Thursday, September 28, 2017

Movie review - "Two Thousand Women" (1944) ***1/2

Actually this is the 60 minute American version called House of 1,000 Women which is a shame but this is still pretty good. It has a strong central idea - an internment camp for British women in occupied France - and an interesting cross section of characters: wise cracking journo Phyllis Calvert, mystery woman Pat Roc who turns out to be a nun (not in this version), stripper Jean Kent, sensible cigarette smoking Renee Houston, Flora Robson and her "companion".

There's good solid conflict - a spy in the camp, some British airmen are shot down and need to escape, giving this a spine. It's very well written by Frank Launder - and directed too, building to an exciting climax at a concert.

Quite sexually frank, with it's stripper character who clearly sleeps with Germans, and a seemingly lesbian couple. The love plots involving Jean Kent and Pat Roc and the airmen feel rushed here - though maybe they were cut out.

There's lots of smoking and women being sensible and British but it's all quite exciting with plenty of movement. I've got to track down the hour-plus version.

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