An Inspector Calls

An Inspector Calls is a 1954 British drama film directed by Guy Hamilton and starring Alastair Sim, Jane Wenham and Eileen Moore. It is based upon the 1945 play An Inspector Calls by J.B. Priestley and was adapted for the screen by Desmond Davis. It was shot at Shepperton Studios with sets designed by the art director Joseph Bato. Plot In 1912, the upper class Birling family sit at a dining table at the end of a dinner party with their friends. Gerald Croft proposes to the daughter, Sheila. Mother chastises Eric, the son, for drinking too much. Father discusses the likelihood of war and after the meal discusses his possible knighthood with Gerald over port and cigars. They are interrupted by a man calling himself Inspector Poole, investigating the suicide of a working-class girl Eva Smith whose death is linked to each family member. Eva has poisoned herself. She left a diary. Eva was one of Mr Birling's workers in his factory. In a flashback to 1910, we see Eva working in the machine shop in his factory. She goes with a group of women to demand a pay increase from 22/6 to 25/- per week. Birling refuses and tells them to find another job if they are unhappy. Back in the Birling house, the father cannot see what any of this has to do with him. The inspector explains that after a period of unemployment she went to work at Lilworth's but was dismissed after 2 months after a customer complained. It becomes clear that this was Sheila. In a second flashback, Sheila is trying to choose a hat with her mother. Sheila accuses Eva of being rude for smiling as she struggles to fit the hat and demands she is dismissed.