The Blue Lamp (1950)

Director:

Basil Dearden

Writers:

T.E.B. Clarke (screenplay)
Jan Read (original treatment) ...

Release Date:

1 June 1950 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Crime | Drama | Mystery

Tagline:

The unending battle of the city streets

Plot:

The daily routine of two London policemen is interrupted by a killer.

Plot Keywords:

Sergeant | Ealing

Awards:

Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination

Cast

Jack Warner	...	PC George Dixon
Jimmy Hanley	...	PC Andy Mitchell
Dirk Bogarde	...	Tom Riley
Robert Flemyng	...	Sgt. Roberts
Bernard Lee	...	Insp. Cherry
Peggy Evans	...	Diana Lewis
Patric Doonan	...	Spud
Bruce Seton	...	PC Campbell
Meredith Edwards	...	PC Hughes
Clive Morton	...	Sgt. Brooks
Frederick Piper	...	Alf Lewis
Dora Bryan	...	Maisie
Gladys Henson	...	Mrs Dixon
Tessie O'Shea	...	Herself

Runtime:

84 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Colour:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

UK:PG | Finland:K-16 | USA:Approved (PCA #13840) | Sweden:15

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

The original Blue Lamp was transferred to the new Paddington Green Police Station and stands there today. It has recently been restored.

Quotes:

Diana Lewis: What d'ye think I am? Soft or something?
Spud: Yeah.

Movie Connections:

Spoofed in The Black and Blue Lamp (1988) (TV)

Social Comment of the time.

The Blue Lamp was the first film, in the U.K. to show a policeman being shot. The theme was not about social peers, for a change, but of the work-a-day struggle of ordinary folk. Britain had changed after WW2 and the film portrayed the new generation, having had its youth stolen from the war years, trying to reconnect with the old established society. PC Andy Mitchell attempts to emulate his mentor P.C. Dixon and Tom Riley to the local established Known Villain. There was no way ordinary people could afford newspapers after the war. A lot of homes still had no electricity, radios or telephones even. A Friday or Saturday evening at the cinema was a treat and a must, therefore films that depicted ordinary people were, in fact, cutting edge and very popular. It is possible that the films launch in 1950 was the harbinger of Britain's `social ills' to come and gave spawn to the Dixon of Dock Green series the repartition continues to this day as the same social enigma still exists. It is interesting to note also that The Blue Lamp records the rectitude of the police and society of the time, only to vanish with the abolition of hanging in 1957. Dave Horley. Copenhagen.