The War Bride

This Canadian-British production sees Friel and fellow seamstress Cox whisked away from the London Blitz by dashing Canadian soldiers. Cox gets the rich guy, Friel the short straw in a nowheresville Cold Comfort Farm presided over by unsmiling mother-in-law Fricker. Friel does well playing the embodiment of the optimistic spirit beset by petty prejudice, envy and xenophobia, but shows the limitations of her acting when dealing with her traumatised husband (the excellent Young) on his return from war. Decently directed and nicely shot, the film nevertheless rarely rises above the conventional.