1942 British film
Salute John Citizen is a 1942 black and white British drama film directed by Maurice Elvey and starring Edward Rigby, Mabel Constanduros and Jimmy Hanley.[2] The Bunting family face up to the fortunes of war during the Second World War.[3]
Plot
The life of an ordinary family during the London Blitz. In the summer before that explosive September, elderly clerk Mr. Bunting (Edward Rigby) loses his job at the Department store where he's worked for over 40 years. George Bunting is the head of a happy home, with wife Mary (Mabel Constanduros), daughter Julie (Peggy Cummins), and two sons, Chris (Eric Micklewood) and Ernest (Jimmy Hanley). When the Blitz hits London, we observe its effect on the family, and how they cope with the crisis. Mr. Bunting is rehired in his former job due to the shortage of manpower, though little else in his life is positive. Daughter Julie goes to work in a factory. The London blitz destroys everything in sight, and one of his sons, Chris, is killed. In the wake of this destruction, his other son, Ernest is converted from pacifism to the war effort.
Reception
Allmovie described the film as " a simple, low-pressure study of the wartime "home front."...in its own quiet, unassuming war, Salute John Citizen paints a truer portrait of a proud populace besieged by war than the more celebrated Mrs. Miniver ";[4] and TV Guide noted "a nice little film--a simple telling of a modest family's attempts to cope with ongoing conflict"[5] while in his book Typical Men: The Representation of Masculinity in Popular British Cinema, Andrew Spicer concluded that the films "popularity was limited by its obviously frugal budget, and uncharismatic central star."[6]
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