During the Victorian Era, Edward Sutton (Mervyn Johns) is a pharmacist who owns and operates a chemist's shop, in Brighton, England. Edward has also just been appointed the Public Analyst for the county of Sussex. Edward is married to Ellen (Mary Merrall) and has five children. Edward is a strict man who controls all aspects of his children’s lives. His oldest daughter, Victoria (Jean Ireland) wants to pursue a singing education at the Royal College of Music but Edward refuses. His youngest daughter, Peggy (Sally Ann Howes), is upset that Edward plans on doing some experimenting with some guinea pigs for his research. His oldest son, David (Gordon Jackson) is in love with a young woman named Mary. Edward finds him writing love letters to her and chastises him, telling him he is too young to be thinking of love or marriage.
In a pique of rebellion, David sneaks out of the house and goes to a local tavern. At the bar he meets the wife of the owner, Pearl Bond (Googie Withers). Pearl is upset that her side piece, Dan Powell (John Carol), is out with the local rich widow, Mrs. Webster (Maudie Edwards). Outside the bar, David strikes up a conversation with Pearl. David becomes a little smitten with the worldly woman.
Pearl gets into an argument with her drunk and abusive husband, Joe (Garry Marsh). A glass is broken, and she cuts her hand on it. Pearl rushes from the tavern and goes outside to cool off. She runs into David who sees her cut. He takes her to the pharmacy to dress her wound. While they are there, they get into a conversation about the various chemicals in the laboratory. David explains some of the poisons they use and what they do. Pearl asks him for something to drink. David goes next door to the house to get her a glass of milk. While he is out, Pearl steals some poison from one of the bottles.
When she returns home, she gives her husband a drink laced with strychnine. She then cuts his hand. Joe dies. The doctor believes that Joe died of tetanus. Pearl thinks she is free and clear until Dan’s ex-girlfriend, Louise (Pauline Letts), finds out that Pearl lied about how Joe got the cut on his hand. She decides that the police may want to investigate how Joe actually got tetanus, if that was really what he died from.
“Pink String and Sealing Wax” was released in 1945 and was directed by Robert Hamer. It is a British drama thriller.
This movie ended up being a lot better than I thought it would. The plot was interesting, and director Hamer laid it out nicely. The performances were good. Especially strong was Googie Withers as the manipulative and conniving Pearl Bond. She gives a great performance as a hard yet attractive woman who will stop at nothing to get what she wants.
Established in the 1800’s, a public analyst was a chemist who analyzed food and drugs to make sure that all consumable products were manufactured in compliance with food laws and were correctly labeled. They also investigated complaints to make sure establishments complied with food laws.
The reference of pink string and sealing wax in the title comes from the habit of pharmacists wrapping medicines in paper and then tying it up with pink string and sealing the string to the package with sealing wax. This ensured that the package had not been tampered with when being delivered to the customer. This was done customarily during the Victorian and Edwardian eras.