ONCE A SINNER

GB
1950
1hr 18mins
Dir: Lewis Gilbert
Starring: Patricia Kirkwood and Jack Watling

A lowly bank clerk marries a good time girl, but she can’t sever ties with her old crooked boyfriend

This drama is based on the 1949 novel Irene by Ronald Marsh and is fairly average by the standards of the day…..but it features a wonderful cameo by Olive Sloane. The end of the film culminates in a studio-bound train journey that opens with a shot of a passing express hauled by an ex-LMS Class 5MT ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0. Most of the first half of the film is set in Southend, and in the background of one scene close to the beginning the Southend Pier train is visible.

Pat Kirkwood and Sydney Tafler having crossed words on the prom at Southend. Regardless of whether this is back-projection or not, a train can be seen heading along the pier in the background. This is one of the 7-car formations built by AC Cars of Thames Ditton in 1949 and therefore almost brand new at the time of this film’s release.
Although it is dusk, the approaching express seen here is hauled by a former LMS ‘Black Five’ 4-6-0.