Summaries

Synopsis

The moon has risen over the alley where down and outs Sybil (Doris Fishwick) and Akki (Peter Farrell) opt to make their bed for the night, and Sybil sings to her friend by way of explanation when he asks her about it. They settle under their makeshift blankets and drift off to sleep as life in this London district winds down for the night, but when the sun rises, it's time for the inhabitants of number 19 on the road adjacent to wake up and seize the day. Landlady Bertha (Erna May) waves off her husband Bert (John Gay) and rouses her teenage son Ronnie (Patrick Murray), not knowing their peace is about to be interrupted...a man from the council appears at Bertha's door and informs her that her house is going to be knocked down in a few months so he is giving the residents notice that they have to find somewhere else to live.

And some of the citizens who live there, too. We drop in on various locals, mainly from number 19, as they go about their daily business from Ronnie tentatively going out with the newsagent-shop owner Joe Tudge's daughter Nellie, whose bigoted mother does not approve because Bertha is GermanThe film takes place in London's East End and follows the lives of several residents of an impoverished alleyway.The story centers around a group of people living in a crumbling,rundown tenement building in the heart of East London. The residents include a single mother who sells flowers on the street for a living and parties while her little daughter Kay sits outside the club,a retired boxer who struggles with alcoholism,and a young couple fighting to keep their relationship together amidst poverty and hardship. The film's protagonist is a musician named Eddie (played by Sean Caffrey), who dreams of becoming a famous jazz pianist. Eddie is a gifted musician with a passion for music but finds himself struggling to make ends meet. He lives in a small apartment in the tenement building and spends his days practicing the piano and working odd jobs to support himself. Eddie's girlfriend Joyce (played by Debbie Evans) is a dancer at a local nightclub. Joyce is a talented dancer, but her dream of becoming a professional ballet dancer is hindered by her financial situation. She struggles to make ends meet as a dancer, and her relationship with Eddie becomes strained as a result. The supporting cast includes Basil Clarke as the retired boxer, who battles with alcoholism and desperately tries to keep his life on track. There are also several other residents of the alleyway, including a young boy who wants to be a boxer, and a middle-aged couple who struggle to keep their relationship alive despite many hardships.A little later, bartender Jack MacMahon (Sean Caffrey) leaves the lodging house. The two previous captures leads Dave W to say that Jack is looking towards 5 Putney Embankment and Glendarvon Street. Trees growing beside the river are seen reflected in the window.The barman glances along the alley as he heads off to work at his second job. Spring Passage alleyway.Jack enters Joe's shop to buy cigarettes

A homesick Indian Gentleman (Jaron Yalton) comes along looking for lodgings.The Gentleman asks Bertha Gusset (Erna May) if she has any vacancies, she does not.That evening, two vagrant buskers, Sybil (Doris Fishwick) and Akki (Peter Farrell), make their way to the alley to sleep. The pair are walking into Dunworth Mews off Portobello Road, London W11 with The Castle public house standing in the background.A Policeman (Richard Eden) approaches as a Hippie (Miguel Sergides) sings and plays guitar with his weed-smoking friends.Back up is called by the officer and a police car screeches into view. As the Hippies are arrested, a group of youths hang around in the street.Ronnie Gusset (Patrick Murray) and Nellie Tudge (Lesley Roach) head for the cinema.A film within a film, the young couple watch 'It Happened Here' at the cinema.Sybil and Akki walk past The Castle pub on Portobello Road whilst young Katy (Debbie Evans) plays ball as she waits for her Mother, who's inside. When her mother comes out with her friend she snaps at Katy to keep up with them.In the early hours of the following morning, Jack leaves the pub after a night of heavy drinking.Jack staggers into the the alley as he makes his way home.Sybil and Akki are awoken in their cardboard boxes by Jack as he nears home.Back at the boarding house Eddie is befriended the black couple and their baby the woman is Jamaican. She serenades her baby and Eddie plays guitar for him. The husband Jim comes home and joins in.As the morning draws on, the market is set up in Portobello Road.Traders await their customers.Shops open up for business on Portobello RoadWashington (Danny Ray), a friend of Jim's,asks Sybil and Akki for directions to the house where Jim lives.Back at the market,Bertha Gusset buys eggs from a stallholder.A group of Musicians play outside The Colville public house.Washington finds and walks with Jim (Leroy Hyde) through the market. The junction of Portobello Road.Jim and Washington look at the shops as they move through the crowds with their wives and Jim's young daughter.They peruse the stalls peacefully,but then a group of protesters enter the market.A demonstrator (Annabella Leslie) is taken into custody and loaded into a police van.Jim, Washington and their wives get caught up in it and arrested too.The baby is left abandoned but Eddie gets him back home.Shoppers leave the market and the traders pack up their stalls.That evening, Mr. Deray (Basil Clarke), the oldest lodger in the Gusset's home, makes his way past the group of hippies.Jack and his girlfriend June have been together since they were kids and they've lived together 17 years but Jack's never been able to raise enough money for them to get married to June is taking a job as a dancer to raise money much to Jack's chagrin.After an argument in his room, Jack wanders around Soho looking for June. He passes a few clubs with singers in them.Jack arrives at a club where June is working as a stripper. He storms out in disgust much to her sorrow.Jack struggles with alcoholism,unable to face his wife's predicament.Old Mr.Deray has been struggling with his feelings for little girls and his desire for Kay, and finally he is to set upon by a gang of toughs in an alley beating up. He has later found dead in his room either of his injuries or suicide.Ronnie and Nelly are assaulted by the same gang on their way home from the movies. She is raped and he is injured so badly that he's going to have to lose a leg. His parents comfort him in the hospital although Nellie's may not be quite as sympathetic.Finally Bertha and Bert's tenement is forcibly clothes,the tenants evicted,and the building and the neighborhood demolished.