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Pool of London

Play trailer Poster for Pool of London 1951 1h 26m Crime Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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Tomatometer 3 Reviews 50% Popcornmeter Fewer than 50 Ratings
Merchant sailor Dan MacDonald (Bonar Colleano) has a lucrative sideline in smuggling black market goods ashore. While docked in London, MacDonald and his best friend, Johnny Lambert (Earl Cameron), get mixed up with a gang of ruthless jewel thieves, who hire MacDonald to smuggle their loot out of the country. Complications arise when Earl falls for a charming but pernicious young woman named Pat (Susan Shaw), and is charged with a murder he did not commit.

Critics Reviews

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Nicholas Bell IONCINEMA.com [Director of Photography] Gordon Hines paints a gritty portrait of post-war London, but it's really the stymied sexual tension between Cameron and Shaw which allows Pool of London its key interests. Rated: 3.5/5 Jul 30, 2020 Full Review Sarah Boslaugh TheArtsStl Like many of the best film noirs, Pool of London manages to sneak something extra into what is primarily a crime film-a tender romance between a Jamaican sailor and a white London woman... Rated: 7/10 May 5, 2020 Full Review MFB Critics Monthly Film Bulletin Pool of London has the elements of an average melodrama, but they are never satisfactorily brought together, and the result is a diffuse film, lacking shape and control. Feb 8, 2018 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

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Audience Member Quite a fun film for most of the time but the film loses its way a bit towards the end Rated 3 out of 5 stars 01/28/23 Full Review Audience Member a fine thriller where a couple of ducking and diving sailors get caught up in a diamond heist. Two things set this apart from most in this field is the inter racial relationship, which in 1951 must have been more than a little controversial and the backdrop of london, which was just breathtaking at times. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/10/23 Full Review Audience Member Fascinating Ealing film that ought to get way more attention than it does as a British classic. Takes a wee while to get going because of a multiple character plot, but the attention to character detail and intertwined story elements is a marvel. It feels very much like a transitional British film; linking melodrama with genuine gritty crime and kitchen sink drama. Occasional elements (the drunken Scots sea captain) feel dated, but the location work is terrific and there is so much going on in this visually and thematically that it absolutely merits further viewings. Rated 4 out of 5 stars 02/19/23 Full Review Audience Member a very good thriller about two sailors, a cocky american and his jamaican buddy, who inadvertently get involved in a diamond heist and can't find a clean way out. the film had trouble with u.s. censors for portraying a romantic relationship between the black sailor and a young white londoner. its' exploration of race relations is far ahead of its' time Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars 02/09/23 Full Review Read all reviews
Pool of London

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Pool of London

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Movie Info

Synopsis Merchant sailor Dan MacDonald (Bonar Colleano) has a lucrative sideline in smuggling black market goods ashore. While docked in London, MacDonald and his best friend, Johnny Lambert (Earl Cameron), get mixed up with a gang of ruthless jewel thieves, who hire MacDonald to smuggle their loot out of the country. Complications arise when Earl falls for a charming but pernicious young woman named Pat (Susan Shaw), and is charged with a murder he did not commit.
Director
Basil Dearden
Producer
Michael Balcon
Screenwriter
Jack Whittingham, John Eldridge
Genre
Crime, Drama
Original Language
English
Runtime
1h 26m