Under the surface of this fascinating culture of opposing opposites of post-World War Two lies a more sinister tale of contemporary Social Cleansing in the guise of corporate greed and indifference. This is simply more than a battle of social grading where, here, the A's and E's live within their individual stratosphere but Ladies Who Do project's a culture clash between high-stakes business and proud, and to an extent, naïve, English proletariat working-class.
This quaint amalgamation of English society concerns methods of progress and the struggle of a stagnation and inertia to change and adapt to better and further, to transcend, one's quality of life; the principle message within this narrative is freedom of choice.
Peggy Mounts' Mrs. Cragg is a Charwoman, a cleaner by trade, an extremely strong-headed woman, and this, too, is the point of the film's essence. Throughout the film we see an all-female power-base, remember, these middle-aged housewives were the backbone of the English war effort, when, some twenty years hence were working in the munition's factories, as Land Girls and other tasks that could not be maintained by the husbands and sons; This build-up of resilience shines with a determination from inserting a script that points not to a meek, menial stratification of the lower order but a self-belief and self-determination of almost militant attributes; to take on an enemy from within their own borders; Peggy Mount portrays her Mrs. Cragg with single-minded gusto up against the symbols of capitalism, and it is here that this free-spirited woman brings this conflict of interest to the forefront of a corrupt self-serving system that tires through battling techniques of bullying, bribery and bulldozers to control and relinquish any form of self-determination and choice.
Free will; pride; self-respect; camaraderie and once more, freedom of choice is the backbone that fights against a tyranny of oppression here; ironically, ladies making their luck, to help fight their cause, to legitimate money via the London Stock Exchange with the help of The Colonel, money makes money and information is wealth says he; Free will to capitalise on one's luck and to stand one's ground against those who wish to capitalise from the E's.
An exceedingly high-calibre British cast as Peggy Mount OBE and Miriam Karlin OBE et al bring about a division of narrative of a social spectrum that shows a seriousness here to the funny side of the seemingly condescending attitude toward these ladies. They may warrant comments as being naïve, simpleminded and unsophisticated but to only assume these labels is ignorance in itself; the irony is loud and telling; ladies, too, who are helping to put a man on the moon.