Summary
P.C. George Dixon is a long-serving traditional copper who is due to retire shortly. He takes a new recruit under his aegis and introduces him to the easy-going night beat. Dixon is a classic ordinary hero but also anachronistic, unprepared and unable to answer the violence of the 1950s.
Cast
Jack Warner
PC George Dixon
Jimmy Hanley
PC Andy Mitchell
Dirk Bogarde
Tom Riley
Robert Flemyng
Police Sgt. Roberts
Bernard Lee
Divisional Detective Inspector Cherry
Peggy Evans
Diana Lewis
Patric Doonan
Spud
Bruce Seton
PC 'Jock' Campbell
Meredith Edwards
PC 'Taff' Hughes
Clive Morton
Police Sgt. Brooks
Frederick Piper
Alf Lewis
Dora Bryan
Maisie
Gladys Henson
Mrs Em Dixon
Tessie O'Shea
Herself - Singer
John Adams
PC at Darts Match (Uncredited)
Muriel Aked
Mrs Beryl Waterbourne (Uncredited)
Arnold Bell
Hospital Doctor (Uncredited)
Alma Cogan
Girl (Uncredited)
Michael Corcoran
Detective (Uncredited)
Betty Ann Davies
Mary Bertha Lewis (Uncredited)
Rowland Douglas
Cinema Doorman (Uncredited)
Renee Gadd
Woman Driver (Uncredited)
Michael Golden
Mike Randall (Uncredited)
Cameron Hall
Drunk (Uncredited)
Melvyn Hayes
Blond Urchin (Uncredited)
Eric Henderson
Police Constable (Uncredited)
Charles Houston
Man in ID Parade (Uncredited)
Glyn Houston
Barrow Boy (Uncredited)
Jennifer Jayne
June (Uncredited)
Gerry Judge
Driver in Crashed Car Sequence (Uncredited)
Sam Kydd
Bookmaker's Assistant at White City (Uncredited)
Duncan Lewis
Mr Williams (Uncredited)
Arthur Lovegrove
Man Being Fingerprinted (Uncredited)
Jack May
Old Man in Crowd (Uncredited)
William Mervyn
Chief Inspector Hammond (Uncredited)
Glen Michael
Larry (Uncredited)
Arthur Mullard
PC at Darts Game (Uncredited)
Richard Neller
Man in Crowd (Uncredited)
Rosemary Nicols
Urchin (Uncredited)
Joe Phelps
Man in Crowd (Uncredited)
Paul Phillips
Man in Street (Uncredited)
Sidney Pointer
Supt. Harwood (Uncredited)
John Salew
Officious Man (Uncredited)
Arthur Sandifer
Man in Street (Uncredited)
Stuart Saunders
White City Security Officer (Uncredited)
Charles Saynor
PC Wal Tovey (Uncredited)
Jack Sharp
Man in Crowd (Uncredited)
Norman Shelley
F.P. Jordan (Uncredited)
Campbell Singer
Station Sergeant (Uncredited)
Anthony Steel
Police Constable (Uncredited)
Gwynne Whitby
Police Sgt Grace Millard (Uncredited)
Billy Wilmot
Man in Crowd (Uncredited)
Doris Yorke
Cinema Cashier (Uncredited)
Crew
Director
Basil Dearden
Screenplay
T. E. B. Clarke
Writer
Jan Read
Writer
Ted Willis
Reviews
John Chard
February 8, 2014
8
Mustn't Grumble.
The Blue Lamp is directed by Basil Dearden and written by T.E.B. Clarke. It stars Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Flemyng and Peggy Evans. Music is by Ernest Irving and cinematography by Gordon Dines.
Andy Mitchell is a new recruit to the London police force, old hand George Dixon takes him under his wing and shows him the ropes. When Dixon is gunned down by a hot headed crook, Mitchell, the force, and the close knit community, all rally round to catch the villain.
What chiefly makes The Blue Lamp a fine watch is being able to witness the good old days of the British Bobby. It was a time when the copper was a feared and reassuring presence on the British streets, they walked the beat so everyone could sleep easy in their beds, help was but merely a whistle away.
In that, this Ealing Studios production does a wonderful job, the essence is perfect, the locale and the dialect used is absolutely spot on, whilst the story is an accomplished piece that brings to notice the sad emergence of trigger happy crooks, a new breed of thug who's discipline quota was zero. It also looks nice, with a film noir sheen presented for the night-time sequences, while Dearden offers up a great action scene and closes the picture down with a tense chase finale at White City Greyhound Stadium.
There’s inevitably some staid performances indicative of the time, and it definitely paints the police and surrounding community through rose tinted spectacles, but they are small complaints that ultimately can’t stop The Blue Lamp from being a most engaging viewing experience. 7.5/10
Media
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$0.00
