Hue and Cry (film)
| Hue and Cry | |
|---|---|
Original UK quad format film poster
|
|
| Directed by | Charles Crichton |
| Produced by | Michael Balcon |
| Written by | T.E.B. Clarke |
| Starring | Alastair Sim |
| Music by | Georges Auric |
| Cinematography | Douglas Slocombe |
| Edited by | Charles Hasse |
|
Production
company |
|
| Distributed by |
GFD (UK) Eagle-Lion Films (US) |
|
Release date
|
|
|
Running time
|
82 min. |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Hue and Cry (1947) is a British film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Alastair Sim, Harry Fowler and Joan Dowling.
It is generally considered to be the first of the "Ealing comedies", although it is better characterised as a thriller for children. Shot almost entirely on location, it is now a notable historic document due to its vivid portrait of a London still showing the damage of World War II. London forms the backdrop of a crime-gangster plot which revolves around a working-class children's street culture and children's secret clubs.
Following church choir in 1946 East London, Joe Kirby (Harry Fowler) reads aloud to his gang (The Blood and Thunder Boys) from the Trump boys' comic, but finds a page missing. He then buys a copy so he can follow the adventures of fictional detective Selwyn Pike. While reading one part of the latest story, Joe finds the comic adventure being repeated exactly in real life when he comes across two men carrying a crate (Joe thinks they contain corpses) into Mr Jago’s fur shop. Even the truck number plate - GZ 4216 - matches the comic.
Joe gets a friend to distract Jago so he can search the crates. Jago catches Joe, and calls the police but he does not press charges. A policeman, Ford, tells Joe to stop letting his imagination run wild. The copper sends Joe to meet a Covent Garden grocer, Nightingale (Jack Warner), for a job, who likes Joe's stories.
Later, in a hideout in a bombed-out building, Joe friends tease him about the incident, until another boy says he saw a truck with GZ 4216 plate that morning. Joe says he thinks criminals are planning jobs via The Trump. To find out more they visit the comic’s writer, Felix Wilkinson (Alastair Sim). Joe and Alec find Wilkinson’s house and find out the comic are being manipulated and tell Wilkinson. He sees the criminals are using the codes from the comic to communicate their plans. Fearful of the gang, Wilkinson refuses to aid the boys.
...
Wikipedia