The Blue Lamp

"Sheds just enough light for MURDER"

1950 1h 24m EN

👍

6.6

SOLID

🍅

83%

FRESH

⭐

6.8

IMDB

★6.6TMDB · 64🍅83%Rotten Tomatoes★6.8IMDB · 2,638

CrimeThrillerAction

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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.

“Sheds just enough light for MURDER”

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Where to watch · US

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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

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Basil Dearden
Writers: T. E. B. Clarke, Jan Read, Ted Willis
Languages: English
Countries: United Kingdom

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

RUNTIME

Did you know

84 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

76 years old — a genuine piece of film history.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Basil Dearden, shot by Gordon Dines. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Peter Tanner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jack Warner and Jimmy Hanley and Dirk Bogarde carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "Sheds just enough light for MURDER".

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

WILD

Did you know

IMDB entry: tt0042265 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

WILD

Did you know

Only 64 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Basil Dearden directs. Gordon Dines behind the camera. Peter Tanner cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

184 minutes exactly — the "classic feature" runtime most directors aim for.
276 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
3Directed by Basil Dearden, shot by Gordon Dines. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
4Editor Peter Tanner shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
5Jack Warner and Jimmy Hanley and Dirk Bogarde carry the top of the cast.
6Marketing tagline: "Sheds just enough light for MURDER".
7IMDB entry: tt0042265 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
8Only 64 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.

The technical file

Cinematography: Gordon Dines
Editing: Peter Tanner
Costume design: Anthony Mendleson
Makeup / hair: Ernest Taylor
Runtime: 84 min · 1h 24m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Original language: EN
IMDB: The Blue Lamp (1950)
Rotten Tomatoes: 83% 🍅 Fresh
IMDB rating: 6.8/10 · 2,638 votes
MPAA: Approved

Awards

Won 1 BAFTA Award1 win & 1 nomination total

Also by

Basil Dearden

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Selected frames

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Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2014-02-08
★ 7.5/10
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
CinemaSerf2022-12-27
★ 7/10
I think a lot of what makes this film resonate, even now 50-odd years later - is the stark fact that back then, the murder of a police officer was still pretty rare and was a crime guaranteed to galvanise both the police and the criminal fraternities alike against the culprit. That all helps to create an authentic scenario in which Dirk Bogarde is super as a petty thief who gets caught up in events that quickly run out of control. Peggy Evans is great, too, as the hysterical girlfriend. Basil Dearden keeps the whole thing tense and engrossing as the net begins to close and we get a gripping finale to this fairly simple film.