The Blue Lamp

1950

1h 24m

Crime

Drama

List

83%

6 Reviews

Tomatometer

69%

100+ Ratings

Audience Score

Newbie London police officer Andy Mitchell (Jimmy Hanley) is paired with seasoned cop George Dixon (Jack Warner) to work the night shift. When criminals Tom Riley (Dirk Bogarde) and Spud (Patric Doonan) are caught robbing a local movie theater, George meets Tom in a face-off. While trying to coax the thief into making a peaceful surrender, George is wounded and taken to the hospital. It then becomes Andy's task to track down the crooks and restore honor to his partner.

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Variety Staff

Variety

Clear-cut direction and interesting location shots of London’s back streets help the story along.

Mar 26, 2009

Full Review

Bosley Crowther

New York Times

A warm and affectionate tribute to the London metropolitan police in the daily performance of their duties is cleverly interlaced with a good running crime melodrama of a conspicuously realistic sort.

Mar 25, 2006

Full Review

Dilys Powell

Sunday Times (UK)

The Blue Lamp, in short, has both the dramatic tension and the robust ironic humour which have made the reputation of the realistic British cinema.

Oct 3, 2023

Full Review

Clyde Gilmour

Maclean's Magazine

A warmly human, unpretentious yarn about the murder of an affable London policeman. The many amusing incidents are part and parcel of the story, not lugged in for "comic relief."

Jan 7, 2020

Full Review

MFB Critics

Monthly Film Bulletin

The latest production from Ealing Studios unavoidably challenges comparison with Hollywood in style and verisimilitude; it must be said that comparison on all major counts is unfavourable.

Jan 25, 2018

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

Solid Brit crime drama.

Rated: B

Apr 11, 2005

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isla s

This is a charming 1950s British film. I liked the scenes with the police choir and the way a young child of interest to the criminal case responded to the 'local bobby's'. There is clear sexism/misogny present with the interactions of husband and wife but then its a film of its time, so thats perhaps to be expected. A reasonably enjoyable film, yes I suppose I would recommend it overall.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

paul d

Basil Dearden's The Blue Lamp is a love poem dedicated to the average Constable in the London Police. The film spends a lot of time showing us their humanity, camaraderie, the mundane aspects of their jobs, and their essential goodness. The film slowly increases the tension by also drawing, in parallel, a portrait of two ambitious young hoodlums and a desperate young girl looking for a way out of the slums of post-war London. These two worlds are destined to meet, and that's when the film shifts into its top gear, a crime story and manhunt. Dirk Bogarde plays a hotheaded villain with style and a very convincing mix of bravado, cold-bloodedness and stupidity.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I don't imagine this was an accurate account of life in 1949 and it certainly hasn't worn well with time. For all that it's probably how we wish things were, for good or bad it was responsible for the long running TV series Dixon of Dock Green. Luckily George Dixon rose from the grave...

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

02/15/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Affectionate portrayal of cops on the beat in post-war London, showing their camaraderie in the face of a rise in youth crime. Jack Warner and Jimmy Hanley play mentor and mentee cops who have to deal with rebel Dirk Bogarde who stages a couple of robberies with his partner Patric Doonan and 17-year-old girlfriend (Peggy Evans). The young hoods are too wet-behind-the-ears for the professional criminal class who refuse to help them (and may even help the police instead). What we get, then, is partly police procedural with an occasional tilt toward noir (via some expressionist lighting) but more often we see the cops at work in their everyday roles (and in some cases cosily at home). Scenes with Bogarde don't really reveal the motivation behind his crimes but he's always charismatic. Add to this, the real London settings (especially seen in a frantic car chase) and the result is highly enjoyable, although admittedly fantasy (i.e. in the portrayal of the noble and caring cops who are too idealized to be really human).

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/04/23

Full Review

Audience Member

a good British crime noir film it even had a car chase and Dirk Bogarde in a early role as a bad guy. i enjoyed this movie.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Wonderful performances from Jack Warner, Bernard Lee, Jimmy Hanley and Dirk Bogarde as the killer.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

02/24/23

Full Review

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Basil Dearden

Director

Jack Warner

PC George Dixon

Dirk Bogarde

Tom Riley

Jimmy Hanley

PC Andy Mitchell

Robert Flemyng

Police Sgt. Roberts

Bernard Lee

Inspector Cherry

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Synopsis

Newbie London police officer Andy Mitchell (Jimmy Hanley) is paired with seasoned cop George Dixon (Jack Warner) to work the night shift. When criminals Tom Riley (Dirk Bogarde) and Spud (Patric Doonan) are caught robbing a local movie theater, George meets Tom in a face-off. While trying to coax the thief into making a peaceful surrender, George is wounded and taken to the hospital. It then becomes Andy's task to track down the crooks and restore honor to his partner.

Director: Basil Dearden
Screenwriter: T.E.B. Clarke
Production Co: J. Arthur Rank Organisation, Ealing Studios
Genre: Crime, Drama
Original Language: English (United Kingdom)
Runtime: 1h 24m