User Reviews

More of a polemic than an entertainment, based upon J. B. Priestley's stage play, it has it's moments of emotional drama but the message (which you can take or leave) outweighs everything else. The cast do a good job but ultimately they are mouthpieces for the politics. Standing out for me was Googie Withers as the reluctant barmaid, revealing under her feisty exterior a deep heart and soul. She was excellent. It is entirely shot in the studio and the sparse look of the sets probably reflect the film's stage origins. Wisely the actual ideal city itself is not shown, leaving it to the viewer's imagination. The music sourced from Scriabin was effectively used. Would not say I enjoyed the film but it is worth seeing. Mainly for Ms. Withers.

British director Basil Dearden's 1944 film version of J B Priestley's play of the same name is a rather original 'philosophical tract' on post WW2 British reconstruction. As a group of (nine) strangers find themselves adrift, but coming together, in an artificial (almost A Matter of Life and Death-like) heavenly construction overseeing a 'city', Priestley (and co-writer Dearden) attempt to give us a representative microcosm of 1940s Britain (waitress, businessman, sailor, cleaner, bank manager, member of the aristocracy, etc.) split roughly, and particularly relevantly for the time, along class lines. We then get quite a wide-ranging discussion encompassing a range of issues, including mortality, marriage, fidelity, sexual politics, artifice, religion, catharsis, etc, but which, in line with Priestley's world view, essentially boils down to a debate on capitalism vs. Socialism in the context of Britain needing to 'rebuild' (and 'reform') itself post-war.

Such a premise may sound a little dry and, to an extent, it is! Nevertheless, some of the characters here, particularly Googie Withers' (typically for the actress) exuberant waitress, Norman Shelley's blustering narrow-minded businessman, Raymond Huntley's wavering bank manager and Ada Reeve's elderly and life-experienced cleaner, bring Priestley's drama to emotional (and political) life. Having visited the 'utopian city' Dearden's cast is left with the dilemma - who wants to stay and who to go? Of course, the leavers are, perhaps predictably, the more narrow-minded (i.e. Those with vested interests in the status quo) of the bunch. The film therefore suffers from a curious mix of overambition (in the scope of the philosophical discussion) and predictable outcome. That said, it is particularly the roles of (the great) Googie Withers (whose stolen just about every film I've seen her in) and Reeve's perhaps unexpectedly sage words of wisdom that cut though some of the more preachy content here. Dearden's film was criticised at the time for being 'uncinematic' which it largely is, but other play-based films, for example Twelve Angry Mean and His Girl Friday, disprove this as a definitive criticism and it is rather They Came To a City's dry and esoteric subject matter that is its principal limiting factor. And on this latter subject I would certainly opt for I'm All Right Jack as a more effective and, of course, funnier depiction of a similar political spectrum.

This interesting fantasy drama based upon a play by J.B. Priestley (who acts as the film's narrator) is a view of a hopeful new world for some and a nightmare for others. An eclectic group of strangers head on a train to a location of which they are most likely unsure. Their final destination looks like a mountaintop castle with a door that is barred to them. Unexpectedly, one of them noticed a city seemingly miles below their location, and it soon becomes obvious that some of them fear entering the city and refuse to make their way through the door when it finally opens. Arguments arise as to why they should go or stay, and it soon becomes transparent that this is not just an ordinary city, but a final destination.

The message behind the Priestley play will be different to everybody as this is a thinking man's fantasy, a mixture of ethical, spiritual, political and personal beliefs, based upon class, ambition, greed and humanity. John Clements and Googie Withers headline the cast as a rebellious young man (unsure of what he's rebelling against and why) and a very tired barmaid, more than ready for a rest. Uppity Mabel Terry-Lewis and her daughter Fanny Rowe don't see eye to eye on entering the city, while two stuffy businessmen and a plain talking charwoman offer other theories of why to stay or go.

Yes, this does come off a bit like a filmed staged play, what is lucious to look at, with the type of art direction that would be later seen in "Stairway To Heaven". It is literary and profound, an excercise in philosophy that some viewers may be put off by. However, the acting is top notch, each characterization an interesting view of the different levels of humanity, and an opening to all sorts of conversation. This may be ripe for an art house revival, because at least there it might find the type of audience to truly appreciate it.