THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT

UK, 1957, 100 minutes, black-and-white.
Tony Britton, Sylvia Syms, Jack Watling, Geoffrey Keen, Walter Fitzgerald, Howard Marion Crawford, Cyril Luckham, Ian Bannen.
Directed by Pat Jackson.

This is a British drama of the 1950s, very much based in its time, British customs and, British legislation. It must have served, even though a supporting feature, as a salutary warning against concealing goods which should be declared to customs – an enormous range of consequences including interrogations by customs officials, been charged by the police, having to find a solicitor at short notice, appearing in court, warmed to plead guilty in order to get bail or a fine, a severe judge with a three-month prison sentence, a threat to an important and well-paid job as a salesman, the risk for reputation and further employment…

Tony Britton is the salesman, buying a watch for his wife’s birthday, concealing it in one of the toys that he has brought back from the Nuremberg toy fair. One of the customs officials (the young Ian Bannon) is fascinated by the toys and the watch falls out leading to the above consequences.

Sylvia Sims plays his devoted wife, formerly model, but having to go back to work to raise the money for her husband’s crisis.

The managing director of the company, Geoffrey Keane, admires the salesman. The company is first told that the salesman is ill and can’t come to work and make his report. Eventually, the wife explains the situation to the managing director. He is under fire from the board, especially the Pres, for concealing this news. The board takes a very severe position against the salesman because of its reputation, not wanting to have somebody with a prison record on their staff.

So-called friend of the salesman is eager to find out what has happened, his as the wife, get some information and she confides in him – only for him to tell everybody in the company.

In fact, the Geoffrey Keane character is quite significant, believing in the salesman, willing to give him his job back, trying to persuade the members of the board, appealing to their compassion, appealing to the fact that they have broken the law and Paps of merely been find instead of jailed.

All the moral lesson of the film is quite sombre, audiences left the theatre with some kind of hope for a future and a belief in some good in compassionate people.