The Crowded Day 1954 Based on a story by John Paddy Carstairs and Moie Charles, screenplay by Talbot Rothwell, directed by John Guillermin. Released in the US under the ghastly title of Shop Soiled. A comedy with a serious side.
Joan Rice plays a shop girl at Bunting and Hobbs, a large multi floor department store in London. Joan is dating a co-worker played by John Gregson. She's not happy with him, when the movie opens he's failed to show up for their date, his excuse is he had to go to a meeting of his vintage car club. She breaks their engagement and they spend the rest of the movie getting back together.
On a more serious note, Josephine Griffin plays another store employee with relationship problems. She's desperately trying to find her fiance. He left his mother's house two months ago for a job and Josephine hasn't heard from him since. The mother hates Josephine and won't tell her where her son has gone. The personal manager finds out that she's pregnant and gives her two week notice. Josephine steals some strychnine tablets and leaves the store. She spends the rest of the movie deciding what to do. Josephine's scenes contrast with the more carefree scenes of her co-workers. The movie ends on a high note for her.
The other characters have small story arcs that fill in the spaces around the two main story lines. It's more of a drama that I care for but I enjoyed it. There's a good script, a director I like, and some good actors in the cast: Freda Jackson, Patricia Marmont, George Woodbridge, Sonia Holm, Rachel Roberts, Vera Day, Thora Hird, Arthur Hill, Prunella Scales, Sydney Tafler, Edward Chapman, Richard Wattis and Sidney James. You can check out a nice copy on YouTube.
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