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'{{EngvarB|date=December 2013}} {{Use dmy dates|date=December 2013}} {{Infobox film | name = Pool of London | image = PoolOfLondon1951Poster.jpg | caption = Original British quad format film poster | director = [[Basil Dearden]] | producer = [[Michael Balcon]]<br>[[Michael Relph]] (associate producer) | screenplay = [[Jack Whittingham]]<br/>[[John Eldridge (director)|John Eldridge]] | starring = [[Bonar Colleano]]<br/>[[Earl Cameron (actor)|Earl Cameron]]<br/>[[Susan Shaw]] | music = [[John Addison]] | cinematography = [[Gordon Dines]] | editing = [[Peter Tanner]] | studio = [[Ealing Studios]] | distributor = [[General Film Distributors|GFD]] {{small|(UK)}} | released = {{Film date|df=yes|1951|02|22|UK}}<ref name="Art & Hue">{{cite web|url=http://artandhue.com/shop/pool-of-london/|title=Pool Of London |work=Art & Hue |date=2018 |access-date=22 February 2018}}</ref> | runtime = 86 minutes | country = United Kingdom | language = English | budget = | gross = £130,000<ref name="sue">{{cite book|title=British Cinema of The 1950s The Decline of Deference|first1=Sue|last1= Harper|first2=Vincent|last2= Porter|publisher=Oxford University Press USA|year=2003|page=285}}</ref> or $392,000 (UK)<ref>{{cite magazine|title=John Davis Cites Cases|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety196-1954-11/page/n143/mode/1up?q=%22top+grossers%22|date=17 November 1954|page=8}}</ref><br>$40,000 (US)<ref>{{cite magazine|title=John Davis Cites Cases|magazine=Variety|url=https://archive.org/details/variety196-1954-11/page/n143/mode/1up?q=%22top+grossers%22|date=17 November 1954|page=8}}</ref> }} '''''Pool of London''''' is a 1951 British [[Film noir|noir]]<ref>[http://www.tasteofcinema.com/2016/the-10-best-british-noir-films-you-should-watch/ tasteofcinema.com]</ref> [[crime film]] directed by [[Basil Dearden]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2017/aug/08/earl-cameron-britains-first-black-actor-interview-james-bond|title='I've not retired!' Earl Cameron, Britain's first black film star, on Bond, racism – and turning 100|first=Xan|last=Brooks|newspaper=The Guardian |date=8 August 2017|via=www.theguardian.com}}</ref> It stars [[Bonar Colleano]], [[Earl Cameron]] and [[Susan Shaw]].<ref>{{Cite web|title=Pool of London (1951)|url=https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b3422f0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160309135912/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b3422f0/|url-status=dead|archive-date=9 March 2016|access-date=2021-07-07|website=BFI|language=en}}</ref> ==Plot== The character-driven story of ''Pool of London'' centres around the crew of the [[merchant ship]] ''Dunbar'', which docks in the [[Pool of London]]. The crew members are given shore leave, with some practising petty smuggling and other various dodges. Set in post-war [[London]], the film is of note for portraying the first interracial relationship in a British film.<ref>[http://www.screenonline.org.uk/film/id/475521/ BFI Screenonline: ''Pool of London''] Linked 2015-06-08</ref> The film begins with the Dunbar mooring near Tower Bridge. Three crew members, going on shore leave, have to pass a custom inspection. Black crew member Johnny ([[Earl Cameron]]), an all-round nice guy, has nothing to declare, and is not meeting any girl in Port. His friend, Dan ([[Bonar Colleano]]), has a few pairs of Nylons for his girlfriend, Maisie [[Moira Lister]]. Harry [[Leslie Phillips]] is supposed to be meeting his girl, Sally [[Renée Asherson]] but has other fish to fry. Johnny meets, by accident, a pretty blonde, Pat ([[Susan Shaw]]), who offers to show him the sights of London, after trying to protect him from a work-colleague's, racist behaviour. In a visually rich montage, Johnny and Pat visit the [[National Maritime Museum]] and the [[Greenwich Observatory]]. The film is full of atmospheric scenes from Post War London, many in the City, including from the dome of [[St Paul's Cathedral]], and some bombed areas around the cathedral before the rebuilding of [[Paternoster Square]]. But also scenes in Southwark, of Tower Bridge, Rotherhithe and the East End. Johnny and Pat get on really well, but Johnny says he has to go back to Jamaica because he has saved up the money to get an education, to fulfil his dreams. He is clearly sad that it means he will not be in England with Pat. Meanwhile, Dan has had an argument with his girlfriend, and Harry has stood up Sally. Sally and Dad hook up and have what may be a one-night stand. Dan ([[Bonar Colleano]]), is asked to smuggle something valuable onto the boat to take to Rotterdam, and inadvertently becomes involved with a jewel robbery in which a night watchman is murdered near St Pauls. He asks Johnny, who has previously refused, to get involved with any smuggling, to take the goods on board for him. Dan feels bad about doing it but thinks the risk is very low. He, then, finds out about the murder; is ditched by his Girlfriend, and finds refuge with Sally,as the only place he feels he might be safe. She had thought he was only interested in a one-night stand, and is taken by his honesty and promises to wait for him if he goes to prison, however long that might be. Dan is captured by his fellow conspirators, who intend to kill him. He escapes from the car at the end of the Rotherhithe Tunnel and is chased by the Gangsters, shot and dives into the Thames. The Police round up the surviving gang (one falls to his death, another injured in a car crash.) Dan gets ontoa Thames Barge in the Thames,and confident he will get away. Johnny has meanwhile been taken to a low dive, been persuaded to get really drunk, and his money is stolen. He drunkenly walks back towards the Boat. Dan remembers the risk Johnny is taking smuggling the goods onto the boat, so he dives off the boat and into the Thames in order to warn Johnny. Then, he remembers the words of Sally,that she will wait for him, so he gives himself up to the Police. Johnny, the viewer might hope, may now be able to continue his relationship with Pat as he does not have the money for the education in Jamaica. The film shows British society in a good light. Everyone apart from Dan's Girlfriend and the gangsters are, basically, nice people and all the organisation seems to run smoothly and with some humanity. The Police, the Merchant Navy offices, the Bar staff are all decent people, but there are some people who are racist in their encounters with Johnny, who is deeply affected by it but he is supported by Pat and Dan. ==Main cast== {{div col|colwidth=25em}} * [[Bonar Colleano]] as Dan MacDonald * [[Earl Cameron (actor)|Earl Cameron]] as Johnny Lambert * [[Susan Shaw]] as Pat * [[Renée Asherson]] as Sally * [[Moira Lister]] as Maisie * [[Max Adrian]] as Charlie Vernon * [[Joan Dowling]] as Pamela * [[James Robertson Justice]] as Engine Room Officer Trotter * [[Michael Golden (actor)|Michael Golden]] as Customs Officer Andrews * [[John Longden]] as Detective Inspector Williams * [[Alfie Bass]] as Alf * [[Christopher Hewett]] as Mike * [[Leslie Phillips]] as Harry * [[Ian Bannen]] as Garage attendant * [[George Benson (actor)|George Benson]] as George * [[Beckett Bould]] as The Watchman * [[Sam Kydd]] as 2nd Engineer * [[Victor Maddern]] as First Tram Conductor * [[Laurence Naismith]] as Commissionaire * [[Campbell Singer]] as Station Sergeant {{div col end}} ==Release== ''Pool of London'' premiered at the [[Odeon Leicester Square]] in London on 22 February 1951.<ref name="Art & Hue"/> ==Critical reception== In ''[[The New York Times]]'', [[Bosley Crowther]] wrote, "there is excitement and suspense in the gritty and grimy melodramatics," and concluded that the film, "though not distinguished, is entertaining and has the flavor of a great shipping port."<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/reviews/movies|title=Movie Reviews|date=2 July 2020|access-date=4 July 2020|via=NYTimes.com}}</ref> ==References== {{Reflist}} ==External links== * [https://web.archive.org/web/20160309135912/http://www.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b3422f0/ ''Pool of London''] at the [[British Film Institute]]{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}} * {{Screenonline title| 475521 |Pool of London}} * {{IMDb title|0042851|Pool of London}} {{Basil Dearden}} {{Michael Balcon}} [[Category:1951 films]] [[Category:1951 crime drama films]] [[Category:British crime drama films]] [[Category:Ealing Studios films]] [[Category:Films directed by Basil Dearden]] [[Category:Films produced by Michael Balcon]] [[Category:Films scored by John Addison]] [[Category:Films set in London]] [[Category:Films with screenplays by Jack Whittingham]] [[Category:British black-and-white films]] [[Category:1950s English-language films]] [[Category:1950s British films]] [[Category:English-language crime drama films]] {{1950s-UK-film-stub}}'