Gideon of Scotland Yard (1958)

A typical day for Scotland Yard Chief Inspector George Gideon consists of working on several cases at the same time.

Director:

John Ford

Writers:

T.E.B. Clarke (screenplay), John Creasey (novel) (as J.J. Marric)

Stars:

Jack Hawkins, Anna Lee, Anna Massey

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Jack Hawkins	...	Chief Inspector George Gideon
Anna Lee	...	Mrs.Kate Gideon
Anna Massey	...	Sally Gideon
Andrew Ray	...	P.C.Simon Farnaby-Green
Howard Marion-Crawford	...	The Chief
John Loder	...	Ponsford 'The Duke'
Barry Keegan	...	Riley
Frank Lawton	...	Det. Sgt. Liggot
Michael Trubshawe	...	Sergeant Golightly
Derek Bond	...	Det. Sgt. Eric Kirby
Grizelda Hervey	...	Mrs. Kirby
Henry B. Longhurst	...	Rev Mr. Courtney (as Henry Longhurst)
Doreen Madden	...	Miss Courtney
Jack Watling	...	Reverend Julian Small
Cyril Cusack	...	Herbert 'Birdie' Sparrow

Storyline

Scotland Yard Inspector George Gideon starts his day off on the wrong foot when he gets a traffic-violation ticket from a young police officer. From there, his 'typical day" consists in learning that one of his most-trusted detectives has accepted bribes; hunts an escaped maniac who has murdered a girl; tracks a young girl suspected of a payroll robbery and, then, helps break up a bank robbery. His long day ends when he arrives at home and finds that his daughter has a date with the policeman who gave him a ticket that morning.

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Plot Keywords:

ticket | robbery | scotland yard | policeman | police officer | 

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Taglines:

24 Tension-Taut Hours in the Life of a Top Crime Fighter!

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Thriller

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Certificate:

Approved

Did You Know?

Trivia

Akira Kurosawa visited the set, meeting one of his main influences, John Ford.

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Goofs

Gideon's tie: stripe on knot/no stripe on knot. Handkerchief: square/ pointed / very visible / almost invisible.

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Quotes

[Gideon goes to arrest a woman and is confronted by her lover who brandishes his gun at Gideon]
Insp. George Gideon: There's a police car outside with two men in it. And if you were fool enough to fire that gun...
Paul Delafield: I don't see why you should speak in the subjunctive. I *am* going to fire this gun.

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Crazy Credits

When title music plays "London Bridge is Falling Down" there is a full-screen picture of Tower Bridge.

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Connections

Spin-off Gideon C.I.D. (1964)

User Reviews

Jack Hawkins as PC Plod...

This rarely seen (or shown) rarity from the great westerns director John Ford, was screened recently as Channel 4's weekday lunchtime movie. The film's alternative title, 'Gideon of Scotland Yard' gives us a clearer picture of where it is set and what it is about.

Not paying much attention to what it said in Radio Times beforehand, I assumed it was a Dixon Of Dock Green sort of black & white semi- documentary, along the lines of the excellent 'Blue Lamp'.

For a start, it's in colour and opens with breakfast time with the family, for Inspector Jack Gideon, all brisk and jovial. His drive to work results in going through a red light and is embarrassingly challenged by a youth PC.

From here-on in, the comedic elements dissipate as Insp Gideon's day unfolds, with phone calls and leads, all going on to illustrate 'the day in the life' that is the title. The mixture of crime is, obviously quite innocent when compared to today and the likes of 'The Bill', but this is 1958 and the censors were always prevalent, not that I'm suggesting that Ford would have set out to paint an overly colourful scenario.

The script is by Ealing Studio regular T.E.B Clarke, from John Creasey's novel and whilst it's not exactly electric, it's brisk enough, with a light tone and those of a certain age will find much pleasure in the period detail, scenes around London and the general way of doing things 'back then'.

Such viewers might have wanted to give a higher score than I am, though. To be honest, the direction could have been done by anyone proficient and whilst the studio-bound indoor sets are well done, they are just that, though also to be fair, Insp Gideon is seen going about between locations enough to remind us that he's very busy...

Finally, there is a nice John Ford sense of irony at the end though, which gives a real sense of satisfaction.

Details

Country:

UK USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

22 June 1958 (USA)

Also Known As:

Gideon of Scotland Yard

Filming Locations:

MGM British Studios, Borehamwood, Hertfordshire, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia British Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

91 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Recording)

Color:

Black and White (USA, theatrical prints) Color (Technicolor) (as Technicolor®) (UK prints)

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1