Hue and Cry (1947)

Director:

Charles Crichton

Writer:

T.E.B. Clarke (writer)

Release Date:

February 1947 (UK)

Genre:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

Plot:

A gang of street boys foil a master crook who sends commands for robberies by cunningly altering a comic strip's wording each week...

Plot Keywords:

Ealing | Secret Code | Smuggling | Secret Master Villain | Misleading Star Billing

Cast

Alastair Sim	...	Felix H. Wilkinson
Harry Fowler	...	Joe Kirby
Douglas Barr	...	Alec
Joan Dowling	...	Clarry
Jack Warner	...	Nightingale
Valerie White	...	Rhona
Jack Lambert	...	Ford
Ian Dawson	...	Norman
Gerald Fox	...	Dicky
David Simpson	...	Arthur
Albert Hughes	...	Wally
John Hudson	...	Stan
David Knox	...	Dusty
Jeffrey Sirett	...	Bill
James Crabbe	...	Terry (as James Crabb)

Also Known As:

Hue & Cry (UK) (poster title)

Runtime:

82 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Iceland:L | Germany:12 | Finland:S | UK:U

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company:

Ealing Studios

Trivia:

The bus which "Joe Kirby" jumps onto after buying a copy of The Trump is registration JJ4377. The same bus is seen twice later in the film, passing outside the publishers of The Trump. Obviously hired from London Transport for the exterior shots.

Goofs:

Continuity: When Joe Kirby first looks at the milk bar shop front (near the beginning, just after asking the man with the open top car if he is Selwyn Pike), the light fitting casts a very long shadow. But in the next shot of the shop, it is lit from a different direction, and the shadow has completely changed in length and position.

Quotes:

Felix H. Wilkinson: Oh, how I loathe adventurous-minded boys.

Movie Connections:

Featured in Forever Ealing (2002) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Music

The only Ealing Comedy with Alastair Sim?

Though I don't think this film is particularly well regarded, or even known; this is a splendid little tale of youth as the adult world would prefer it and a rather kindly mentor in the lugubrious shape of Alastair Sim. The plot hinges on the now unknown pursuits of comic strips and collecting vehicle registration (licence) plate numbers.

The humour is more subtle and understated than in the later films, indeed one can feel the transition with the years through films such as The Magnet and The Maggie before we reach the true classics of the genre.

Finally, though many will link the name of the great Alastair Sim with Ealing Comedies, am I right in thinking that this, the first of the Ealing Comedies is the only one to feature him?

Alastair is better known working with other studios I believe.