Dance Hall – 1950 | 80 mins | Drama | B&W

Plot Synopsis

Dance Hall was one of Ealing’s rare attempts to get to grips with a feminine subject. Directed by Charles Crichton, the film contrasted the monotony of factory life with the glamour and excitement of the Palais, following the stories of four girls played by Diana Dors (her only Ealing appearance), Petula Clark, who had only just emerged from children’s roles, Jane Hylton, who had been in It Always Rains on Sunday and Passport to Pimlico, and Natasha Parry, the future wife of Sir Peter Brook, making her film debut. The storyline is somewhat thin, and the purpose of the film is to get behind the scenes of a big dance hall and show something of the life it represents.

Natasha Parry stars as Eve, whose marriage to Phil (Donald Houston) is imperilled when she takes a different partner for an upcoming dance contest. Her reasoning is that Phil is a lousy dancer, but she loves him all the same; Phil, however, is the jealous type, who doesn’t quite see things Eve’s way. Although the background is reasonably authentic, with famous bands such as those of Geraldo and Ted Heath given opportunities to perform on camera, little is revealed about the girls, who are far too actressy to be taken as genuine working-class fugitives from the shop floor.

Extract© George Perry: Forever Ealing.