First of the Ealing comedies, this film has excellent music by Auric and is well directed by Charles Crichton. Filmed in 1946 it shows invaluable images of the bomb sites of London after WW2 and is fast moving and exciting to watch. A group of ' boys ' ( most well beyond boyhood ) and a token ' girl 'cause a lot of comic fighting in their pursuit of a group of criminals. The lead young actor played by Harry Fowler is too old for the role, and Alastair Sim is not given much to do which is sad as he is the best actor of all of them. Jack Warner is not good in this, and his villainous laughter becomes tedious. The climax is good but overall the film is badly cast and 80 minutes of it becomes tedious, despite the short length of the film. A must see for the expert direction, and there is a rather surreal shot with shadows in the beginning introducing Sim which is sheer genius, and makes a cliched staircase a place of unease and suspense. I also recommend the details of life mainly set on location, and years in advance of the French New Wave. But for my taste it all overstayed its welcome.
Review of Hue and Cry
