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The Blue Lamp (1950) More at IMDbPro »


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Overview

User Rating:
6.9/10   431 votes
MOVIEmeter: ?
Up 1% in popularity this week. See why on IMDbPro.
Director:
Writers:
T.E.B. Clarke (screenplay)
Jan Read (original treatment) ...
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Contact:
View company contact information for The Blue Lamp on IMDbPro.
Release Date:
1 June 1950 (USA) more
Genre:
Tagline:
The unending battle of the city streets
Plot:
The daily routine of two London policemen is interrupted by a killer. full summary | add synopsis
Plot Keywords:
Awards:
Won BAFTA Film Award. Another 1 nomination more
User Comments:
Benign & grandfatherly - or just complacent? more (25 total)

Cast

  (Complete credited cast)
Jack Warner ... PC George Dixon
Jimmy Hanley ... PC Andy Mitchell

Dirk Bogarde ... Tom Riley
Robert Flemyng ... Police Sgt. Roberts
Bernard Lee ... Inspector Cherry
Peggy Evans ... Diana Lewis
Patric Doonan ... Spud
Bruce Seton ... PC Campbell
Meredith Edwards ... PC Hughes
Clive Morton ... Police Sgt. Brooks
Frederick Piper ... Alf Lewis
Dora Bryan ... Maisie
Gladys Henson ... Mrs Dixon
Tessie O'Shea ... Herself
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Additional Details

Runtime:
84 min
Country:
Language:
Aspect Ratio:
1.37 : 1 more
Sound Mix:
Mono (RCA Sound System)
Certification:
Company:

Fun Stuff

Trivia:
The first film of Glyn Houston. more
Goofs:
Revealing mistakes: When car 5-D makes a turn at supposed high speed, just after PC Mitchell says "There they are", a woman and two children on the pavement at the left are also walking slightly faster than usual. more
Quotes:
Diana Lewis: What d'ye think I am? Soft or something?
Spud: Yeah.
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Movie Connections:
Spoofed in The Black and Blue Lamp (1988) (TV) more
Soundtrack:
Looking for a Lad more

FAQ

This FAQ is empty. Add the first question.
17 out of 23 people found the following comment useful.
Benign & grandfatherly - or just complacent?, 20 November 2001
Author: vaughan.birbeck from Solihull, England

Most crits of The Blue Lamp take the view that it shows the good old British copper as the embodiment of all society's virtues: honest, loyal, and imposing a firm but fair discipline. The major threat to social order comes from undisciplined youth. When order is disrupted, all social elements join forces to enforce discipline and restore order.

I believe a closer look at the film reveals something rather more disturbing. I actually find George Dixon a rather unattractive character! He isn't above using strong-arm tactics on a prisoner (Alf Lewis) and tells Andy Mitchell to finish his tea before rushing to investigate a case of wife-beating ("'E don't kill 'is missus off that quick!"). He is also sarcastic to his colleagues: when a member of the police choir complains about having a frog in his throat, Dixon says sourly he should let the frog do the singing.

More seriously, Dixon fails to appreciate what the modern police are up against. When another officer is coshed during a jewel robbery young Andy Mitchell is rightly concerned, seeing it as an escalation in violence towards the police. Dixon waves the incident aside, the officer "has a good hard head" so no harm was done.

As a result, when faced with Tom Riley wielding a pistol, Dixon thinks traditional respect for police officers and his personal air of authority will win through. The look on his face after being shot isn't pain, it's stunned disbelief.

For me, The Blue Lamp stands as a warning about the turmoil lurking beneath an apparently placid, orderly society and the methods that will be needed to keep things under control. The old ways are no longer enough.

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