IMDb RATING
6.8/10
2.6K
YOUR RATING
The daily routine of two London Policemen is interrupted by a killer.The daily routine of two London Policemen is interrupted by a killer.The daily routine of two London Policemen is interrupted by a killer.
- Won 1 BAFTA Award
- 1 win & 1 nomination total
John Adams
- PC at Darts Match
- (uncredited)
Muriel Aked
- Mrs. Beryl Waterboume
- (uncredited)
Arnold Bell
- Hospital Doctor
- (uncredited)
Alma Cogan
- Bit Part
- (uncredited)
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaPolice Constable George Dixon's (Jack Warner's) comment about the missing dog, "You ought to have called him Strachey", is a reference to the then Minister for Food, John Strachey. He was in charge of rationing and, like the dog, was accused of stealing food from the people.
- GoofsAs PC Dixon leaves the police station to go on his beat, he picks up his cape and puts it over his shoulder. A short while later he's seen on his beat, but his cape has disappeared. He may, however, have put the cape into the local police call box before starting his beat.
- Quotes
Diana Lewis: What d'ye think I am? Soft or something?
Spud: Yeah.
- Crazy creditsWe acknowledge with gratitude the help given by the Commissioner of Police of the Metropolis, Sir Harold Scott, K.C.B., K.B.E., and men and women of the Metropolitan Police. To them, and their colleagues in the Police Service of Britain, we dedicate this film.
- Alternate versionsAlthough this film is famous for the first spoken use of the word "bastard" as a profanity, the Talking Pictures TV channel in the UK show a slightly modified version where the word has been removed by a clever piece of editing.
- SoundtracksBless 'em All
(uncredited)
Written by Fred Godfrey (1917)
Revised lyrics by Jimmy Hughes and Frank Lake (1940)
Sung by Cameron Hall at the police station
Featured review
Strange Watching It Today
THE BLUE LAMP is a very famous and popular British film , so popular that it paved the way for an equally famous TV show called DIXON OF DOCK GREEN but it's also a film that hasn't stood the test of time , in fact it's so dated it was satarized in an excellent post modernist teleplay called THE BLACK AND BLUE LAMP in 1988 and after recently seeing this movie I realise that it's a very easy target
First of all is the portrayal of the police . Policemen in the 1950s spent their time taking home lost children , looking for dogs that had run away from their owners and practicing their baritone in the station choir ! Good job the crime rate was so low back then because - just like today - they'd never be able to catch criminals . At least watching THE BLUE LAMP you realise why the cops would never be able to catch crims because they seem to smoke over 100 cigarettes a day , no seriously they do and it's pointed out that PC Mitchell doesn't smoke and that's probably why he's able to sprint after Riley at the end with all the other cops at the station destined to die from lung cancer due to the amount of ciggies they smoke . If you've just given up the weed it's a bad idea to watch this movie
As in so many other movies from this period the " adolescent " characters are played by actors far too old for the roles . Diana Lewis is quoted as being 17 years old on screen but Peggy Evans who plays her is in fact 25 years old and she looks it , and while the ages of Riley and Spud are never mentioned it's inferred they're not older than 21 , but Patric Doonan and Dirk Bogarde are both in their late 20's while the " twenty five year old Pc Mitchell " is played by Jimmy Hanley who was in his early 30s . It's strange but people in those days all look considerably older than the real ages
To give the film its due the climax where Riley finds himself at the stadium being hunted is rather exciting , and " exciting " is not something British films of that era were renowned for . Some people may criticise the idea of dodgy characters going out of their way to help the police but this is logical since the police may return the favour at a later date in not asking too many questions about things falling off the back of lorries .
All in all THE BLUE LAMP is a strange film when watched today . It's certainly not a film for cynics and comes across as being very mawkish and sentimental with almost a fairy tale like air . But it should be remembered that in those days a person being murdered during a crime would make national news headlines while a policeman killed in the line of duty would lead to several days national mourning , and of course in those days the police were - If not popular - certainly far more respected than policeman today could ever hope to be so you have to view this film in the context of when it was made . Ironically enough it's also the first movie to use the word " bastard "
First of all is the portrayal of the police . Policemen in the 1950s spent their time taking home lost children , looking for dogs that had run away from their owners and practicing their baritone in the station choir ! Good job the crime rate was so low back then because - just like today - they'd never be able to catch criminals . At least watching THE BLUE LAMP you realise why the cops would never be able to catch crims because they seem to smoke over 100 cigarettes a day , no seriously they do and it's pointed out that PC Mitchell doesn't smoke and that's probably why he's able to sprint after Riley at the end with all the other cops at the station destined to die from lung cancer due to the amount of ciggies they smoke . If you've just given up the weed it's a bad idea to watch this movie
As in so many other movies from this period the " adolescent " characters are played by actors far too old for the roles . Diana Lewis is quoted as being 17 years old on screen but Peggy Evans who plays her is in fact 25 years old and she looks it , and while the ages of Riley and Spud are never mentioned it's inferred they're not older than 21 , but Patric Doonan and Dirk Bogarde are both in their late 20's while the " twenty five year old Pc Mitchell " is played by Jimmy Hanley who was in his early 30s . It's strange but people in those days all look considerably older than the real ages
To give the film its due the climax where Riley finds himself at the stadium being hunted is rather exciting , and " exciting " is not something British films of that era were renowned for . Some people may criticise the idea of dodgy characters going out of their way to help the police but this is logical since the police may return the favour at a later date in not asking too many questions about things falling off the back of lorries .
All in all THE BLUE LAMP is a strange film when watched today . It's certainly not a film for cynics and comes across as being very mawkish and sentimental with almost a fairy tale like air . But it should be remembered that in those days a person being murdered during a crime would make national news headlines while a policeman killed in the line of duty would lead to several days national mourning , and of course in those days the police were - If not popular - certainly far more respected than policeman today could ever hope to be so you have to view this film in the context of when it was made . Ironically enough it's also the first movie to use the word " bastard "
- Theo Robertson
- Sep 20, 2005
- Permalink
- How long is The Blue Lamp?Powered by Alexa
Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Language
- Also known as
- Plava lampa
- Filming locations
- Edgware Road, Paddington, London, England, UK(Paddington Green police station/jewellers shop)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
- Runtime1 hour 24 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content