With the heavy emphasis on strong female characters, this hour long oddity is an example of just how much has been buried and forgotten in British cinema... and that's a shame.
Although most of the drama is filmed in one claustrophobic room, there'are enough moments of eye candy outside, too, especially in the opening scene where dotty Mrs. Sprule (Nora Nicholson) goes thieving down the local chemists.
Typhoo Tea, Golden Shred, a massive sign reminding us top 'keep regular' with Ex-Lax and the
YZ' chewing gum machine nailed to the wall, Lyons Maid, and even the Platignum writing sets in the book shop, too. It's all awesome nostalgia for us oldies!
But most of the 'action' is filmed in Primrose Lodge, a 'boarding establishment for ladies'! Elizabeth Begley shines as the wheel-chair bound home owner and is able to do an 'about face' of character with some scary facial agility.
For the men, there's the awesome, doll-faced Joanna Dunham, who plays Freda. to feast your eyes on.
Anyway, this 'B movie' on a budget is a briskly paced yarn about blackmail and murder. The first half is slow enough to introduce us to all the well-crafted characters and the second half zips along nicely as the plot gets underway. The ending is a bit of a let down in my opinion... maybe they ran out of 'reel'!
