Who's that ringing the bell? You open the front door at your peril

Sue Wilkinson revels in An Inspector Calls

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After a thin time of it, Talking Pictures TV is reeling 'em in this week with screenings of British classics Cottage to Let, Green for Danger, Appointment with Venus and the commanding An Inspector Calls.

All are worth a column in their own right as David Niven, Glynis Johns, John Mills, Trevor Howard, Meg Jenkins and Alastair Sim, who is in three of the films above, strut their stylish and solid stuff.

Let's turn to An Inspector Calls, originally a play by JB Priestley. Stephen Daldry's brilliant award-winning production is still doing the rounds on the boards.

It was first performed in 1945 in Russia and in London the following year.

At first glance, An Inspector Calls is a parlour drama. On a night in 1912, the nouveau riche Birling family gathers in their magnificent house in the fictional northern town of Brumley.