Spoiler Alert!
Here's two British movies that were also popular tv shows
IMO the hard hitting The Blue Lamp is the best British cop film while The Sweeney and Sweeney 2 are shall we say at best better than average. on the other hand I would say The Sweeney tv series is the best cop show to appear on UK tv and the only reason i can think of why it wasn't shown in America was because it was to violent for the U.S networks to take on in the 1970s when the likes of Starsky And Hutch were toning their violence down. The Blue Lamp, known as Dixon Of Dock Green, lasted for 20-yrs on tv, but in the 50s, unlike the movie, the tv show was rather soft by todays standard. it toughened up when another cop show Z-Cars appeared showing a more realistic approach to policemens lives.
The Blue Lamp was made in 1949 and featured hero Jimmy Hanley as rookie beatman Andy Mitchell, who lodges with older policeman George Dixon, played by the great character actor Jack Warner. midway through the film Dixon is shot dead by Dirk Bogarde during a cinema hold-up. London is so outraged by the killing the underworld join forces with the police in an effort to track Bogarde down and he is eventually caught by P.C Mitchell.
so popular was the film a series was commissioned some 6-yrs later and Dixon was brought back from the dead and became one of British tvs best loved characters, rising to the rank of Sargeant. the thing was Jack Warner was at retirement age when he started the tv show. he was about 84 when he finished.
Reagen was made as a one-off tv drama with a possiblity of a series later on. it starred John Thaw as maverick Detective Inspector Jack Reagen, Dennis Waterman as his Sargeant George Carter and Garfield Morgan as their boss Frank Haskins. it was about the newly formed Flying Squad, nicknamed The Sweeney, who fought violence with violence, showing Reagen and Carter just as tough as the villians they were trying to apprehend. There were if i recall 3 series of this groundbreaking Detective show and inbetween there were the two movies.
as i said the Sweeney movies were entertaining enough, but i felt there was at least two reasons why they didn't become all time classics. firstly in the series Reagen and Carter where big fishes in a little pond, but in the film they were taken out of their comfort zone and effectively became small fishes in a big pond, in an effort to make it grander than the tv show. from that aspect it didn't work. the 2nd reason was, while both the series and the film took advantage of the special bond that existed between both Thaw, Waterman and their characters, in the tv show it was a three man operation and i felt the fact Garfield Morgan was excluded from the two movies was a disgrace.
in the 80s Dennis Waterman scored a big hit with tv show Minder, playing a type of body guard to spiv George Cole (young Scrooge in Scrooge and Flash Harry in St. Trinians). It took a little longer for Thaw to find another hit to match The Sweeney, but he did in the shape of Morse in the 90s. it was another cop show, but more of a popular who dun it than the 'Get Your Trousers On, You're Nicked attitude from The Sweeney
The Blue Lamp and The Sweeney
The Blue Lamp and The Sweeney
Last edited by stuart.uk on February 2nd, 2008, 3:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
THE BLUE LAMP is one of the reasons I just ordered a multi-region DVD player so I can watch of these great British films that aren't available over here. Now if the U.S. dollar would just bounce back so I can afford to buy some DVD's from the UK I'd be really happy. (I can dream)
One other thing. You're a very good addition to this forum and I look forward to your posts so I hope you won't take offense at this. Please be a little more careful about revealing storylines. You told everything about THE BLUE LAMP including the ending. I've seen the film so it didn't spoil it for me, but since it's not generally available here, I'm sure many folks haven't. Just adding the word SPOILERS! in your subject line would do the trick. Thank you so much.
One other thing. You're a very good addition to this forum and I look forward to your posts so I hope you won't take offense at this. Please be a little more careful about revealing storylines. You told everything about THE BLUE LAMP including the ending. I've seen the film so it didn't spoil it for me, but since it's not generally available here, I'm sure many folks haven't. Just adding the word SPOILERS! in your subject line would do the trick. Thank you so much.
It's seldom viewed here, but much wanted. Have you read the IMDB criticism of it, saying "it's dated"? I am a BIG fan of 1962's JIGSAW, and Jack Hawkins' GIDEON'S DAY (1958).
I don't see how BLUE LAMP - set in contemporary times - can be diminished by criticizing it for appearing "dated". This makes me skeptical of that writer entirely - I rather accept that films made in their contemporary times will be shown with those times' elements. Frankly, I've never seen any so-called "futuristic film" that appears anywhere close to 1984. Or 1979. 1999. (Like the first TIME MACHINE showed.) Or 2001. And I suspect 2010 won't have us scooting around the sky to Jupiter and back either.
So "dated" seems like an odd criticism. For period pieces or Westerns where we see car-ruts and electrical lines in the background, does that update and improve them?!! (I only hear people snickering about those, and actors' wristwatches, etc.)
I never mind learning a film's ending because I rewatch most films anyway, and I'm usually more surprised by the number of elements I'll forget from one watching to another.
I don't see how BLUE LAMP - set in contemporary times - can be diminished by criticizing it for appearing "dated". This makes me skeptical of that writer entirely - I rather accept that films made in their contemporary times will be shown with those times' elements. Frankly, I've never seen any so-called "futuristic film" that appears anywhere close to 1984. Or 1979. 1999. (Like the first TIME MACHINE showed.) Or 2001. And I suspect 2010 won't have us scooting around the sky to Jupiter and back either.
So "dated" seems like an odd criticism. For period pieces or Westerns where we see car-ruts and electrical lines in the background, does that update and improve them?!! (I only hear people snickering about those, and actors' wristwatches, etc.)
I never mind learning a film's ending because I rewatch most films anyway, and I'm usually more surprised by the number of elements I'll forget from one watching to another.
i haven't seen Gideon's Day in yrs and when i did i didn't realise who Anna Lee was. she's an actress, who i felt was a little hard done by in the case of John Ford, who usually put her in small almost cameo roles. however, she was a great actress and proved in How Green Was My Valley and Fort Apache. i have a feeling Ford really needed a British actress to play Jack Hawkins wife. i would imagine it's Anna's 3rd great performance for John Ford.
you maybe don't know, but in 1964 there was a British tv series called Gideon's Way with John Gregson as Gideon and Hobson's Choice actress Daphne Anderson as his wife
of course The Blue Lamp is dated. as a cop film it's about life in post war London. the other film i mentioned 1970s The Sweeney and it's sequal is also dated with long hair and flared trouser wearing dectectives going about. it's also by todays stadards politically incorrect and with it's level of violence it would be difficult to make today, though i gather their going to try too
you maybe don't know, but in 1964 there was a British tv series called Gideon's Way with John Gregson as Gideon and Hobson's Choice actress Daphne Anderson as his wife
of course The Blue Lamp is dated. as a cop film it's about life in post war London. the other film i mentioned 1970s The Sweeney and it's sequal is also dated with long hair and flared trouser wearing dectectives going about. it's also by todays stadards politically incorrect and with it's level of violence it would be difficult to make today, though i gather their going to try too
i think to The Blue Lamp is an important film for all the actors involved.
it helped turn Dirk Bogarde into a major film star
it turned Jack Warner from a respected character actor into a tv superstar when he brought Dixon back from the dead in Dixon Of Dock Green
it's the earliest film where i recall seeing Bernard Lee, the detective in charge of the Dixon murder. he went on to become a great character actor, who shared the lead with John Mills and Richard Attenbourgh in probably his best film Dunkirk. however, he gained international recognition playing M in the Bond movies.
Jimmy Hanley, who before hand did The Huggett's film series with Warner, Kathleen Harrison and Petula Clark seemed full of great potential going into The Blue Lamp as the films hero. however, The Blue Lamp was the highlight of his career and he never achieved the stardom he threatened. married for a while to Dinah Sheridan (The Railway Children) and the father of Jenny Hanley (Softly Softly and Magpie) he did an aftenoon show in the 50s and before he died young he was one of Noel Gordon's many boyfriends in the soap Crossroads
it helped turn Dirk Bogarde into a major film star
it turned Jack Warner from a respected character actor into a tv superstar when he brought Dixon back from the dead in Dixon Of Dock Green
it's the earliest film where i recall seeing Bernard Lee, the detective in charge of the Dixon murder. he went on to become a great character actor, who shared the lead with John Mills and Richard Attenbourgh in probably his best film Dunkirk. however, he gained international recognition playing M in the Bond movies.
Jimmy Hanley, who before hand did The Huggett's film series with Warner, Kathleen Harrison and Petula Clark seemed full of great potential going into The Blue Lamp as the films hero. however, The Blue Lamp was the highlight of his career and he never achieved the stardom he threatened. married for a while to Dinah Sheridan (The Railway Children) and the father of Jenny Hanley (Softly Softly and Magpie) he did an aftenoon show in the 50s and before he died young he was one of Noel Gordon's many boyfriends in the soap Crossroads
And to think, this film is actually about midway in Bernard Lee's career. He'd just finished doing the excellent Sergeant in THIRD MAN, punching out Holly Martins in one moment, talking Western Pulps the next. Such a great touch of nonchalance. I wonder how many ways they tried that scene before settling on this perfect version?
I've got THE TERROR (1939) DVD which he's in, plus lo-quality broadcast DVDs of LET GEORGE DO IT (1940) and ONCE A CROOK (1941). There's a gap of years in WWII and suspect "the service" was his main occupation in those years. We're lucky he came thru, as well as many other Brit actors.
Those 3, plus THIRD MAN, are the earliest Bernard Lee films I've got - he's an interesting character to collect - he's been in some excellent films and done solid work along the way.
I'm always disappointed that we don't see GIDEON'S DAY released or at least broadcast here. It's a real "nothing much" film, just a day in the life, but the filmmakers take me along for a good voyage anyway. It's a favorite because of the banter between Hawkins and his police co-workers. They appear 'testy' and short-tempered at first, but as the film progresses, we're shown that these are old chums, being sarcastic and snippy as a form of humor and friendly banter, obviously picking up in yesterday's jokes that we, the audience, aren't privvy to.
It's a great tactic to force the audience to jump in and swim fast to catch up, because this river's been going for a while...
I've got THE TERROR (1939) DVD which he's in, plus lo-quality broadcast DVDs of LET GEORGE DO IT (1940) and ONCE A CROOK (1941). There's a gap of years in WWII and suspect "the service" was his main occupation in those years. We're lucky he came thru, as well as many other Brit actors.
Those 3, plus THIRD MAN, are the earliest Bernard Lee films I've got - he's an interesting character to collect - he's been in some excellent films and done solid work along the way.
I'm always disappointed that we don't see GIDEON'S DAY released or at least broadcast here. It's a real "nothing much" film, just a day in the life, but the filmmakers take me along for a good voyage anyway. It's a favorite because of the banter between Hawkins and his police co-workers. They appear 'testy' and short-tempered at first, but as the film progresses, we're shown that these are old chums, being sarcastic and snippy as a form of humor and friendly banter, obviously picking up in yesterday's jokes that we, the audience, aren't privvy to.
It's a great tactic to force the audience to jump in and swim fast to catch up, because this river's been going for a while...