10. The L Shaped Room (1962)
Jane, a 27 year old French woman, arrives at a run down boarding house in England. She is very beautiful but withdrawn. She meets the residents of the boarding house and they all have their particular quirks. Jane is pregnant, she doesn't want to marry the father and she is sussing out her options with a GP. The GP assumes tht she wants marriage or an abortion. Jane is indignant at this and decides to have her baby on her own. She starts a relationship with Toby, but he is put off her by the fact she is pregnant. Toby is also pissed off with his lack of money and lack of success in his writing career. But never mind Toby, Jane gets on well with the rest of the boarding house tenants and they help her out when she is in labour. At the hospital, Toby pops in with a copy of his latest book 'The L Shaped Room' for Jane. After leaving the hospital, Jane takes her baby back to her parents in France. A moral tale that doesn't preach to the viewer, The L Shaped Room is as fresh and surprising for today's audience as for those of yore. It is a bold film that examines single motherhood and champions it unrepentantly in a time when such a happening either led to shotgun marriage, shame and opprobrium or death via a backstreet abortionist. Leslie Carron as Jane gives a career best performance. Not a widely celebrated or even well known film, The L Shaped Room is uplifting kitchen sink fare which deserves wider appreciation and acknowledgement.