This film is unique historically for more than one reason. It is the first - I believe only - cops and robbers film directed by John Ford. It is also unique because it is an Irish production. The 'Rising of the Moon' was an Irish production directed by John Ford. He made it clear that he would like to do another. The Irish Lord who had produced the 'Rising' read a book called Gideon's Day by an unknown writer called J.J.Merric. He loved the book, rang John Ford, and sent him a copy. When he negotiated buying the book it was discovered that J.J.Merric was in fact the famous John Creasey. Ford was captivated by the book, the deal was struck, and the wheels set in motion. In the film itself there is no indication that it is Irish other than Cyril Cusack being in it. It is the only Irish film made so far that does not have an Irish factor in its content. The world premier was in the Savoy Cinema in Dublin.
43 Reviews
A busy life in the day of Inspector Gideon of Scotland Yard...
Doylenf3 May 2007
JOHN FORD seems a strange choice to be directing a British film starring JACK HAWKINS in the role of a very busy Scotland Yard inspector who has no time for anyone else in his domestic life as long as he's on the trail of various culprits. ANNA LEE is his patient wife at home who's more concerned with raising two children and cooking meals to pay much attention to her husband's urgent calls of duty.
It's a very fragmented kind of story-telling, more a series of vignettes featuring Hawkins in his role as detective, getting able assistance from JOHN LODER (Hedy Lamarr's ex-hubby during the '40s). He covers cases involving a psychotic killer, a hit and run murder and a bank robbery--with some wit and sardonic humor injected into all the proceedings by director Ford. DEREK BOND, ANDREW RAY and ANNA MASSEY (her film debut) round out the supporting cast.
Summing up: Above average thanks to some interesting, very flawed characters involved in crime and a brisk pace and brief running time that deserves praise in this day of films that go on and on forever, although the film was not a critical or commercial success.
It's a very fragmented kind of story-telling, more a series of vignettes featuring Hawkins in his role as detective, getting able assistance from JOHN LODER (Hedy Lamarr's ex-hubby during the '40s). He covers cases involving a psychotic killer, a hit and run murder and a bank robbery--with some wit and sardonic humor injected into all the proceedings by director Ford. DEREK BOND, ANDREW RAY and ANNA MASSEY (her film debut) round out the supporting cast.
Summing up: Above average thanks to some interesting, very flawed characters involved in crime and a brisk pace and brief running time that deserves praise in this day of films that go on and on forever, although the film was not a critical or commercial success.
Perhaps Mr Ford thought our policemen were wonderful.......
ianlouisiana15 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
There really were policemen like George Gideon and I would be very surprised if the late John Creasey didn't know several of them.He was one of England's most prolific crime writers using a plethora of noms de plume including J.J Marric.under which he wrote the "Gideon" novels which were quite highly regarded in their day. If you married a cop in the 1940s and 50s you knew what you were getting into.Pre war ideas of dedication and service hadn't quite been extinguished and flickered on in professions like policework,nursing and General Practice medicine. With no Political Correctness to worry about,no "targets" to meet,no budgets to constrain them,detectives were able to set about solving crimes in a relatively uninhibited manner and were rather good at it.George Gideon was no exception.His conduct might seem unacceptable half a century on both at work and at home but in his world it was unexceptionable. Mr Jack Hawkins makes him human rather than superhuman ,capable of an ill - judged action but overall on the side of the angels. The "Day" in the title is certainly overflowing with incident.Robbery and murder seem to be the norm even in the days of "Preventive Detention",the birch and Capital Punishment. This is an absorbing British procedural with first - rate performances. Despite some persuasive arguments elsewhere on the site I don't believe it bears the hallmarks of Mr Ford's best movies,but I suspect he had fun making it.And maybe - like a lot of Americans at the time -he ended up believing our unarmed, underpaid policemen were wonderful.
John Ford goes cops and robbers
JB-127 June 2000
Warning: Spoilers
John Ford, the esteemed director, worked in many film genres but up until this film he had never done a Cops and Robbers movie.
In this one, he takes us on a "typical" day of a Scotland Yard Inspector in which we get a view of his private life as well as his professional.
In fact if Gideon's Day is "typical", what is dull? Chief Inspector George Gideon catches a double murderer, a single murderer, a robber, suspends a crooked cop, and ends the day catching three men who break into a vault and murder the guard(not related to the other 2 murderers he catches).
John Ford who usually takes his time in telling a story, uses a much faster pace than he is accustomed to in most of his narratives. And if it doesn't work to perfection in this film, it still is enjoyable due to some of the characterizations.
Jack Hawkins is perfectly British as Gideon. He seems to be constantly in a dither, but in the end he is the consummate cop, tough, sensitive and smart.
Ford uses a large cast and many characters and they play off Hawkins as if they were on a lark. T E B Clark's story has moments of comedy, drama and pathos.
Most critics consider "Gideon's Day"(or "Gideon of Scotland Yard" as it is known here) to be beneath the standards of one of the great directors in film history. There is no question that this is true. However, If you watch it as a straight cops and robbers film and forget that Ford was at the helm, this one is a pretty good one
In this one, he takes us on a "typical" day of a Scotland Yard Inspector in which we get a view of his private life as well as his professional.
In fact if Gideon's Day is "typical", what is dull? Chief Inspector George Gideon catches a double murderer, a single murderer, a robber, suspends a crooked cop, and ends the day catching three men who break into a vault and murder the guard(not related to the other 2 murderers he catches).
John Ford who usually takes his time in telling a story, uses a much faster pace than he is accustomed to in most of his narratives. And if it doesn't work to perfection in this film, it still is enjoyable due to some of the characterizations.
Jack Hawkins is perfectly British as Gideon. He seems to be constantly in a dither, but in the end he is the consummate cop, tough, sensitive and smart.
Ford uses a large cast and many characters and they play off Hawkins as if they were on a lark. T E B Clark's story has moments of comedy, drama and pathos.
Most critics consider "Gideon's Day"(or "Gideon of Scotland Yard" as it is known here) to be beneath the standards of one of the great directors in film history. There is no question that this is true. However, If you watch it as a straight cops and robbers film and forget that Ford was at the helm, this one is a pretty good one
Light vein 'day in the life' of a redoubtable London cop
shakercoola18 January 2020
A British crime drama; A story about a complicated day in the life of a Scotland Yard detective.
This comedic, tongue-in-cheek, police detective procedural, is adapted from John Creasey's novel. It is brisk and humorous.
Jack Hawkins plays his part proficiently as the reluctant hero, conveying well the life of a man with a seemingly endless flow of work and family life vexations. The many criminal acts give the film a disjointed feel, and it is dullened by melodrama in parts, but Hawkins holds our attention with his dry humour and charm, suggesting the annoyance and boredom of his job.
The film is shot in glorious Technicolor and exhibits an extraordinary array of British character acting talent. John Ford succeeds in balancing the chaos and confusion of Scotland Yard and its cohorts with the wit and competence of a family man police inspector whose duty is never done.
Jack Hawkins as PC Plod...
tim-764-2918568 July 2012
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.
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.
Jack Hawkins Is Missing
JohnHowardReid1 October 2008
Warning: Spoilers
This is the Ford movie that everyone hates except of course for the entire cast and crew, plus a couple of film critics including yours truly. In production stills, a benign John Ford can be seen with his smiling god-daughter Anna Massey (making her film debut), and an equally happy Jack Hawkins. Co-starring with Jack, albeit in a very small role, is Anna's fellow Canadian, Dianne Foster. The rest of the players, made up of the best of British, parade many very familiar faces doing stand-out work, sometimes in much-larger-than-usual (Michael Trubshawe, Frank Lawton) or unfamiliar (Ronald Howard, Derek Bond, Marjorie Rhodes) roles.
Oddly, it's Ronald Howard who walks off with the picture's acting honors. I've never thought highly of the young Howard's ability (in my opinion, he makes a really woeful series' Sherlock Holmes, although admittedly hampered by rock-bottom TV production values), but here he really excels as an impassioned artist who has turned to crime, and even manages to steal the limelight from super-charismatic Dianne Foster.
Based on the 1955 novel by John Creasey, the first of a series of 21 books featuring Superintendent George Gideon of Scotland Yard, Gideon's Day, as the title implies, chronicles a typically crowded day in the inspector's calendar. Gideon deals with a variety of problems, petty nuisances and working-day events, some domestic, some humorous, but most dealing with crime and criminals, including a psychopathic killer (Laurence Naismith); an informer (Cyril Cusack) menaced by wide boys who are surprisingly brought to heel by a sissy curate; a payroll robbery; and finally (just when we think it is all over) an attempt to rob a high security bank vault.
Through it all, Jack Hawkins displays plenty of bad temper, with lots of frustrated shouting from the very beginning almost to the end, but extremely little of his customary charisma. All the "acting", he leaves for the rest of the cast which is unfortunate because he is the central character and his lack of audience empathy throws the film right off balance.
Despite murders, robbery and violence, the tone of the movie (as set by its opening song themes) is generally light. True, it has its suspenseful moments, particularly in the chase sequence with Cyril Cusack pursued in the fog, but Gideon's Day is not film noir. Ford gives equal weight to the humorous sequences which (with the exception of the brief court hearing with Miles Malleson and John Le Mesurier) tend to be tiresome rather than funny. Moreover, the lead character, Gideon, is never in any real danger, even when threatened by the lovely Dianne Foster.
Oddly, it's Ronald Howard who walks off with the picture's acting honors. I've never thought highly of the young Howard's ability (in my opinion, he makes a really woeful series' Sherlock Holmes, although admittedly hampered by rock-bottom TV production values), but here he really excels as an impassioned artist who has turned to crime, and even manages to steal the limelight from super-charismatic Dianne Foster.
Based on the 1955 novel by John Creasey, the first of a series of 21 books featuring Superintendent George Gideon of Scotland Yard, Gideon's Day, as the title implies, chronicles a typically crowded day in the inspector's calendar. Gideon deals with a variety of problems, petty nuisances and working-day events, some domestic, some humorous, but most dealing with crime and criminals, including a psychopathic killer (Laurence Naismith); an informer (Cyril Cusack) menaced by wide boys who are surprisingly brought to heel by a sissy curate; a payroll robbery; and finally (just when we think it is all over) an attempt to rob a high security bank vault.
Through it all, Jack Hawkins displays plenty of bad temper, with lots of frustrated shouting from the very beginning almost to the end, but extremely little of his customary charisma. All the "acting", he leaves for the rest of the cast which is unfortunate because he is the central character and his lack of audience empathy throws the film right off balance.
Despite murders, robbery and violence, the tone of the movie (as set by its opening song themes) is generally light. True, it has its suspenseful moments, particularly in the chase sequence with Cyril Cusack pursued in the fog, but Gideon's Day is not film noir. Ford gives equal weight to the humorous sequences which (with the exception of the brief court hearing with Miles Malleson and John Le Mesurier) tend to be tiresome rather than funny. Moreover, the lead character, Gideon, is never in any real danger, even when threatened by the lovely Dianne Foster.
Ford in London: Comedy, Drama, Nice Locations...Excellent if you like the genre
GodeonWay8 March 2018
Have seen this film several times and always enjoy it. Very typical John Ford: easy-going, some high drama, some great on-location color photography, wonderful performances (with quite a bit of Fordian over-acting).
There have been some frankly negative reviews of this picture (Leonard Maltin's book gives it just 1 and a half stars!) but don't let that deter you if you just want to be entertained for 90 minutes and transported to London 1958.
It's not a thriller, not a who-done-it. It's just John Ford's treatment of a colorful day in the life of a Scotland Yard inspector and his family. If that's something that appeals to you, then by all means sit back and enjoy.
There have been some frankly negative reviews of this picture (Leonard Maltin's book gives it just 1 and a half stars!) but don't let that deter you if you just want to be entertained for 90 minutes and transported to London 1958.
It's not a thriller, not a who-done-it. It's just John Ford's treatment of a colorful day in the life of a Scotland Yard inspector and his family. If that's something that appeals to you, then by all means sit back and enjoy.
John Ford's tribute to Scotland Yard.
rogerblake-281-71881912 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
Not classic John Ford by any stretch of the imagination but I watched for the first time in years on t.v. This afternoon, and it certainly brightened up a wet afternoon. There are some lovely comic moments such as Andrew Rays young rookie policeman booking Jack Hawkins(Gideon)for speeding then in the final scene getting caught him self with Gideon as a passenger, by then he is son in law material. Miles Mallison as an eccentric judge and John Le Mesurier as a prosecuting council have delicious little cameos, so much so that they might have drifted in from another film set. How I cheered when Jack Watling's timid vicar suddenly floors the toughs in his church who are threatening him, it turns out he is an ex wartime para. Michael Trubshawe plays the typical British police sargeant. Jack Hawkins is of course his usual irrascible but dependable self. What a success rate,three murders solved in one day. Always a pleasure to watch Anna Lee as the long suffering wife who in one scene tells her daughter played by Anna Massey never to marry a policeman,too late her eyes are already set on the young officer. Fortunately they showed the ninety minute colour version not the truncated sixty minute black and white version shown in USA but if one is going to be overly critical the editing is somewhat choppy and I wonder if they wrote the script as they were filming. Neverless the film rattles along and is never boring,there's not a weak link in the cast. If John Ford is not exactly at his peak he's by no means off form.9 out of 10 seems a fair assessment.
One of those days
bkoganbing20 September 2014
Warning: Spoilers
Hollywood's chronicler of Irish culture John Ford chose a British subject for this film. Gideon Of Scotland Yard is about a day in the life of a high ranking inspector in Scotland Yard. Jack Hawkins plays the hard working an often exasperated inspector who gets a lot accomplished during this particular day, but he's frustrated by both work and home problems.
Our Inspector Gideon is a happily married man to Anna Lee and has a daughter Anna Massey who is a violin virtuoso. One of the minor plot lines involving Lee giving Hawkins specific instruction to pick up a salmon at the fish market. Hawkins has far more to fry than fish during this day.
One is the sex killing of a young girl by a very creepy Laurence Naismith and the hunt for him. He's apprehended by an alert young Bobby played by Andrew Ray who otherwise manages to make a pest of himself all around with his earnest dedication to the job. The incident is similar to another sex killing in Sergeant Rutledge although in that film Ford made it the entire film.
The main plot however involves Hawkins confronting another inspector Derek Bond and telling him that their version of Internal Affairs has him nailed on corruption. Later on Bond is run down by a car deliberately and that starts Hawkins on an investigation that leads to the apprehension of some major criminals during a heist.
I have to single out Cyril Cusack who played a stoolie and just the kind of colorful character that Ford would put in one of his Irish films. He's got some nasty people after him, but apparently lives a charmed life.
A very entertaining film by John Ford, not one of his more known works, but definitely worth a look.
Our Inspector Gideon is a happily married man to Anna Lee and has a daughter Anna Massey who is a violin virtuoso. One of the minor plot lines involving Lee giving Hawkins specific instruction to pick up a salmon at the fish market. Hawkins has far more to fry than fish during this day.
One is the sex killing of a young girl by a very creepy Laurence Naismith and the hunt for him. He's apprehended by an alert young Bobby played by Andrew Ray who otherwise manages to make a pest of himself all around with his earnest dedication to the job. The incident is similar to another sex killing in Sergeant Rutledge although in that film Ford made it the entire film.
The main plot however involves Hawkins confronting another inspector Derek Bond and telling him that their version of Internal Affairs has him nailed on corruption. Later on Bond is run down by a car deliberately and that starts Hawkins on an investigation that leads to the apprehension of some major criminals during a heist.
I have to single out Cyril Cusack who played a stoolie and just the kind of colorful character that Ford would put in one of his Irish films. He's got some nasty people after him, but apparently lives a charmed life.
A very entertaining film by John Ford, not one of his more known works, but definitely worth a look.
Americanized Scotland Yard Farce
trastrick10 March 2013
This early attempt to depict London as a swinging place is a far cry from what you may expect in a British crime film.
Instead of fog and rain we have our hero driving around in the sunshine in an open convertible.
The characters are all obvious stereotypes and dress the part. The Scotland Yard cops use terms like "beat it!" and "hoosegow" which I doubt were in the original book.
The plot is a mishmash of seemingly unrelated, and quite uninteresting criminal activity, perpetrated by uninteresting one dimensional characters and one waits for the film to really get started.
Our hero, Jack Hawkins is a fine actor, but is wasted in this piece of Anglo-American fluff.
Instead of fog and rain we have our hero driving around in the sunshine in an open convertible.
The characters are all obvious stereotypes and dress the part. The Scotland Yard cops use terms like "beat it!" and "hoosegow" which I doubt were in the original book.
The plot is a mishmash of seemingly unrelated, and quite uninteresting criminal activity, perpetrated by uninteresting one dimensional characters and one waits for the film to really get started.
Our hero, Jack Hawkins is a fine actor, but is wasted in this piece of Anglo-American fluff.
Delightful detective story
Leofwine_draca15 October 2016
Gideon of Scotland Yard is a fine 1950s British detective film based on a book by the prolific writer John Creasey. It stars the inimitable Jack Hawkins as the gruff yet likable detective working hard on a number of overlapping cases during a single 24 hours in London. The film was directed by John Ford, of all people, the man best known for his epic American westerns, who brings a kind of slick stylish look to the screen.
The running time flies past because this is a very entertaining movie, one of the fastest-paced films of the 1950s I've seen. There's never a slow moment, just a building of tension, suspense, and yes, humour, which delightfully offsets the darker and more tragic elements of the plot. Watching Hawkins trying to juggle various cases, crimes, criminals, superiors, underlings, and of course his home life, is a sheer delight. An exemplary supporting cast adds to the experience, making this an all-round winner of a film.
The running time flies past because this is a very entertaining movie, one of the fastest-paced films of the 1950s I've seen. There's never a slow moment, just a building of tension, suspense, and yes, humour, which delightfully offsets the darker and more tragic elements of the plot. Watching Hawkins trying to juggle various cases, crimes, criminals, superiors, underlings, and of course his home life, is a sheer delight. An exemplary supporting cast adds to the experience, making this an all-round winner of a film.
Routine police procedural enlivened by post-'Searchers' Ford artistry. (possible spoiler in last paragraph)
the red duchess14 August 2000
Warning: Spoilers
John Ford in London? Doing a 'Dixon of Dock Green'-type Scotland Yard procedural?! The poet of the great American outdoors confined to cramped grey offices, dingy alleys and thieves' dens, populated by razor-wielding spivs, sex-killers and corrupt police officers? As one might expect from an auteur, 'Gideon's Day' isn't as far away in theme and character from Ford's famed Westerns as is first imagined, and the heightened, 'artificial' mise-en-scene recalls, if never emulates, the ironies of 'The Quiet Man'. It should not be forgotten that one of Ford's best films is the frightening comedy-gangster film, 'the Whole Town's Talking', while 'Who Shot Liberty Valance' broods with an interior menace.
Ford's Westerns are pre-eminently concerned with the forging of American democracy. Only two years before 'Gideon', he complicated this WASP myth-making by revealing the lethal tensions and contradictions in the process. 'Gideon' offers a chance to see democracy in action, in highly concentrated form, as we follow a day in the life of our titular hero, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard. It is a very successful day, like Wyatt Earp cleaning up Dodge City - he roots out a bribe-taking colleague, and solves a variety of crimes, invariably involving murder. Further, his daughter takes the initial step in what will, it is implied, eventually lead to marriage. How very jolly.
The film is named after him, and Gideon is a kind of god, a powerful single entity in contrast to the doubling duplicities of his foes. It is his narration that guides the film, setting the scene, explaining events, controlling the vast, dangerous, crime-infested metropolis of London, just as it his actions, his constant unstoppable movement that drives it. The film is pervaded in blue, the blue of the British bobby, signalling its vigilant omniscience, even when it threatens to engulf Gideon. The film's narrative largely occurs within his personal orbit - when it occasionally strays, the thread always comes back to him to tie up.
So, as our representative of democracy, we seem to be in safe hands - the wheels of justice operate fairly, criminals are always caught, crimes are generally connected, and so can be easily contained. But, post-'Searchers', things are not quite so simple with John Ford. Gideon is not so very far from Ethan Edwards. Although he begins the film in a family context (bath, breakfast, bringing kids to school), and although he is always brought back to this site of the domestic, whether literally for quick bites to eat, or indirectly (his wife harrassing him over fish), he is never at home there, his work constantly invading this space, rupturing its harmony, so that it becomes more of a drop-in centre than a refuge. It is even, as we approach the lawless 1960s, on the brink of sociological change, as the diligent, submissive, housewife, gives way to the sparky, independent, creative daughter. Gideon is a stranger here because of his work, not even an observer of changing times.
When we first see Gideon in this context, he is a bluff, sarcastic but good-humoured family man. But, as a police officer, we can see the wearing, never-ending process of law-enforcement brutalising him as a human being - the scenes with Kirby's wife show a monstrous insensitivity not unlike the crazed Ethan; when he finally lashes out at a particularly obnoxious murderer, we can see him finally crack up. His day never ends - the film provides a series of false climaxes where we expect closure and relief to be asserted, and Gideon, like Leo Bloom, to go home after his 'day', but he is constantly on the move, caught in a labyrinth literalised by all the corridors, arches, frames, going backwards and forwards through the same few places, making no progress. His godlike control is illusory, he can solve crimes, but he cannot prevent them, and as they become increasingly vicious and arbitrary, he becomes increasingly redundant, his harried movement impotent as he winds down, lost in the darkness of his desk.
His carelessness almost fatally endangers an informant, while a suspect is murdered. This is very subversive stuff, as Gideon is the bourgeois epitome of the audience watching his adventures - while the crimes are committed by a prole underclass or vicious aristocrats, he steers the middle way - a hard-working family man, a middle way threatened by social forces getting out of control. It is not very far from this to 'Dirty Harry'. It is ominous for democracy that a man's life, at risk through police incompetence, is only saved by the brute force of a fortunately-placed bystander.
The necessarily provisional, circular nature of the plot - when one case is finished, another begins - might seem to militate against narrative drive, especially as Ford is the master of classic Hollywood narrative. 'The Searchers', of course, is one of the great circular films, and there are two, unobtrusive, linear plots here. The first - will Gideon make it to his daughter's concert is quickly dispensed with, but the second is more interesting thematically. Throughout the day, Gideon is dogged by a diligent new young officer, who is so persevering in his job that he even books much higher-ranking superiors, including Gideon himself. This high-mindedness is a contrast to the compromises Gideon has to make, with his underworld connections - one, admittedly partial, colleague accuses him of having dirty fingers. It seems that the young officer is a symbol of a new police force, that is detached, honest, dedicated to its public duties. The denouement to this struggle betwen experienced tradition and youthful progress is humorous but depressing, as the old, not very reassuring system asserts itself again.
Ford's Westerns are pre-eminently concerned with the forging of American democracy. Only two years before 'Gideon', he complicated this WASP myth-making by revealing the lethal tensions and contradictions in the process. 'Gideon' offers a chance to see democracy in action, in highly concentrated form, as we follow a day in the life of our titular hero, Chief Inspector of Scotland Yard. It is a very successful day, like Wyatt Earp cleaning up Dodge City - he roots out a bribe-taking colleague, and solves a variety of crimes, invariably involving murder. Further, his daughter takes the initial step in what will, it is implied, eventually lead to marriage. How very jolly.
The film is named after him, and Gideon is a kind of god, a powerful single entity in contrast to the doubling duplicities of his foes. It is his narration that guides the film, setting the scene, explaining events, controlling the vast, dangerous, crime-infested metropolis of London, just as it his actions, his constant unstoppable movement that drives it. The film is pervaded in blue, the blue of the British bobby, signalling its vigilant omniscience, even when it threatens to engulf Gideon. The film's narrative largely occurs within his personal orbit - when it occasionally strays, the thread always comes back to him to tie up.
So, as our representative of democracy, we seem to be in safe hands - the wheels of justice operate fairly, criminals are always caught, crimes are generally connected, and so can be easily contained. But, post-'Searchers', things are not quite so simple with John Ford. Gideon is not so very far from Ethan Edwards. Although he begins the film in a family context (bath, breakfast, bringing kids to school), and although he is always brought back to this site of the domestic, whether literally for quick bites to eat, or indirectly (his wife harrassing him over fish), he is never at home there, his work constantly invading this space, rupturing its harmony, so that it becomes more of a drop-in centre than a refuge. It is even, as we approach the lawless 1960s, on the brink of sociological change, as the diligent, submissive, housewife, gives way to the sparky, independent, creative daughter. Gideon is a stranger here because of his work, not even an observer of changing times.
When we first see Gideon in this context, he is a bluff, sarcastic but good-humoured family man. But, as a police officer, we can see the wearing, never-ending process of law-enforcement brutalising him as a human being - the scenes with Kirby's wife show a monstrous insensitivity not unlike the crazed Ethan; when he finally lashes out at a particularly obnoxious murderer, we can see him finally crack up. His day never ends - the film provides a series of false climaxes where we expect closure and relief to be asserted, and Gideon, like Leo Bloom, to go home after his 'day', but he is constantly on the move, caught in a labyrinth literalised by all the corridors, arches, frames, going backwards and forwards through the same few places, making no progress. His godlike control is illusory, he can solve crimes, but he cannot prevent them, and as they become increasingly vicious and arbitrary, he becomes increasingly redundant, his harried movement impotent as he winds down, lost in the darkness of his desk.
His carelessness almost fatally endangers an informant, while a suspect is murdered. This is very subversive stuff, as Gideon is the bourgeois epitome of the audience watching his adventures - while the crimes are committed by a prole underclass or vicious aristocrats, he steers the middle way - a hard-working family man, a middle way threatened by social forces getting out of control. It is not very far from this to 'Dirty Harry'. It is ominous for democracy that a man's life, at risk through police incompetence, is only saved by the brute force of a fortunately-placed bystander.
The necessarily provisional, circular nature of the plot - when one case is finished, another begins - might seem to militate against narrative drive, especially as Ford is the master of classic Hollywood narrative. 'The Searchers', of course, is one of the great circular films, and there are two, unobtrusive, linear plots here. The first - will Gideon make it to his daughter's concert is quickly dispensed with, but the second is more interesting thematically. Throughout the day, Gideon is dogged by a diligent new young officer, who is so persevering in his job that he even books much higher-ranking superiors, including Gideon himself. This high-mindedness is a contrast to the compromises Gideon has to make, with his underworld connections - one, admittedly partial, colleague accuses him of having dirty fingers. It seems that the young officer is a symbol of a new police force, that is detached, honest, dedicated to its public duties. The denouement to this struggle betwen experienced tradition and youthful progress is humorous but depressing, as the old, not very reassuring system asserts itself again.
Awful film
janet-agar6 September 2013
I watched this (not from beginning)and could not believe how dire it is -Jack Hawkins shouting his way from one pipe smoking scene to the next-full of middle aged men again all shouting.The sergeant who acted like an obedient robot- bowing and sitting on a chair all evening waiting orders from " his master". I welcomed the calming scenes with Andrew Ray -who was sneered at because he had a double-barrelled name. There lots of mistakes-different heading on newspaper-how did he get into flat of artist?-his daughter picked lid of casserole dish with bare hands-it had just come out of oven! I watched it to the end cos I couldn't believe my eyes or ears. NUFF SAID GOING TO LIE DOWN NOW
Based on novel from series
cyclonev9 July 2003
The novel 'Gideon's Day' was the first in the Gideon series by John Creasey (written under the pseudonym of J J Marric) and was published in 1955. Each book in the series followed 'G G' (George Gideon) through a period of time. Cases that came up during that time were not necessarily solved by the end of the novel: they were kind of a "slice of life" of (Creasey's image of) 50s Scotland Yard.
There are 21 novels in the Gideon series, as written by John Creasey, with the last one published in 1976 (2 years after his death). I did, however, once came across another Gideon novel, written after Creasey's death by another author using the name J J Marric. If you like the Gideon TV series and movie and are interested in the books, make SURE they are by Creasey as anything else is a very poor substitute.
There are 21 novels in the Gideon series, as written by John Creasey, with the last one published in 1976 (2 years after his death). I did, however, once came across another Gideon novel, written after Creasey's death by another author using the name J J Marric. If you like the Gideon TV series and movie and are interested in the books, make SURE they are by Creasey as anything else is a very poor substitute.
Not that John Ford, surely? Nope, still don't believe it
trimmerb12343 September 2012
British film-goers were by 1958 entirely used to police films set in London. They were part of a continuum year by year slowly ratcheting up realism and violence - and dropping the humour in the process. "The Blue Lamp" (1950) where a much liked elderly copper (the in-fact almost immortal actor Jack Warner who went on to reprise the role on TV for the following 30 years) is shot and killed by a downright bad 'un (the rather effete Dirk Bogarde), was apparently quite controversial in its day. The public's favoured cup of tea - or at least what was regularly served up to them in police films of the day was not too strong and not without trace of sugar. Bent cops didn't exist then, neither were detectives rough and insensitive with recently (ie 20 minutes earlier) bereaved widows. Rows and shouting were for the lower orders who were either quickly dispersed or shuffled off into separate cells. Jack Hawkins, iconic British actor of the time was heroism and gentlemanliness personified whether captaining a ship or being the sensitive father of a deaf and dumb daughter (the guaranteed weepy "Mandy").
British film-goers knew the rules of what to expect of both story and cast when it came to police films and it was nothing like the gritty US productions of the day. With a comparatively very low murder rate and cops who didn't carry guns the real life conditions were very different between the two countries. A British policeman's lot could appear a rather whimsical one by comparison.
Somehow John Ford, THE John Ford, comes to direct some of Britain's finest at a British studio in a production set in the streets of London based on a book by an English writer for an audience thoroughly used to a set of confined and unfamiliar conventions. Ford's favourite actor was John Wayne - the personification of plain talking, straight shooting and unrefined acting - rarely wasting a word when a punch will do. Here instead he has perhaps cinema's quintessential portrayer of sensitive masculinity being called on to steam-roller evidence from a widow, confront an underling with evidence confirming he's been on the take from "dope" dealers, solve a couple of slayings - and not forget the running bit of levity - bringing home the fresh salmon for dinner.
The result although fast paced and not without its moments - Marjorie Rhodes as a bereaved mother is electrifying - is nevertheless a cultural car-crash. Two very different cinematic cop traditions from either side of the Atlantic - one whimsical, domestic and a little jokey, the other harsh and procedural, each proceeding at a reckless speed towards the other and meeting in the middle of the screen. The result is something which clearly contains a mixture of both but which thereafter proceeds irregularly and uncertainly in various directions like particle tracks in a bubble chamber following a near light speed atomic collision.
British film-goers knew the rules of what to expect of both story and cast when it came to police films and it was nothing like the gritty US productions of the day. With a comparatively very low murder rate and cops who didn't carry guns the real life conditions were very different between the two countries. A British policeman's lot could appear a rather whimsical one by comparison.
Somehow John Ford, THE John Ford, comes to direct some of Britain's finest at a British studio in a production set in the streets of London based on a book by an English writer for an audience thoroughly used to a set of confined and unfamiliar conventions. Ford's favourite actor was John Wayne - the personification of plain talking, straight shooting and unrefined acting - rarely wasting a word when a punch will do. Here instead he has perhaps cinema's quintessential portrayer of sensitive masculinity being called on to steam-roller evidence from a widow, confront an underling with evidence confirming he's been on the take from "dope" dealers, solve a couple of slayings - and not forget the running bit of levity - bringing home the fresh salmon for dinner.
The result although fast paced and not without its moments - Marjorie Rhodes as a bereaved mother is electrifying - is nevertheless a cultural car-crash. Two very different cinematic cop traditions from either side of the Atlantic - one whimsical, domestic and a little jokey, the other harsh and procedural, each proceeding at a reckless speed towards the other and meeting in the middle of the screen. The result is something which clearly contains a mixture of both but which thereafter proceeds irregularly and uncertainly in various directions like particle tracks in a bubble chamber following a near light speed atomic collision.
John Ford Directs a BBC America Cop Show
alonzoiii-120 May 2007
This resoundingly ordinary film about the busy day of a Scotland Yard inspector is likely to be a disappointment to those seeking a great unknown film by a great film director. The themes and larger than life characters and scenery one tends to find in a Ford picture just aren't here. What we have instead is a likable Jack Hawkins playing a Scotland Yard detective with a busy life that gets in the way of his life at home. It's all pretty amusing, swiftly paced, and there are good bits throughout. Any of the above-average directors of in the US could have made this picture, and it would have looked pretty much the same. The one exception -- Jack Hawkins sidekicks act and behave in much the same way as John Wayne's sidekicks in his various Ford calvary movies.
Best way to deal with this one is ignore it was directed by John Ford. Think of it as one of those cop shows on BBC America, except that it's the 50s and therefore the family being ignored is NOT dysfunctional, just comically bemused.
Acting is all professional British -- all very good, efficient, and not terribly memorable when it is all over (except for Jack Hawkins, who does his usual good job here). And, because all the little mysteries must be wrapped up at the end of the day, none of those are especially complex or deep. So, at the end of the day, this is worth seeing, but not worth a film school thesis.
Best way to deal with this one is ignore it was directed by John Ford. Think of it as one of those cop shows on BBC America, except that it's the 50s and therefore the family being ignored is NOT dysfunctional, just comically bemused.
Acting is all professional British -- all very good, efficient, and not terribly memorable when it is all over (except for Jack Hawkins, who does his usual good job here). And, because all the little mysteries must be wrapped up at the end of the day, none of those are especially complex or deep. So, at the end of the day, this is worth seeing, but not worth a film school thesis.
Excellent Comedy
whpratt14 May 2007
John Ford produced this picture and it was very entertaining from beginning to the end with Jack Hawkins playing the role of Inspector George Gideon who is a top crime expert in London, England and always manages to get his criminal. George Gideon is never at home and one morning his wife asks him to bring home some salmon for guests she was having for dinner and he files the fish away in a file cabinet in his office. However, Gideon does catch a serial killer with the help of a rookie policeman and always seems to drink while on duty and comes home for lunch with his fellow Scotland Yard buddies and has a fews beers and then runs off to solve another crime. Anna Lee plays the role as Gideon's wife and never complains about his weird comings and goings. This film had me laughing through out the entire picture and I therefore consider this to be a great comedy film from 1958.
John Ford on a Cosmopolitan environment in a Inspector Scotland Yard busy day!!
elo-equipamentos20 October 2020
I had to confess that was taken aback by John Ford in a field which he didn't dominate, the cosmopolitan environment, he was the master of the vastness of the western, small village as "The Quiet Man", aloneness on war pictures and so on, but on a crowd city was few experiences, Gideon's Day was a bulky intent, browse a single day of a Scotland Yard inspector on London, boastfully played by Jack Hawkins as Gideon, all sort of happening in a busy Friday, robbery on bank's output, bribe on your section, maniac at large, report from a squealer, salmon for dinner and lost tickets for his daughter's screening debut on the orchestra, all this underpinned by a quirky British humor, the highlight are the couple guys as his assistants the waspish Det. Sgt. Liggot (Frank Lawton) and the priceless Sergeant Golightly (Michael Trubshawe), between a unending comings and goings the Inspector gonna crazy, a rare conceptive picture seen nowadays, introducing the fine actress Anna Massey at tender age, smallest great picture from the master!!
Resume:
First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.75
Resume:
First watch: 2020 / How many: 1 / Source: DVD / Rating: 7.75
One of the best and most realistic police films ever made
SimonJack13 December 2020
"Gideon's Day" is one of the best police movies ever made. Set in London, this 1958 film is about a day in the life of a Scotland Yard chief inspector, George Gideon, played superbly by Jack Hawkins. The film is a combination crime-mystery, drama and comedy. The latter is sprinkled throughout very lightly and tastefully. It has a slight feel of some wonderful mystery series films made in the U.S. in the 1930s and 1940s. The best known of those are the Thin Man films that starred William Powell as an ace detective.
Modern audiences since the last quarter of the 20th century -- Americans, especially - have become accustomed to one or two stereotypes of police detectives. One is a rough and tough character, or underworld undercover cop, who's divorced or who lost his wife in an accident or killing. Another is a fast action, martial arts super hero type. Most police mystery or cops and robbers films have been quite unreal. So, it's refreshing to see a police movie about law officers who have families and real lives. Although, in the case of a top investigator, the workdays can often be more hectic and longer than for the regular guys.
I'm not in law enforcement but I've had a few friends who have been police offices, detectives or deputy sheriffs. Their personal and family lives seem much closer to those depicted in this film. And an interesting observation here is that Gideon doesn't tell his family the specifics of any of his encounters during the day. So, when he comes home with a torn sleeve on his suit coat, he says he fell - but he doesn't mention that he tackled a killer who had been shooting at the police and was trying to escape being caught.
I was unaware of this film in the past, and purchased the John Ford Columbia DVD collection specifically for it and one other movie I had not seen. As film critic Leonard Maltin explains in a bonus interview on the film, I saw the full Technicolor movie that had been made and that premiered in England. As Maltin explains, the film that opened in the U.S. three months later had been edited down and released in black and white. For some reason, the Columbia folks didn't think much of it in the U.S. That's too bad, because it is an excellent movie of the "cops and robbers" type that many Americans of the mid-20th century enjoyed.
All of the cast are very good in this film. It's a fast-moving movie with several crimes, a court scene, and investigations taking the time of Chief Inspector Gideon. Anna Lee is very good as his wife, Kate Gideon, and Anna Massey plays his daughter, Sally. Among others with standout performances are Frank Lawton as Det. Sgt. Liggot, Michael Trubshawe as Sergeant Golightly, and Cyril Cusak as Herbert "Birdie" Sparrow. Dianne Foster and Ronald Howard have smaller roles.
The film is based on a book by British novelist John Creasey, who wrote it under a pseudonym, as J.J. Marric. This is a very good look at England's Scotland Yard which is similar to the American FBI. John Ford was taken by the story and made an excellent film. The quality is superb, especially the camera work, filming, editing and sets.
This is an excellent police and crime fighting film for any film library - much more realistic than the rough and tumble or fast and furious adventure type of police and crime films so prevalent since the late 20th century. And, it's more interesting and at least as entertaining. Kudos to Columbia Pictures, John Ford, and Jack Hawkins and the cast of this fine movie.
Modern audiences since the last quarter of the 20th century -- Americans, especially - have become accustomed to one or two stereotypes of police detectives. One is a rough and tough character, or underworld undercover cop, who's divorced or who lost his wife in an accident or killing. Another is a fast action, martial arts super hero type. Most police mystery or cops and robbers films have been quite unreal. So, it's refreshing to see a police movie about law officers who have families and real lives. Although, in the case of a top investigator, the workdays can often be more hectic and longer than for the regular guys.
I'm not in law enforcement but I've had a few friends who have been police offices, detectives or deputy sheriffs. Their personal and family lives seem much closer to those depicted in this film. And an interesting observation here is that Gideon doesn't tell his family the specifics of any of his encounters during the day. So, when he comes home with a torn sleeve on his suit coat, he says he fell - but he doesn't mention that he tackled a killer who had been shooting at the police and was trying to escape being caught.
I was unaware of this film in the past, and purchased the John Ford Columbia DVD collection specifically for it and one other movie I had not seen. As film critic Leonard Maltin explains in a bonus interview on the film, I saw the full Technicolor movie that had been made and that premiered in England. As Maltin explains, the film that opened in the U.S. three months later had been edited down and released in black and white. For some reason, the Columbia folks didn't think much of it in the U.S. That's too bad, because it is an excellent movie of the "cops and robbers" type that many Americans of the mid-20th century enjoyed.
All of the cast are very good in this film. It's a fast-moving movie with several crimes, a court scene, and investigations taking the time of Chief Inspector Gideon. Anna Lee is very good as his wife, Kate Gideon, and Anna Massey plays his daughter, Sally. Among others with standout performances are Frank Lawton as Det. Sgt. Liggot, Michael Trubshawe as Sergeant Golightly, and Cyril Cusak as Herbert "Birdie" Sparrow. Dianne Foster and Ronald Howard have smaller roles.
The film is based on a book by British novelist John Creasey, who wrote it under a pseudonym, as J.J. Marric. This is a very good look at England's Scotland Yard which is similar to the American FBI. John Ford was taken by the story and made an excellent film. The quality is superb, especially the camera work, filming, editing and sets.
This is an excellent police and crime fighting film for any film library - much more realistic than the rough and tumble or fast and furious adventure type of police and crime films so prevalent since the late 20th century. And, it's more interesting and at least as entertaining. Kudos to Columbia Pictures, John Ford, and Jack Hawkins and the cast of this fine movie.
"This is one of those days, all right!"
richardchatten6 March 2022
A rum film to be made by Hollywood's most famous anglophobe, you'd never suspect it was the work of John Ford if you'd missed the opening credits.
Attractively shot in by Freddie Young in Technicolor, with a radiant young Anna Massey making her debut, it's raw enough to feature Jack Hawkins saying "reefers", a subplot about a psycho-killer, and razor-wielding thugs; although the cute model buses trundling along the model of Tower Bridge seen through Hawkins' Scotland Yard window exerts a fascination not bargained for in the script by Ealing veteran T. E. B. Clarke.
Attractively shot in by Freddie Young in Technicolor, with a radiant young Anna Massey making her debut, it's raw enough to feature Jack Hawkins saying "reefers", a subplot about a psycho-killer, and razor-wielding thugs; although the cute model buses trundling along the model of Tower Bridge seen through Hawkins' Scotland Yard window exerts a fascination not bargained for in the script by Ealing veteran T. E. B. Clarke.
I'll take a Buick over this Ford
whitesheik16 March 2008
I knew I could come here and find someone proclaiming this as one of Ford's best 50s films, and I was right. Not only one of his best 50s films, but better than The Grapes of Wrath and How Green Was My Valley. Uh - no. Maybe Ford's worst, if not, right up there. The people praising the pace must have only seen the US black-and-white version, because the two-hour color version from the UK is excruciating. One uninteresting vignette after another. Yes, good actors, and an active score by Douglas Gamley, but it's just really, really bad.
They insist I write more - why is that? I just said all I had to say, but they say it wasn't long enough, but this must be a new rule or something because in this very thread there is a "review" exactly two lines long. So, let me add one final thought - this film is not good.
They insist I write more - why is that? I just said all I had to say, but they say it wasn't long enough, but this must be a new rule or something because in this very thread there is a "review" exactly two lines long. So, let me add one final thought - this film is not good.
Unknown Ford
keiljd5 March 2002
All but forgotten - and all but ignored in '58 - Fordian gem, on a day in the life of a very cagey Scotland Yard Inspector, played to perfection by the estimable actor Jack Hawkins, with splendid work by a fine cast, including the always adorable Dianne Foster, an underused but very watchable Columbia contractee from Alberta. Gideon solves about five major crimes, still finding time for the missus, and a few odds and ends at the office. One wonders what a busy day is like for this guy. I saw GIDEON at a suburban art house (the Park) in '58, on a Saturday evening. About 50 people had the same idea; we came out smiling. Terrific movie; classy cops and robbers thrills for the smarter set. One of John Ford's best 50s films. Beats hell outta Grapes of Wrath and How Green was My Valley, I know that much. Geez, what hogwash.
Gideon's Day
henry8-322 June 2021
Jack Hawkins is top cop Gideon at Scotland Yard. The film stays with him for a day as he tackles murder, fraud and robbery as well as trying to getting home with some fresh fish and getting to a concert with his wife and friends.
An interesting mixture this, directed by John Ford of all people. It combines often quite nasty murders including a sex crime, although not graphically, requiring Hawkins to get quite brutal and Ealingesque light comedy moments which are really quite funny. The mixture seems strange but holds together well, in part because of the breakneck speed at which all the many and varied incidents and investigations pass. Hawkins is always great at playing authority figures with charm (see The Long Arm) and he is ably supported by a bevvy of British character greats, particularly Michael Trubshaw as his wise and tolerant right hand man.
An interesting mixture this, directed by John Ford of all people. It combines often quite nasty murders including a sex crime, although not graphically, requiring Hawkins to get quite brutal and Ealingesque light comedy moments which are really quite funny. The mixture seems strange but holds together well, in part because of the breakneck speed at which all the many and varied incidents and investigations pass. Hawkins is always great at playing authority figures with charm (see The Long Arm) and he is ably supported by a bevvy of British character greats, particularly Michael Trubshaw as his wise and tolerant right hand man.
Policeman's Bawl
writers_reign12 June 2012
Warning: Spoilers
This has just aired at 1.20 p.m. on British television and all I can say is it would have been better to screen it at 4 a.m. or, better yet, turn it into banjo picks. I struggled to stay awake and had to force myself to keep watching. Seldom have I seen anything more dire. I've always found John Ford vastly overrated but he must have phoned this one in from Monument Valley. Even John Paddy Carstairs would be reluctant to take a credit for this inept, unexciting, indifferent blancmange. Virtually every second-rater in the British film industry at the time is wheeled out and given two minutes or so and the only reason to name them would be in order to spin this notice out into the required ten lines that IMDb insist upon but as I've achieved that I'll leave them unmolested though I can't say with any conviction unembarrassed. Run a mile from this garbage.
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