Hue and Cry (1947)

A gang of street boys foil a master crook who sends commands for robberies by cunningly altering a comic strip's wording each week, unknown to writer and printer. The first of the Ealing ... See full summary »

Director:

Charles Crichton

Writer:

T.E.B. Clarke (original screenplay)

Stars:

Alastair Sim, Harry Fowler, Douglas Barr

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
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)

Storyline

A gang of street boys foil a master crook who sends commands for robberies by cunningly altering a comic strip's wording each week, unknown to writer and printer. The first of the Ealing comedies.

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Plot Keywords:

ealing | secret code | smuggling | secret master villain | misleading star billing | 

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Genres:

Adventure | Comedy | Crime

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

February 1947 (UK)

Also Known As:

Houdt den dief!

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ealing Studios

Technical Specs

Runtime:

82 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The plot derives some inspiration from the story, 'Emil and the Detectives' by 'Erich Kastner'. Kastner's story has been filmed several times.

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Goofs

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.

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Quotes

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

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Connections

Featured in Forever Ealing (2002)

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Soundtracks

"Oh For the Wings of A Dove"
(uncredited)
Music by Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy
Arranged by Ernest Irving

User Reviews

A nostalgic movie, brightened by scenes of London's blitzed buildings, before developers began to pour unsightly concrete.

I found a copy of this movie in my local (Phoenix, Arizona) used book store. Ah, bliss! The sights of old London, albeit somewhat bomb-damaged, before the developers started to build ugly tower blocks. The movie itself is excellent, with good characterization for the 'kids', although Jack Warner's role as the villain seems a little overblown. Alistair Sim's role as the nervous author of comic books is an excellent vignette, showing his trademark nervous twitchy smile. The final chase and confrontation, at "Ballard's Wharf", reputedly in Wapping, was actually filmed on the opposite side of the river, as can be scene in the long shots, where St. Paul's cathedral can be seen.