Synopsis
A drama of the river underworld
Jewel thieves, murder and a manhunt swirl around a sailor (Bonar Colleano) off a cargo ship in London.
Pool of London
1951 Directed by Basil Dearden
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Pool of London was a landmark British film, being the first to feature a black actor (the great Earl Cameron) in a lead role, and also in featuring an interracial romance between Cameron and Susan Shaw.
No surprise that it would be Basil Dearden behind this film then, one of the most socially conscious and forward-thinking directors this country has ever produced. He never made a film that wasn't so much more than the sum of its parts, and Pool of London is a terrific character piece that typically transcends being another 'crime film'.
It touches on race with genuine awareness of what it is saying and doing, never patronising and with a real strength of feeling. Meanwhile, the two or three other strands here are also superbly handled with some superb performances from Bonar Colleano and Moira Lister especially. You also get some bonus James Robertson Justice drunken bellowing for good measure. Marvellous stuff.
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The film Pool of London is a classic of British cinema, released shortly after the Second World War in 1951. Directed by Basil Dearden, it tells the story of two sailors on shore leave in London. With its vivid portrayal of a vibrant port-city, and its themes of racism, class divides and loyalty, it remains an essential and evocative film to this day. The film stars Earl Cameron and Bonar Colleano, who deliver superb performances as the two sailors try to make it on their own in a strange and dangerous city.
Set against a backdrop of racial and economic turbulence, they explore the dark underbelly of the city and try to make and save money on the dangerous River…
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An early example of Basil Dearden's social conscience effecting his cinematic offerings, Pool of London could easily have been "just another crime film" in lesser hands.
A year after his pseudo-documentary police procedural noir The Blue Lamp Dearden returns to London's bombed out streets to tell the story of Johnny and Dan, two merchant marines at port in London. A brash American with a handle on some casual smuggling and his softly spoken Jamaican friend, one looking to do some business and get close to some brassy dames, the other meets a nice girl. Social drama type stuff, but there's a jewel heist plotted by some full time vaudevillians and part time crooks and the Yank is in it up…
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"You know when you're at the wheel of a ship at night, far at sea and nothing else to do, you think about a lot of things you don't understand. You wonder why one man's born white and another isn't, and how about God himself - what colour's he? And the stars seem so close and the world so small in comparison with all the other worlds above you it doesn't seem to matter much how we were born"
"It doesn't matter"
"It does, you know. Maybe one day it won't anymore. But it still does"
Both the BBC (across all its channels) and Film 4 have made much of Black History Month this year with a series of programmes,…
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“If you kids don’t stop yelling, I’ll give you something to yell about! Shut up!”
Two sailors on weekend leave get involved in a smuggling scheme, when things go sideways.
Interesting picture that doesn’t quite know what it wants to be. Noirish at times, straight up drama at others, with a blend of crime caper added in between. Too many instances of coincidences and too squeaky clean overall - give me some grit! Still a good way to spend ninety minutes.
Alfie Bass (Are You Being Served?) is one of the criminals.
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Quite straightforward story, this is notable for featuring a black leading man. All the crime elements are simple — this is mostly intriguing with its character work, the way it explores casual and overt racism and its genuine interest in the interracial romance. Also the location work is truly stunning, the gritty dock setting and just in general this has a lovely feel for the city.
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When you're at the wheel of a ship at night, far at sea and nothing else to do, you think about a lot of things you don't understand. You wonder why one man is born white and another isn't. And how about God himself? What color is he?
Historically fascinating for its use of the decimated post-war London landscape but also stylishly directed, well acted, hugely entertaining, character driven and imbued with progressive social commentary—Pool of London is an underrated British noir if there ever was one. Making extensive use of the now unrecognisable docklands area of London, the film uses this gritty urban environment to create a sense of place and atmosphere, whilst the pace is kept consistently fast…
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Wanting to put a few British films on my 100 film watchlist I came across this Ealing crime drama/social comment film being talked up during the BFI's black star series. In Earl Cameron it featured one of the first black actors to lead (or at least co-lead Bonar Colleano has a lot of screentime too) a British film in the post war period (Paul Robeson, also at Ealing, had done in 1940).
It's the story of a ship docked in London and the way everyday minor smuggling of contraband and nylons escalates into a jewel heist for a pair of sailors. American Colleano always ready with a con and Cameron's honest Jamaican seaman who gets pulled in when Colleano gets…
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I love this little gem of a thriller.
The story works on so many levels: as a heist film, as a buddy flick, as a socially critical commentary, as a plea against racism. The outstanding camera work and the extremely effective directing make the 80 minutes fly by.
I will 100% watch again. -
One of underrated director Basil Dearden's best, effective on so many levels: as a thriller, a heist picture, and as a human drama centered on race. The central buddy performances by Bonar Colleano and Earl Cameron are perfectly modulated, and the spectacular chiaroscuro cinematography by Gordon Dines makes particularly good use of the film's London locations.
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Not sure I’d categorize Pool of London as noir, at least not till the finale when the tension becomes almost Night & The City-esque, but it is always engaging as a working-class British crime drama with strong racial themes via Earl Cameron’s charismatic lead. Given the title, it’s almost more of a broad saga of London’s civilian, criminal, cop elements; the city itself a character in and of itself. The scene of place and specific time is palpable: a very effective, atmospheric time capsule of post-war dockside London and surrounding alleys. Between the diamond heist threading through the backdrop, the tight time span, the lurking gangsters, and sense of desperation, I was always reminded quite a bit of The Small World of Sammy Lee and its ticking-clock-tense window into ‘60s London.
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When you're at the wheel of a ship at night, far at sea and nothing else to do, you think about a lot of things you don't understand. You wonder why one man is born white and another isn't. And how about God himself? What color is he? And the stars seem so close and the world so small in comparison to all the other worlds above you. It doesn't seem to matter so much how we were born.
This classy British noir about sailors and jewel thieves nicely captures some of the shabbier corners of 50s London.