Rush Hour (1941)
Directed by Anthony Asquith

Film Review

This highly amusing short film was commissioned by the Ministry of Information in 1940 as a public information film, advising the British public to reserve the use of buses and trains during the rush hour periods to workers. Despite its dubious patrician intent, Rush Hour is an amusing film that gets its message across well - it could so easily have been a patronising turn off. It was directed with verve and humour by Anthony Asquith, one of the most highly regarded British filmmakers of the period, remembered for such films as Pygmalion (1938), The Browning Version (1951) and The Importance of Being Earnest (1952). Far from being a dull information film, Asquith makes it an enjoyable short in which his cruel humour is very much in evidence. Unfortunately, the lead actress Muriel George is such a likeable screen presence that you are more inclined to pity her than revile her. George's down-to-earth personality made her a natural shoe-in for realist dramas made in Britain during the 1940s, her films including Cottage to Let (1941) and Went the Day Well? (1942). Among the rest of the uncredited cast are some other busy, albeit less well-known character actors of the period, David Keir, Hay Petrie and Merle Tottenham.

Film Synopsis

During WWII, people in Britain are advised to use public transport outside of the rush hour, to allow workers to get home during the busy evening period.  Violet, a selfish middle-aged woman, cannot understand what all the fuss is about.  She won't be rushed.  Having done her bit of shopping in town, she and her friend settle down for a nice cup of tea and a slice of cake before making their way home.  As expected, Violet's homeward journey is thwarted by the dearth of buses on the street.  Why can't they make more buses instead of tanks?  Violet manages to shove her way onto one bus, only to realise that she has caught the wrong one.  As she tries to make her way home, it begins to rain.  Oh, why didn't she go home early?