An Inspector Calls [Blu-ray]

Director: Guy Hamilton Guy Hamilton

Overview

The suicide of a young girl provides the framework for this mystery. The story really begins when an enigmatic police inspector appears at the girl's wealthy family's home and begins questioning them. Flashbacks reveal their role in the death. First her father fires her from his factory because she was a troublemaker who incited a group of workers to ask for a raise. Later she is hired in a shop and her sister's fiance helps her find her own apartment. She soon finds herself unable to make it financially and asks her mother for help. Her mother refuses and she must then take charity. Later her brother becomes a criminal after getting his sister pregnant. The inspector draws the conclusion that each party was partly responsible for her death.

Product Details

Release Date:	05/05/2020
UPC:	0738329246709
Original Release:	1954
Rating:	NR
Source:	Kl Studio Classics
Region Code:	A
Presentation:	[B&W]
Language:	English
Time:	1:20:00
Sales rank:	7,272

Special Features

Audio Commentary by Film Historian David DelValle; Interview with Actress Jane Wenham; Trailers

Cast & Crew

Performance Credits

Alastair Sim	Inspector Poole
Arthur Young	Arthur Birling
Eileen Moore	Sheila Birling
Olga Lindo	Sybil Birling
Bryan Forbes	Eric Birling
Brian Worth	Gerald Croft
Jane Wenham	Eva Smith
Pat Neal	1st Maid,First Maid
Norman Bird	Foreman
John Welsh	Shopwalker
Barbara Everest	Committee Member
Jenny Jones	Girl
Amy Green	2nd Maid
Catherine Willmer	Senior Factory Woman
Olwen Brookes	Miss Francis
Bill Raymond	Hat Department Manager
Walter Cross	Joe Meggarty
George Hirste	Cabbie
Brenda Duncan	Committee Member
Helen Cleverley	Committee Member
Winnie Wiblin	Committee Member
Mabel Etherington	Committee Member
Charles Saynor	Police Sergeant Arnold Ransom
Vi Endean	Committee Member
George Woodbridge	Stanley
Francis Chagrin	Composer

Technical Credits

Desmond Davis

J.B. Priestley

Guy Hamilton	Director
A.D. Peters	Producer
Desmond Davis	Screenwriter
J.B. Priestley	Screenwriter

Editorial Reviews

Even the best "whodunnits" usually feature a number of artificial contrivances to make their complicated plots work. When the plot is engrossing enough, the viewer is happy to forgive the contrivances for the thrills provided. An Inspector Calls is inordinately artificial -- it is set almost claustrophobically in the Birling manse, the plot involves a string of coincidences that are almost laughable, and their revelations by the sly inspector are quite calculated. This is partially redeemed by a twist near the end, but until then the film labors under the weight of the plot's machinations -- and also under the weight of the social conscience that is the real point of the story. It's an admirable conscience, but presented a bit too baldly and thus comes across slightly preachy. That said, the plot does progress in a logical and involving fashion, and the cast is delightful. Alastair Sim could play this role in his sleep and brings his natural understated flair to the part, and a young Bryan Forbes is an added bonus in a role that can be predictable. Guy Hamilton's direction flags a bit, but he provides the appropriate mystical feel that is crucial to the film's ultimate effectiveness. The film is not as socially important as it wants to be, but it is a fine flick for a rainy afternoon.