Why so much hype?

Excellent, smart action film.

Simple and well acted, it has tension enough to knot the stomach.

Not sure how, but this is easily one of the best movies all summer. Multiple levels of funny, never takes itself seriously, super colorful, and creative.

Ralph Richardson, who both directs and acts in this film, has taken a simple story that depicts a short period in the life of a middle-class couple in post-war England whose routine is suddenly disrupted by the memory lapse of the husband. The story is brought to life by the acting of the three main actors - Richarson and Margaret Leighton as the couple and the medical doctor, Jack Hawkins.A veteran of World War II (1939-45), the dutiful husband is stricken with an anxiety attack that causes him to relive his days in battle. When this mental episode is over, he cannot remember what happened for a full 24-hour period. Husband and wife are perplexed and anxious by this sudden turn of events. They turn to their understanding family doctor for an explanation. The doctor, Jack Hawkins, is sympathetic and not overly worried but eager to find out the source of the problem.As it turns out, a theft and murder occurred that seem to implicate the husband or so the couple fears. Lies and cover-ups complicate the matter and the couple become so upset that they make things worse for themselves. The couple are so used to their routine that a sudden and unexplained twist becomes exaggerated. The story presents us with a puzzle and the reaction of two decent but somewhat docile human beings, who feel they will be unfairly targeted by the authorities. However, the police go about their work very calmly and before long everything is explained.The movie is a throwback to a time when ordinary people enjoyed simple pleasures like going to their club, or taking in the "pictures" and growing their chrysanthemums in the adjoining greenhouse garden...so very British. It is these very ordinary people that I have a great sympathy and admiration for in our often self-serving world. Nothing extraordinary about the movie or the couple but almost 60 years on, the acting still makes it a delight to watch.

"Home at Seven" is the one and only film that Ralph Richardson directed. I would hazard a guess that at the last moment the original director was unavailable and someone suggested to Sir Ralph that he try his hand.You would be hard pressed to find a cinematically more bland, not to mention boring film that this. There is no use at all of lighting or camera movement to enhance to plot, (which certainly could do with some enhancement). It's tantamount to watching a radio play.True there are three top actors at work in Richardson, Margaret Leighton and Jack Hawkins. But it's all so pedestrian that even they hardly make this one to look out for.

Many seem to dismiss this movie as a mild matinée entertainment. I found it very unsettling as the story deliberately starts with a normal, boring situation only to depart from normality in an abrupt and disturbing way to offer a glare into the abyss of the human psyche. The first two or three minutes the viewer is given time to settle down for something that looks like a comedy. A cheerful caricature of a meek office clerk (Ralph Richardson) comes home. He meets his wife desperate, she tells him he has disappeared for 24 hours. The clerk is not aware of that.Now, this is a standard situation for a comedy. But in this movie the couple in question is simply shattered. Time you cannot account for is regarded by them as abnormal, a potential sin. Distrust arises, the wife distrusts her husband and, what's worse, the husband distrusts himself. The situation gets worse when the clerk learns that a member of a club he belongs to was murdered during the time in question. In desperation he goes to see a doctor (Jack Hawkins) and tells him of his memory loss and the murder. He also tells him that he thinks he might have committed the murder. As the doctor tries to laugh that off the clerk says: But I absolutely hated that man. He does that with an unexpected vehemence that it really made me jump.The riddle can be solved and the story has a happy ending. The clerk's amnesia was caused by subconscious memories of bombing raids, a backfiring car made him go into shock for 24 hours, luckily in a „safe place" (a pub). As a matter of fact, the discovery of this hidden vulnerability is horrific and was probably not uncommon the time this movie was made. And the way the main protagonist practically bends over double to put blame on himself is heart-wrenching. Ralph Richardson gives a deep, feeling performance in this unusual psychological drama about guilt, trust, order and disorder. He also directed.

This truly enjoyable film portrays the frustrations of a mild mannered clerk embroiled in a mystery that has occurred outside of his memory. Most entertaining is Ralph Richardson, perfectly cast a the staid, banker living a life of ritualistic routine that has been turned upside down. He has that natural gift of absolute clear speech - even in the most dramatic moments and is a pleasure to watch. His reparte with the investigating inspector is most engaging. To bad this movie is unavailable on video.