The Blue Lamp

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The Blue Lamp

1950,

1h 24m,

Crime/

Drama

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Watchlist

83%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

100+ Ratings

Popcornmeter

83%

Tomatometer

6 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

100+ Ratings

Newbie London police officer Andy Mitchell (Jimmy Hanley) is paired with seasoned cop George Dixon (Jack Warner) to work the night shift. When criminals Tom Riley (Dirk Bogarde) and Spud (Patric Doonan) are caught robbing a local movie theater, George meets Tom in a face-off. While trying to coax the thief into making a peaceful surrender, George is wounded and taken to the hospital. It then becomes Andy's task to track down the crooks and restore honor to his partner.

Variety Staff

Variety

Mar 26, 2009

Clear-cut direction and interesting location shots of London’s back streets help the story along.

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Bosley Crowther

New York Times

Mar 25, 2006

A warm and affectionate tribute to the London metropolitan police in the daily performance of their duties is cleverly interlaced with a good running crime melodrama of a conspicuously realistic sort.

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Dilys Powell

Sunday Times (UK)

Oct 3, 2023

The Blue Lamp, in short, has both the dramatic tension and the robust ironic humour which have made the reputation of the realistic British cinema.

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Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

Jan 7, 2020

A warmly human, unpretentious yarn about the murder of an affable London policeman. The many amusing incidents are part and parcel of the story, not lugged in for "comic relief."

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MFB Critics

Monthly Film Bulletin

Jan 25, 2018

The latest production from Ealing Studios unavoidably challenges comparison with Hollywood in style and verisimilitude; it must be said that comparison on all major counts is unfavourable.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Apr 11, 2005

B

Solid Brit crime drama.

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Anakin S

Aug 5, 2017

I don't imagine this was an accurate account of life in 1949 and it certainly hasn't worn well with time. For all that it's probably how we wish things were, for good or bad it was responsible for the long running TV series Dixon of Dock Green. Luckily George Dixon rose from the grave...

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Hermione S

Feb 6, 2017

Affectionate portrayal of cops on the beat in post-war London, showing their camaraderie in the face of a rise in youth crime. Jack Warner and Jimmy Hanley play mentor and mentee cops who have to deal with rebel Dirk Bogarde who stages a couple of robberies with his partner Patric Doonan and 17-year-old girlfriend (Peggy Evans). The young hoods are too wet-behind-the-ears for the professional criminal class who refuse to help them (and may even help the police instead). What we get, then, is partly police procedural with an occasional tilt toward noir (via some expressionist lighting) but more often we see the cops at work in their everyday roles (and in some cases cosily at home). Scenes with Bogarde don't really reveal the motivation behind his crimes but he's always charismatic. Add to this, the real London settings (especially seen in a frantic car chase) and the result is highly enjoyable, although admittedly fantasy (i.e. in the portrayal of the noble and caring cops who are too idealized to be really human).

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Basil Dearden

Director

Jack Warner

PC George Dixon

Dirk Bogarde

Tom Riley

Jimmy Hanley

PC Andy Mitchell

Robert Flemyng

Police Sgt. Roberts

Bernard Lee

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Synopsis

Newbie London police officer Andy Mitchell (Jimmy Hanley) is paired with seasoned cop George Dixon (Jack Warner) to work the night shift. When criminals Tom Riley (Dirk Bogarde) and Spud (Patric Doonan) are caught robbing a local movie theater, George meets Tom in a face-off. While trying to coax the thief into making a peaceful surrender, George is wounded and taken to the hospital. It then becomes Andy's task to track down the crooks and restore honor to his partner.

Director: Basil Dearden
Producer: Michael Balcon
Screenwriter: T.E.B. Clarke
Production Co: Ealing Studios, J. Arthur Rank Organisation
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: British English
Runtime: 1h 24m

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