club, where she meets his employer Max Vine, the boss. Having checked out her shapely legs he employs her as a hat-check girl. While working she meets "Red" Farrell, a member of the club's band, who feels the need to look after her well-being. Jimmy attempts to pursue Gwen but is rejected. He grows angry about the growing relationship between Red and Gwen and beats her. Max discovers what Jimmy has done and fires him. Angry at Gwen, who he feels has lost him his job, Jimmy plots to betray her. He steals their landlady's jewellery and tells Gwen to pawn it for him. Believing that the jewellery belonged to his mother, Gwen follows his instructions. Later, after learning that Max had been attacked by a gang, Gwen doesn't want to go back to her lodgings because of Jimmy. Neither does she want to go to her parents because of her father, so Red takes her back to his place. Red lets her have a bath and allows her a night's stay but insists that she leave the following day when they will search for new lodgings for her. When watching the movie, the name of the night club is articulated as being something similar sounding to Swan's Down, rather than Blue Angel. However, the police soon find Gwen and she is sent to court where she is accused of having stolen jewellery. Believing Jimmy's lies and discounting Red's evidence that Gwen is innocent, Miss Thorpe, presiding over the hearing, decides to send her to an

approved school An approved school was a type of residential institution in the United Kingdom to which young people could be sent by a court, usually for committing offences but sometimes because they were deemed to be beyond parental control. They were model ...

for three years. The child welfare officer allows Red to see Gwen before she is taken and they steal a passionate kiss. During a school fight Gwen runs away and finds Max, who has opened another club, in Brighton. Max is reluctant to take her back but as she's clearly desperate, he gives her a job. Gwen soon becomes close to Danny Martin, a regular at the club. One drunken night both are out for a drive when they accidentally hit and kill a police officer. Danny forbids anyone from speaking to the police. However, once Danny is questioned Gwen flees. Danny later finds Gwen and beats her. Gwen is found and helped by two American soldiers who are

AWOL Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

. They decide to band together and become petty criminals in London. After becoming too well known in the city for their crimes, they decide to head to Manchester. As they flag down a car to steal, Gwen immediately recognises that the driver of the car is Red. When her companions see the two know each other, they shoot Red dead. All three are eventually caught and tried for their crimes, and Gwen is sentenced to serve fifteen years in prison. At the end of the film, a chastened Lyla thanks Miss Thorpe and decides to head home.

Cast

as Gwen Rawlings *

as Michael 'Red' Farrell *

as Max Vine *

Bonar Colleano Bonar Colleano (born Bonar Sullivan; 14 March 1924 – 17 August 1958) was an American-British stage and film actor based in the United Kingdom. Biography Early life Colleano was born Bonar Sullivan in New York City. He had childhood experiences ...

as Micky Malone *

Peter Glenville Peter Glenville (born Peter Patrick Brabazon Browne; 28 October 19133 June 1996) was an English theatre and film director, and actor. He was a prominent director of stage plays on the West End and Broadway in the 1950s. He was nominated fo ...

as Jimmy Rosso *

Flora Robson Dame Flora McKenzie Robson (28 March 19027 July 1984) was an English actress and star of the theatrical stage and cinema, particularly renowned for her performances in plays demanding dramatic and emotional intensity. Her range extended from qu ...

as Miss Thorpe *

George Carney George Carney (21 November 1887 – 9 December 1947) was a British comedian and film actor. Born in Bristol, he worked in the Liverpool Cotton Exchange, in a furniture business, then in the Belfast shipyards. In 1906 he made his debut stage ...

as Mr. Rawlings *

Beatrice Varley Beatrice Evelyn Varley (11 July 1896 – 4 July 1964) was an English actress who appeared in television and film roles between 1936 and 1964. She made her screen debut in the 1936 film ''Tomorrow We Live'' and began to portray a variety of ...

as Mrs. Rawlings * Hugh McDermott as Al Schwartz * Griffith Jones as Danny Martin *

Amy Veness Amy Veness (26 February 1876 – 22 September 1960) was an English film actress. She played the role of Grandma Huggett in '' The Huggetts Trilogy'' and was sometimes credited as Amy Van Ness. Veness was born Amy Clarice Beart in Aldeburgh, Su ...

as Mrs. Chalk *

Elwyn Brook-Jones Elwyn Brook-Jones (11 December 1911 – 4 September 1962) was a British theatre, film and television actor. Early life According to his obituary in ''The Times'', Brook-Jones was born in Sarawak on the island of Borneo; however, other sources pl ...

as Mr. Pottinger *

Orlando Martins Orlando Martins (8 December 1899 – 25 September 1985) was a pioneering Yoruba Nigerian film and stage actor. In the late 1940s, he was one of Britain's most prominent and leading black actors, and in a poll conducted in 1947, he was listed ...

as Kolly *

Renee Gadd Renee Gertrude Gadd (22 June 1906 – 20 July 2003) was an Argentine-born British film actress. She acted mostly in British films. Early life Gadd was born on a ranch in Bahía Blanca, Argentina in 1908 to immigrants from Jersey. Her father, Tal ...

as Mrs. Parsons *

Jill Balcon Jill Angela Henriette Balcon (3 January 192518 July 2009) was a British actress. She was known for her work in film, television, radio and on stage. She made her film debut in '' Nicholas Nickleby'' (1947). She was the second wife of poet Cecil ...

as Roberta * Joan Young as Mrs. Bond *

Margaret Barton Margaret Ann Barton (born 27 May 1926) is a British retired actress. She is best known for her role in the 1945 David Lean film ''Brief Encounter'' in which she played Beryl Walters, a girl who works in the railway station cafe. Early career Ba ...

as Agnes *

Jack Raine Thomas Foster "Jack" Raine (18 May 1897 – 30 May 1979) was an English stage, television and film actor. Career He was a leading man of the British cinema in the late twenties and early thirties in such films as '' The Hate Ship'' (1929), ...

as Detective Inspector Girton *

Nora Swinburne Leonora Mary Johnson (24 July 1902 – 1 May 2000), known professionally as Nora Swinburne, was an English actress who appeared in many British films. Early years Swinburne was born in Bath, Somerset, the daughter of Henry Swinburne Johnson ...

as Miss Mills *

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a Bombshell (slang), blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van ...

as Lyla Lawrence * George Merritt as Police Sergeant *

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern (3 October 19112 May 1995) was an English actor. He is best known for his Shakespearean roles, especially King Lear. He often appeared in film, rising from a bit part actor to leading roles; by the time of his death ...

as Seddon *

Garry Marsh Garry Marsh (21 May 1902 – 6 March 1981) was an English stage and film actor. Biography Born Leslie March Gerahty on 21 May 1902 in St Margarets, Middlesex, his parents were George and Laura. His elder brothers were the author Digby George ...

as Mr. Hawkins * Harry Ross as Fruity Lee *

Dorothy Vernon Dorothy Vernon (1544 – 24 June 1584), the younger daughter of Sir George Vernon and Margaret ''nee'' Talbois (or Tailboys), was the heiress of Haddon Hall, an English country house in Derbyshire with its origins in the 12th century. She marri ...

as Mrs. Chudd *

Vera Frances Vera Frances Ward ( Still, born 29 September 1930) is a British actress who worked with Arthur Askey, Tommy Handley, George Formby, Dinah Sheridan, John Mills and Alastair Sim, amongst others. Frances's father was a props and special effects ...

as Edie Rawlings * June Byford as Joan Rawlings * John Blythe as Art Moody *

Edward Lexy Edward Lexy (18 February 1897, in London – 31 January 1970, in Dublin) was a British actor. He was born Edward Little. Career He made his London stage début in 1936, and his first film the following year. His film roles were a mixture of s ...

as Mr. Morgan * Phyl French as Sonia * Danny Green as Smiling Billy *

Noel Howlett Noel Howlett (22 December 1902 – 26 October 1984) was an English actor, principally remembered as the incompetent headmaster, Morris Cromwell, in the ITV 1970s cult television programme ''Please Sir!'' He was the subject of infatuation by De ...

as Clerk * Mollie Palmer as Reform school girl *

Zena Marshall Zena Moyra Marshall (1 January 1926 – 10 July 2009) was a British actress of film and television. Early years Marshall was of English, Irish and (on her mother's side) French descent. Though born in Kenya, after her father's death and her ...

as Annie Farrell * Ilena Sylva as Ida * Betty Nelson as Connie * Rosalind Atkinson as Doctor *

Iris Vandeleur Iris Vandeleur (1884–1969) was a British stage and film actress. In 1951 she appeared in the BBC television series ''Sherlock Holmes'' as Mrs. Hudson, the landlady. In the West End she appeared in 1939 in Ian Hay Major (Honorary Major G ...

as Lodger *

Jane Hylton Jane Hylton (born Audrey Gwendolene Clark; 16 July 1926 – 28 February 1979) was an English actress who accumulated 30 film credits, mostly in the 1940s and 1950s, before moving into television work in the latter half of her career in the 1960 ...

as Doris * Lionel Grose as Silver Slipper doorman *

Arthur Hambling Arthur Hambling (14 March 1888 – 6 December 1952) was a British actor, on stage from 1912, and best known for appearances in the films ''Henry V'' (1944) and ''The Lavender Hill Mob'' (1951). In 1939 he appeared in the West End in N.C. Hunte ...

as Policeman At Park Gates * Tommy Duggan as MP * Jim O'Brady as Max's attacker *

Wally Patch Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970), known as Wally Patch, was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on th ...

as Bookie *

Phyllis Stanley Phyllis Stanley (30 October 1914 – 12 March 1992) was a British actress. Personal life During World War II, she shared a flat in West End of London with the Scottish heiress Jane Corby. Partial filmography * '' Leave It to Blanche'' (193 ...

as Ida

Production

The film was originally known as ''Bad Girl''. It was based on

Arthur La Bern Arthur La Bern (1909–1990) was a British journalist, novelist and screenwriter, specialising in crime fiction. Four of his novels were adapted into films, including ''Goodbye Piccadilly, Farewell Leicester Square'' which was made into Alfred H ...

's 1947 novel '' Night Darkens the Street''. It was shot at

Islington Studios Islington Studios, often known as Gainsborough Studios, were British film studios located on the south bank of the Regent's Canal, in Poole Street, Hoxton in the former Metropolitan Borough of Shoreditch, London between 1919 and 1949. The studi ...

and on location around

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

s Maurice Carter and

George Provis George Provis (1901–1989) was a British art director who worked on over a hundred films during a lengthy career. He began his career working on quota quickies during the 1930s. After the Second World War, Provis was appointed by Sydney Box to h ...

Release

The film was originally banned by the British censor for its dialogue. Trade papers called the film a "notable box office attraction" in British cinemas in 1948.

Critical reception

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' concluded that "even the commendable acting in ''Good Time Girl'' does not bring it out of the minor melodrama class"; whereas ''

The Monthly Film Bulletin The ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 until April 1991, when it merged with '' Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those wi ...

'' found the film "Tensely gripping in its seamiest situations, it holds the interest to the end and makes the heart beat faster...Apart from perfect direction, fine photography, and good acting, the story makes one think and argue"; and in ''

The Spectator ''The Spectator'' is a weekly British political and cultural news magazine. It was first published in July 1828, making it the oldest surviving magazine in the world. ''The Spectator'' is politically conservative, and its principal subject a ...

'',

Virginia Graham Virginia Graham, born Virginia Komiss, (July 4, 1912 – December 22, 1998) was an American daytime television talk show host from the mid-1950s to the mid-1970s. On television, Graham hosted the syndicated programs ''Food for Thought'' (1953� ...

wrote "Good Time Girl makes a shot at dealing seriously and honestly with the problem of juvenile delinquency, and it does not fall too short of the mark." Financially, the film was not a great success with box office takings (£177,000 at 1953) slightly under its production costs of £180,000.

References

External links

* * *
Review of film
at Variety {{David MacDonald 1948 films 1948 crime drama films British crime drama films British crime thriller films British black-and-white films Films with screenplays by Muriel Box Films with screenplays by Sydney Box Films with screenplays by Ted Willis, Baron Willis Films produced by Sydney Box Films based on British novels Eagle-Lion Films films Films directed by David MacDonald (director) 1940s crime thriller films Film noir 1940s English-language films 1940s British films Gainsborough Pictures films Islington Studios films Films shot in London Films set in London Films set in Brighton Films scored by Lambert Williamson Films scored by Clifton Parker English-language crime drama films English-language crime thriller films