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      An Inspector Calls

      1954 1h 19m Mystery & Thriller List
      Reviews 80% Audience Score 1,000+ Ratings Based on the play by J.B. Priestley, this British mystery follows Inspector Poole (Alastair Sim) as he investigates the apparent suicide of Eva Smith (Jane Wenham), a young working-class woman. Paying a visit to the wealthy Birling household, Poole arrives in the middle of a dinner party and slowly reveals how each family member, including stern patriarch Arthur Birling (Arthur Young) and his uptight wife, Sybil (Olga Lindo), could have had a hand in Eva's death. Read More Read Less

      Critics Reviews

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      Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl The Birling's home... is decorated in High Smug Edwardian, which is not only a perfect evocation of the period, but also an apt visualization of the family's habit of encasing themselves in protective layers of denial. Rated: 6/10 May 5, 2020 Full Review Clyde Gilmour Maclean's Magazine Not even the adroit Alastair Sim, in a noncomedy role as a mysterious investigator, can overcome the sluggish pace and contrived coincidences of this social-conscience drama... Oct 16, 2019 Full Review Read all reviews

      Audience Reviews

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      Paul G Alistair Sim's is a favourite of mine and whilst he does not say that much in the film, his presence and his expressions completely hit the spot. Its an interesting and very watchable film with a unexacting ending. Well worth a watch. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 11/03/23 Full Review Audience Member Nothing special. Good acting, slow paced, dry story. It's fine if you don't have anything else to do. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 01/21/23 Full Review paul d An Inspector Calls is a very clever mystery and drawing room drama, with noir-ish cinematography and an excellent Alaistair Sim in the lead. It builds methodically, as a standard police mystery at first, then seemingly a complex tale of class struggle. It becomes increasingly interesting as a psychological study and finishes with a flourish. It leaves us wanting more. Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 03/31/23 Full Review Audience Member Saw the newer version. Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars 11/26/18 Full Review Audience Member J.B. Priestley's characteristically plodding and predictable 'mystery' is given a stolid and unremarkable cinematic airing that cannot even be rescued by the wonderful Alastair Sim. Extraordinary to realise that director Guy Hamilton would just ten years later helm arguably the best Bond movie ever (Goldfinger). No wonder John Osborne tore up this stultifying West End tosh and paved the way for a new wave of playwrights. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/27/23 Full Review kevin w The Twilight Zone didn't just appear out of thin air, there were many progenitors. In this one a well-to-do English family is visited by a police investigator looking into the death of a young woman. In what is partly a commentary on the generation gap, but mainly a ugly finger pointing at the class divide, this message movie remains interesting while delivering its pertinent if ever unheeded message. Very good. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 03/30/23 Full Review Read all reviews Post a rating

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      An Inspector Calls

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      Movie Info

      Synopsis Based on the play by J.B. Priestley, this British mystery follows Inspector Poole (Alastair Sim) as he investigates the apparent suicide of Eva Smith (Jane Wenham), a young working-class woman. Paying a visit to the wealthy Birling household, Poole arrives in the middle of a dinner party and slowly reveals how each family member, including stern patriarch Arthur Birling (Arthur Young) and his uptight wife, Sybil (Olga Lindo), could have had a hand in Eva's death.
      Director
      Guy Hamilton
      Screenwriter
      Desmond Davis
      Production Co
      British Lion Film Corporation
      Genre
      Mystery & Thriller
      Original Language
      English
      Runtime
      1h 19m