The Gentle Gunman | |
---|---|
Directed by | Basil Dearden |
Written by | Roger MacDougall |
Based on | The Gentle Gunman by Roger MacDougall |
Produced by | Basil Dean Michael Relph |
Starring | John Mills Dirk Bogarde Elizabeth Sellars Robert Beatty |
Cinematography | Gordon Dines |
Edited by | Peter Tanner |
Music by | John Greenwood |
Production company | |
Distributed by | General Film Distributors |
Release dates | October 1952 (UK) 30 September 1953 (U.S.) |
Running time | 86 minutes |
Country | United Kingdom |
Language | English |
The Gentle Gunman is a 1952 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring John Mills, Dirk Bogarde and Elizabeth Sellars. The film is based on a 1950 play of the same title by Roger MacDougall [1] that was televised by the BBC in September 1950. [2] It was produced by Ealing Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jim Morahan.
Terence (John Mills) and Matthew (Dirk Bogarde) Sullivan are two IRA men in London during World War II. Terry starts questioning the worth of the IRA's war against the United Kingdom that involves planting bombs in a crowded London Underground station and becomes marked for death by the IRA. In addition to Terry's questioning of the IRA's methods, Matt is affected by a mother whose husband and son had joined the IRA with fatal results. Though Matthew escapes capture in London, his comrades-in-arms Connolly (Liam Redmond) and Patsy (Jack MacGowran) are captured by the British police. Both Terry and the IRA leader Shinto (Robert Beatty) vow to free the men and take them from their trial in Belfast to safety in the Irish Free State, but Shinto favours more violent methods than Terry.
The British magazine Time Out thought the film was "stiff" and "overplotted", [3] while the British Film Institute thought the film struggled to "find the right tone" and culminated with a "car-crash of an ending". [4] The New York Times thought that the film had "failed to search beneath the surface" of the screen-play and described much of the content as "superficial". [5]
Englishman: "The situation in England is serious, but it's never hopeless"
Irishman: "The situation in Ireland is hopeless but it's never serious"
Sir John Mills was an English actor who appeared in more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades. He excelled on camera as an appealing British everyman who often portrayed guileless, wounded war heroes. In 1971, he received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor for his performance in Ryan's Daughter.
Sir Dirk Bogarde was an English actor, novelist and screenwriter. Initially a matinée idol in films such as Doctor in the House (1954) for the Rank Organisation, he later acted in art house films, evolving from "heartthrob to icon of edginess".
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The Blue Lamp is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley.
Robert Rutherford Beatty was a Canadian actor who worked in film, television and radio for most of his career and was especially known in the UK.
Dinah Sheridan was an English actress with a career spanning seven decades. She was best known for the films Genevieve (1953) and The Railway Children (1970); the long-running BBC comedy series Don't Wait Up (1983–1990); and for her distinguished theatre career in London's West End.
John Joseph MacGowran was an Irish actor, known for being one of the foremost stage interpreters of the work of Samuel Beckett, as well as his film roles as Professor Abronsius in The Fearless Vampire Killers (1967), Juniper in How I Won the War (1967), and Burke Dennings in The Exorcist (1973), in which MacGowran died during production.
Terence Joseph Alexander was an English film and television actor, best known for his role as Charlie Hungerford in the British TV drama Bergerac, which ran for nine series on BBC1 between 1981 and 1991.
Basil Dearden was an English film director.
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Roger MacDougall was a Scottish playwright, screenwriter and director.
Elizabeth Macdonald Sellars was a Scottish actress.
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Campbell's Kingdom is a 1957 British adventure film directed by Ralph Thomas, based on the 1952 novel of the same name by Hammond Innes. The film stars Dirk Bogarde and Stanley Baker, with Michael Craig, Barbara Murray, James Robertson Justice and Sid James in support. The story is set in Alberta, Canada, and largely follows the principles of the Northwestern genre of film-making.
Earl St. John was an American film producer in overall charge of production for The Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios from 1950 to 1964, and was credited as executive producer on 131 films. He was known as the "Earl of Pinewood". John Davis of Rank called him "the greatest showman that The Rank Organisation has ever had, and probably the greatest showman to have lived in this country. "
The Mind Benders is a 1963 British thriller film produced by Michael Relph, directed by Basil Dearden and starring Dirk Bogarde, Mary Ure, John Clements, Michael Bryant and Wendy Craig. Screenwriter James Kennaway turned his screenplay into his 1963 novel of the same name.
Liam Redmond was an Irish character actor known for his stage, film and television roles.
The Gentle Gunman is a 1950 thriller play by the British writer Roger MacDougall. A former IRA gunman attempts to renounce his violent past, as he is now convinced a non-violent approach is best.