Those People Next Door

While it might be mired in the jokey chauvinism of the time, there's a thoughtful attempt to discuss class relations in this adaptation of Zelda Davees's play, Wearing the Pants. It bears a distinct similarity to other wartime dramas such as Millions Like Us (1943) and This Happy Breed (1944), yet it often feels more like the pilot for a sitcom, and could hardly be considered social realism. It may be 1941, with bombs raining down on London, but the initial focus is on the friendship between working stiff Jack Warner (echoing his earlier roles as Joe Huggett) and socialist neighbour Charles Victor. However, when Warner and Marjorie Rhodes's daughter (Patricia Cutts) falls for a well-heeled squadron leader (Peter Forbes-Robertson), a "them and us" curtain descends after Garry Marsh and hoity wife Grace Arnold express their disapproval of the match. The performances are better than John Harlow's set-bound direction, with Gladys Henson scene-stealing as Victor's scrounging spouse and Geoffrey Sumner amusing as an RAF toff.