Pool of London (1951)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Pool of London (1951) – B. Dearden

Shot on location in London, with a gritty feel but lots of famous landmarks too, Basil Dearden’s thriller is in keeping with the emphasis on social issues found elsewhere in his oeuvre (Sapphire, 1959; Victim, 1961).  Here, Johnny (Earl Cameron), a black sailor, is unwittingly caught up in a heist gone bad when his friend, Dan (Bonar Colleano), another sailor, asks him to smuggle a package on board their ship, headed for Rotterdam.  Before that can happen, they have a weekend’s full of shore leave, where Johnny meets and clearly falls in love with the girl who takes tickets at the music hall, Pat (Susan Shaw)  This is apparently one of the first inter-racial relationships depicted on the British screen – and, although most of the other characters are fine with it, 1951’s ugly reality does rear its head and we see Johnny treated to some racist invective.  He’s upset but passive about it, suggesting that the two of them can’t fix the world’s problems.  Racism isn’t really the focus of the film, however, which instead focuses on Dan’s loyalty to Johnny and his moral character, more generally. I think a case could be made for Dearden as an auteur, given his way of infusing realist melodrama into genre, although admittedly I’ve only seen six of his 40+ films (and his part of the Dead of Night portmanteau).  Worth a look.