Pool of London | |
---|---|
![]() Original British quad format film poster | |
Directed by | Basil Dearden |
Screenplay by | Jack Whittingham John Eldridge |
Produced by | Michael Balcon Michael Relph (associate producer) |
Starring | Bonar Colleano Earl Cameron Susan Shaw |
Cinematography | Gordon Dines |
Edited by | Peter Tanner |
Music by | John Addison |
Production company | |
Distributed by | GFD (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
Box office | £130,000 [2] |
Pool of London is a 1951 British noir [3] crime film directed by Basil Dearden. [4] It stars Bonar Colleano, Earl Cameron and Susan Shaw. [5]
The character-driven story of Pool of London centres around the crew of the merchant ship Dunbar, which docks in the Pool of London. The crew members are given shore leave, with some practising petty smuggling and other various dodges. Set in post-war London, the film is of note for portraying the first interracial relationship in a British film. [6]
Black crew member Johnny (Earl Cameron), an all-round nice guy, meets a pretty blonde, Pat (Susan Shaw), who offers to show him the sights of London. In a visually-rich montage, they visit the National Maritime Museum and the Greenwich Observatory. Also shown briefly are views from the dome of St Paul's Cathedral, and some of the bombed areas around the cathedral before the rebuilding of Paternoster Square.
Another seaman, Dan (Bonar Colleano), inadvertently becomes involved with a jewel robbery in which a night watchman is murdered.
Pool of London premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 22 February 1951. [1]
In The New York Times , Bosley Crowther wrote, "there is excitement and suspense in the gritty and grimy melodramatics," and concluded that the film, "though not distinguished, is entertaining and has the flavor of a great shipping port." [7]
The Pool of London is a stretch of the River Thames from London Bridge to below Limehouse.
Harold Thomas Gregson, known professionally as John Gregson, was an English actor of stage, television and film, with 40 credited film roles. He was best known for his crime drama and comedy roles.
The Way to the Stars is a 1945 Anglo-American black-and-white second world war drama film made by Two Cities Films. The film was produced by Anatole de Grunwald, directed by Anthony Asquith, and stars Michael Redgrave, John Mills, Rosamund John, and Stanley Holloway. In the United States it was distributed by United Artists under the title Johnny in the Clouds and was shortened by 22 minutes.
Earlston Jewitt Cameron CBE was a Bermudian actor who lived and worked in the United Kingdom. After appearing on London's West End stage, he became one of the first black stars in the British film industry. With his appearance in 1951's Pool of London, Cameron became one of the first black actors to take up a starring role in a British film after Paul Robeson, Nina Mae McKinney and Elisabeth Welch in the 1930s.
Carry On Cowboy is a 1965 British comedy Western film, the eleventh in the series of 31 Carry On films (1958–1992). It was the first film to feature series regulars Peter Butterworth and Bernard Bresslaw. Series regulars Sid James, Kenneth Williams, Jim Dale, Charles Hawtrey and Joan Sims all feature, and Angela Douglas makes the first of her four appearances in the series. Kenneth Williams, usually highly critical of all the Carry on films he appeared in, called the film "a success on every level" in his diary, taking pride in its humour and pathos.
Michael Leighton George Relph was an English film producer, art director, screenwriter and film director. He was the son of actor George Relph.
Bonar Sullivan, also known by the stage name Bonar Colleano, was an American stage and film actor based in the United Kingdom.
Dance Hall is a 1950 British drama film directed by Charles Crichton. The film was an unusual departure for Ealing Studios at the time, as it tells the story about four women and their romantic encounters from a female perspective.
Susan Shaw was an English actress.
The Man Inside is a 1958 British crime adventure film brought to the screen by Warwick Film Productions. The screenplay from David Shaw was based on a novel by M. E. Chaber and was directed by John Gilling. The film was Bonar Colleano's last role before he died in a car accident.
Interpol is a 1957 British Warwick Films crime film noir shot in CinemaScope and starring Victor Mature, Anita Ekberg, Trevor Howard, Bonar Colleano and Sid James. It concerns an Interpol effort to stamp out a major drug-smuggling cartel in numerous countries. Mature plays an American narcotics officer, with Howard as a drug baron. One review described the film as a "feeble thriller," although it praised Howard's performance.
Good-Time Girl is a 1948 British film noir-crime drama film directed by David MacDonald. A homeless girl is asked to explain her bad behaviour in the juvenile court, and says she’s run away from home because she’s unhappy there. They explain in detail what happened to the last girl who thought she could cope on her own, and this becomes the main plot.
A Window in London is a 1940 British thriller film directed by Herbert Mason and starring Michael Redgrave, Patricia Roc, Sally Gray, Paul Lukas and Hartley Power. It is a remake of the French film Metropolitan (1939). The plot focuses on a man who becomes drawn to the wife of a jealous magician - after spotting what appears to be a murder in their flat.
Is Your Honeymoon Really Necessary? is a 1953 British comedy film directed by Maurice Elvey. The film was based on Vivian Tidmarsh's 1944 West End hit play by the same name.
Vernon Campbell Sewell was a British film director, writer, producer and, briefly, an actor.
San Demetrio London is a 1943 British World War II docudrama based on the true story of the 1940 salvage of the tanker MV San Demetrio by some of her own crew, who reboarded her after she had been set on fire by the German heavy cruiser Admiral Scheer and then abandoned, during the Battle of the Atlantic. The film was produced by Michael Balcon for Ealing Studios and directed by Charles Frend.
While the Sun Shines is a 1947 British comedy film directed by Anthony Asquith and starring Barbara White, Ronald Squire, Brenda Bruce, Bonar Colleano, and Michael Allan. It was based on Terence Rattigan's 1943 play of the same name.
The Heart Within is a 1957 British drama film directed by David Eady and starring James Hayter, Clifford Evans and David Hemmings. Its plot involves a Jamaican dockside worker who goes on the run in London suspected of the murder of another Jamaican.
No Time to Die is a 1958 British war film about an American sergeant in the British Army during the Second World War. In the US, the film was renamed Tank Force!.
Rock You Sinners is a 1957 British second feature black and white musical film featuring early British rock and roll, including Art Baxter and His Rock 'n' Roll Sinners, best known for their song Rock You Sinners. It is generally regarded as the first British rock and roll movie.