Pool of London (film)

Pool of London is a 1951 British noir crime film directed by Basil Dearden. It stars Bonar Colleano, Earl Cameron (in his breakthrough role) and Susan Shaw. Set in post-war London, the film is of note for portraying the first interracial relationship in a British film.

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.

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, an all-round nice guy, has nothing to declare, and is not meeting any girl in Port. His friend, Dan, has a few pairs of nylons for his girlfriend, Maisie. Harry is supposed to be meeting his girl, Sally but has other fish to fry. Johnny meets, by accident, a pretty blonde, Pat, 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 Dan hook up and have what may be a one-night stand. Dan 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, her home being the only place he feels he might be safe. Having previously thought he was only interested in a one-night stand, she is taken by his honesty and promises to wait for him even 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 and shot by the gangsters, and dives into the Thames. The police round up the surviving gang (one falls to his death, another is injured in a car crash). Dan boards a Thames barge, confident he will get away.

Meanwhile Johnny been taken to a low dive and 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 ship, so he dives off the barge and into the Thames in order to warn Johnny. Then he remembers Sally's promise to 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, Merchant Navy officers, and the bar staff are all decent people, but others are racist in their encounters with Johnny, who is deeply affected by it but supported by Pat and Dan.

Main cast

 * Bonar Colleano as Dan MacDonald
 * 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 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 as George
 * Beckett Bould as the watchman
 * Sam Kydd as 2nd Engineer
 * Victor Maddern as first tram conductor
 * Laurence Naismith as ommissionaire
 * Campbell Singer as station sergeant

Release
Pool of London premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 22 February 1951.

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."