It’s time to look at another true British classic from Ealing Studios, I am of course referring to the police drama The Blue Lamp from 1950 and its been remastered? So without further ado here’s The Blue Lamp Blu-ray review.
- The Blue Lamp (1950)
- Genre: Drama
- Directed by Basil Dearden
- Written by T.E.B. Clarke
- UK Rating PG
- Discs: 1
- Released By Studiocanal
- Blu-ray Released: 12 December 2016
- Starring Jack Warner, Jimmy Hanley, Dirk Bogarde, Robert Flemyng, Bernard Lee, Patric Doonan, Peggy Evans
Plot
Set in London during the late 1940’s The Blue Lamp depicts the fight against crime as we follow the boys in blue. Two young crooks having carried out their first robbery decide to raise the stakes by committing an armed robbery that has major ramifications for both of them and the police.
The police force consists of a certain well known officer PC George Dixon (Jack Warner) who finds himself in a rather difficult situation when trying to apprehend the suspects.
Style / Direction
The film is directed by Basil Dearden with the cinematography handled by Gordon Dines. This may be of its time but The Blue Lamp manages to show London off pretty well with plenty of car chases contrasted against the more mundane police life.
It’s incredibly well shot with outstanding high up camera shots really giving the film a sense of scale and style. The story moves along always keeping you engrossed in proceedings.
Ealing went on to use some of the scenes from The Blue Lamp in other films which gives you an indication of how well it was made.
Music / Audio Effects
The music is provided by Ernest Irving, it fits the time period and style of policing like a glove.
Acting / Characters
There are many characters in The Blue Lamp from villains to police but here are some of the main ones.
Jack Warner plays PC George Dixon and the film certainly revolves around his character. In fact PC Dixon is kind of mentoring a new comer to the force, PC Andy Mitchell and the two strike up a friendship. Both actors play against each other very well and there is no doubt where the viewers sympathies lie. This is very much a pro police film.
Now on to the bad guys, and Dirk Bogarde plays Tom Riley a young crook. He alongside his mate Spud played by Patric Doonan decide their time has come to start their life of crime. Both actors put in exceptional performances and really give the film a bit of an edge.
Tom Riley in particular likes the thrill of the danger but when it all goes wrong he begins to lose it. Dirk Bogarde plays this aspect of the character very well continually switching from being in control to the slightly unbalanced.
Conclusion: The Blue Lamp (1950) Film Review
The Blue Lamp is simply a film that every cinephile should watch at least once. Personally I recommend picking it on Blu-ray and re-watching several times over.
It is as they say of its time or to put it another way they really don’t make them like this anymore, which is shame in many ways.
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Conclusion: The Blue Lamp Blu-ray Review
No need to worry the Blu-ray version has indeed been re-mastered and is pretty outstanding in terms of sound and picture quality. If you love this film like I do you need to own this Blu-ray version.
Extras
- New Locations Featurette with Film Historian Richard Dacre
- London Locations Stills Gallery
- Production Stills Gallery
- BBC Radio 3 The Essay: British Cinema of the 1940s
An excellent set of extras with the new locations featurette the highlight, showing how many of the locations used in the film look today.
Popcorn Cinema Rating: The Blue Lamp (1950)
MOVIE RATING: MUST SEE
BLU-RAY RATING: EXCELLENT
POPCORN CINEMA: RECOMMENDED
The Blue Lamp (1950) Blu-ray is available now priced £9.99 from Amazon (as of date of review)
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The Blue Lamp (1950) Film Trailer
For those of you yet to see the film I’ll leave you with a little taster with the intro…
Clip not be representative of the Blu-ray version
Summary: The Blue Lamp (1950) Blu-ray Review
Movie title: The Blue Lamp (1950)
Duration: 85 mins
Director(s): Basil Dearden
Actor(s): Jack Warner, Dirk Bogarde, Jimmy Hanley, Robert Flemyng, Bernard Lee
Genre: Drama
- Movie Rating
- Blu-ray Rating
- Extras
Summary
A truly classic British police film that having been re-mastered looks amazing.
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