User reviews

Pool of London is that city's harbor – think of Liverpool – and the title of an offbeat, satisfyingly bleak thriller from the post-war years (one scene uses the still-standing wall of a bombed cathedral as its backdrop). In fact, its location shooting preserves a dockside area, almost certainly now vanished, that had changed little from Victorian days.

Into the Pool sails the Dunbar, out of Rotterdam. As the merchant seamen on board debark for liberty, the movie starts out as a slice-of-life drama centering on two of them: Bonar Colleano and Earl Cameron (the Bermuda-born actor plays a Jamaican native). We see them link up with the women left behind, or freshly met, and watch them indulge in some harmless smuggling: Nylons, smokes, booze.

But as he makes the rounds of London's raffish nightlife, Colleano is approached to smuggle a package back to Rotterdam. He doesn't know what it is, or much care, but his avaricious girlfriend (Moira Lister) sniffs out a fortune in diamonds, taken in a heist during which a watchman was killed. Colleano, who's been pinched for petty contraband before, has arranged for Cameron to take the package on board. But now the police are on his trail....

Subdued and humane, Pool of London touches on some progressive themes (racial prejudice, interracial romance) but soon tightens its focus into an arrestingly photographed suspense story. The heist itself is carried out by music-hall acrobat Max Adrian – ironic because Colleano's the actor who came from a family of circus daredevils.

A crewman and part-time petty smuggler named Dan MacDonald suddenly finds himself a leading suspect in both murder and a diamond robbery when he agrees to unknowingly smuggle the wrong item for the wrong people. There's a great build-up of suspense towards the end with both Scotland Yard and the real robbers on the trail of Mr. MacDonald.

This film is pretty unique--one of its best features is Earl Cameron as Johnny Lambert, the sole black crewman on board ship and MacDonald's very good friend. The level of friendship between these two men is refreshing to see in a film from 1951. Also a potential romance between Johnny and a wonderful white girl (named Pat) he meets nearly blooms and we are made to feel sympathetic to their desires (at this period in time deemed inappropriate by many) as an audience. There are a number of entertaining characters in this film. Unique is that one of the robbers is actually an acrobat and makes use of it in the robbery.

The film has a very realistic feel to it-like something which could possibly have happened and the words written for characters to utter here is very thoughtful and reflective. An underrated film.

As a post-war British movie, this has it all in terms of story and setting. The backdrop in the stark, bomb-site ridden City of London, centred round the old docks by Tower Bridge, brings home the reality of everyday privations in a period of austerity before the gradual economic recovery during the 1950s. Good acting across the board from Bonar Colleano to Max Adrian. I liked Colleano in the Way to the Stars and he is just as convincing in this thriller, one of the better examples of the British (Ealing) crime film of the period.

I can see why it is sometimes called 'noir' but I think that's more to do with the effective cinematography than the storyline, which is enhanced in interest by including a Jamaican seaman. sympathetically played by Earl Cameron. As another commentator said, it is nice to see that he has consistently acted until today.

I appreciated the comments from admirers of this film who were involved in the film-making, and lived in the area where it was filmed. These kind of comments help make IMDb the informative and interesting film site it is; thank you to them.

Thoroughly enjoyed this film and recommend it to anyone interested in this crucial period of British film-making.

Ealing goes to the docks in this marvellous story, about robbery, smuggling and life in general aboard a ship, docked in the old port of London. Bonar Colleano plays Dan MacDonald , a seaman on board the freighter 'Dunbar' who supplements his income, by a little harmless smuggling, when he is approached by a gang to take the proceeds of a daring jewel robbery, to a fence abroad.

Shot in and around Tower Bridge, and the area of Southwark, It shows a side of London, still reeling from all the bomb damage from the blitz.The present generation would do well to see this slice of history.

When the cargo ship Dunbar is moored at the Pool of London, the crew is released to have the weekend for entertainment in the city. The customs officer asks if the sailors have anything to declare before they go to London. The wolf Dan MacDonald (Bonar Colleano) and his best friend, the Jamaican Johnny Lambert (Earl Cameron), go together and Dan meets his girlfriend Maisie (Moira Lister) while Johnny befriends the ticket vendor Pat (Susan Shaw). Meanwhile Dan meets a stranger that proposes one hundred pounds for him to smuggle a small box to Rotterdam. They schedule a meeting at a church on the next morning to deliver the package to Dan. The stranger, who is a gangster, heists jewels earlier with his gang but the robbery goes wrong, they kill the guard and the police chase them. Later he delivers the box to Dan during the mass. Dan, who had problem with the costums officer before leaving the ship, asks Johnny to bring the box onboard. But when he learns that there are stolen jewels in the box and is wanted by the Scotland Yard, he lives a dilemma: shall he flee or save Johnny from the Scotland Yard.

"Pool of London" is a surprisingly good unknown British film. The post-war London is impressive, with a few cars on empty streets. The screenplay and the cinematography are top-notch, with several sub-plots and characters well-developed. But the most impressive in the story is the racism with the mullato Johnny, who feels outcast in London. The moralist conclusion fits perfectly to the melodramatic plot. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "Encontro em Londres" ("Meeting in London")

London docklands in the 1950's . Just a little before my time . I was 12 at the time of filming ,but a few years on when I was 15 I cycled around the Pool with my friends and this movie brought back memories. We also cycled around the Beacton power station and always ended up in a greasy spoon for a meat pie and a cup of builders tea. Great days for so little money.I still remember how things have changed those old buildings have gone and the docks have given way to Docklands and Canary Wharf along with the trappings of super luxury apartments and financial centers. The Thames has altered , so clean, there are so many species of fish. One thing about the film was the Thames sailing barges they have gone, Shame. The film was an excellent example of life in post war London. If you get a chance watch it. the chase through London on a Sunday morning and the old police cars smashing!!.

Basil Dearden, a director with a social conscience, directed this, the first British film to star a black actor (Earl Cameron) and also depict an interracial romance.

The crew of a cargo ship, Dunmar, arrives at the Pool of London. The crew has weekend furlough. However, before they leave, they have to tell customs if they are declaring anything.

Dan MacDonald (Bonar Colleano) and his pal Johnny Lambert (Earl Cameron) head for London, where Dan meets his current girlfriend, Maisie (Moira Lister). Johnny meets Pat (Susan Shaw), a ticket vendor.

Dan, the type who is always looking for a main chance, is offered a cool 100 pounds by a gangster to bring a small box with him to Rotterdam. What Dan doesn't know is that during the jewel robbery, a guard is killed - not in the plan. Now the police are after them.

Dan's girlfriend is more ruthless than he is. She realizes the box must contain jewels that were stolen during the robbery talked about on the radio. Opening the box, they find diamonds.

Dan is often in trouble with the customs officer, so he asks Johnny to carry the box for him. As Scotland Yard closes in, he knows the police will find the box on Johnny and accuse him. So should he warn him?

Extremely atmospheric British film, with a subplot of Johnny, a black seamen, having a romance with a white woman (Susan Shaw), which was considered scandalous. There is an undertone of racism throughout. It is obvious that Johnny sees himself as different, an outcast.

The bombing from the blitz is still evident, and some of the action takes place near the Tower Bridge.

Max Adrian plays an acrobat whose skills are used during the robbery.

Very good movie, compared often to "The Blue Lamp" as it is about police procedure. It's also about friendship, greed, and desire.

Some trivia: Earl Cameron recently died at 102, while the other lead, Bonar Colleano, died in a car accident at age 34. He actually was married to an actress in the film, Susan Shaw.

I worked on this film as an apprentice electrician,working for Hays Wharf in To0ley street London s.e.1I was about 16 at the time,and used to put cargo lights on the dockside cranes for the night shoot.They were shot at Mark Browns wharf,which was adjacent to Tower Bridge,and a part of the Hays Group.I can remember Bonar Colleano,and he was always very polite to all of the people attending,always had a cheery Hi,for everyone,a very nice chap.a lot of the scenes on the boat were shot on Sundays or Saturday afternoons,but the ones that were shot on working days were a bit hectic as there were Dockside cranes working overhead,plus Lister trucks dashing about moving the produce to the different warehouses.I also attended the shots where they had been out for the evening and came home to the old house.This was shot in a road called Wilds Rents and was next to Tooley Street,and is in fact still there,but not the houses.The ship was actually the Jaroslav Dowbroski,and they used to paste a paper name on her before she came under Tower Bridge.I have a DVD copy of the film and it still brings back memories.I was surprised at the amount of racial prejudice in the film when i saw it at a much later date,i don't think that this film could be made to-day without some protest.It was however a very good reflection of the times,as there were very few (coloured) people in this country,and those that were were mostly Seamen.The austerity of Post War Britain is also very stark,and a reminder of the hard times just after the 2nd world war.I lived in Bermondsey,and we suffered the heaviest Bombing of any of the London Boroughs,57 continuous nights from 10.30pm until 5.30 am,during which time there was much devastation in the borough.All in all i loved this film for its stark reality and portrayal of the times,plus the easy going acting of Bonar and James Robertson Justice.All in all very well type cast,and a good performance by all.Bill K

I had avoided this film, mainly because of the male lead. While Bonar Colleano (son of an Australian Circus family) executes his role as an over confident small time American smuggler admirably, I can't help feeling this film needed a star of more international renown. Perhaps Richard Widmark, or Howard Keel (both had made dramas in England) would have given the film a wider appeal. In real life, Colleano eventually married his pretty co star Susan Shaw, who sadly fell to drink following Bonar's tragic death in an auto accident, at only 34.

The support cast are all hard workers and ensure you quickly get caught up in the action. Award nominated writers, John Eldridge (who also died young at 42 due to bad health) and Jack Whittingham (A.K.F. The Divided Heart '54, Mandy '52) weave a fast moving story, leading the viewer down an eternally twisting path that's peopled by an interesting assortment of characters. Bermudian born Earl Cameron scores in his first major dramatic part, he's the lonely seaman, tired of bouts of racial abuse, then finally being 'set-up' in a vicious heist. It's a pity that fine character actor Lawrence Naismith (Amazing Mr Blunden) is wasted in a very small role as a bigoted racist.

Excellent Director: Basil Deardon (The Blue Lamp '50, Sapphire '59) uses many unique locations (most now gone due to the 'Docklands' re-development) to marvelous advantage. His Director of Photography: Gordon Dines, turns in striking visuals, matching Deardon's flair, with one top sequence following another...through to the exciting finale.

John Adison's music score sets off well, with an off beat dramatic style for the Main Title, although this unfortunately gives way to some conventional background scoring. Not quite up to his 1956 'Reach for the Sky', or 61's 'A Taste of Honey'. This film should be far better known ~ any lover of British crime dramas should not be disappointed. Unfortunately, I saw this film on local TV (Gem Australia with their way too BIG, way too bright 'PINK' logo, etc - will they ever wake up?) but, I'm told the recently released DVD quality is good.

Any Tram enthusiast wanting to see a round cornered, double decker English Tram, has got to own this title.

I remember some scenes in this film being shot at the end of the street I lived in in East London. As a 12 year old boy I was fascinated by the way they moved the bus stop so Earl Cameron and Susan Shaw could pop into the nearby café for a drink. Other scenes were filmed in the local music hall, the Queens Theatre and in the Rotherhithe Tunnel. Every time I drive through there I remember this movie. And what a great film, the cast, plot, location all perfect. Along with other contributors I also cannot understand why there has been no DVD release. There are far less deserving films which have been released. If the powers that be ever read these comments please consider releasing this on DVD.

This film shows how much London has changed in the intervening years.A t the time the river was important for the now vanished docks.Whilst not as famous as The Blue Lamp it nevertheless is an important film for the views

This is one of my favourite Ealing movies. Directed by Basil Dearden who also did The Blue Lamp it is a wonderful film that has a cocktail of long lost London, racial prejudice and romance and a diamond robbery. The stars are all excellent in their roles; Earl Cameron and Bonar Colleano were never better in their careers and the leading female roles are both played wonderfully by Moira Lister and Susan Shaw. Solid support roles from Joan Dowling, Renee Asherson, a young Leslie Phillips, James Robertson Justice and Alfie Bass as well. What I can't understand is how that such a great film as this has never (to my knowledge) appeared on video or d.v.d. An oversight that needs putting right.

When sailors come ashore, bearing gifts and pay, all sorts of antics are inevitable and women, drink and crime will almost certainly be involved. 'Pool if London' tells a likely lads tale which is embellished by progressive sensibilities to be almost a parable on race, gender, class, sexual and professional politics.

This heavy embellishment of political virtues has both blessings and blowouts for 'Pool of London' to carry. The writing and the acting isn't quite up to synthesising the parts into a cohesive sum; and the director and the editor are unlikely to be missed off the list of culprits by the investigations of the Met police.

This film has quite a free hand exploring it's working class characters and it doesn't veer away from checking out their vices, and those of their womenfolk, just as much as it dwells on their virtues.

There is some added spectacle due to the involvement of an acrobat in the central crime, and the larger than life James Robertson Justice being as large as ever in a small supporting part.

The location shooting is highly noteworthy, certainly artistically, and definitely academically and historically, and the shots of ships, river, city, streets, buildings and vehicles are all well captured and educated.

The themes may sag a bit of a weight onto the tale, but the strong tonal assurance and the nice art design gives 'Pool of London' greater artistic heft. This allows 'Pool of London' to mix it's little likely lads story with it's loftier themes to a good effect.

Part kitchen sink drama, part problem picture, part crime melodrama, part character drama, the tonal and artistic strengths and the location shooting are also of sufficient merit to hold these narrative threads together.

I rate at 6.5/10 and I am almost inclined to round up to a 7; but I can't because it occasionally gets a bit boring or pretentious. I recommend to fans of realistic noir, and of historical London.

After becoming bored of the stale and derivative offerings produced today, I have gone on a deep dive of Classic movies or at least films from the past when film making was a craft as opposed to "content" which aims to engage or startle audiences with special effects or other novelties.

I had never heard of this despite having watched a number of Ealing films, its certainly not talked about to my knowledge, but sometimes that is a good thing.

Pool Of London is very gritty and engaging crime drama set against the backdrop of the London dockyards. A robbery scheme is put into place by some local thugs and sailor who also moonlights as a petty criminal becomes involved, as does his best friend, a "coloured" man from Jamaica.

The film depicts the London nightlife in the 50's which is centred around boozing and courting in the dancehalls. It all seems very simple compared to what is on offer today.

The strength of the film is there is very little dead space, the film cracks on quite quickly and you engage with the main characters. Which is important as this is a film about friendship and what men will or wont do in order to honour it.

The final third of the film is particularly well executed and carries an emotional punch. While Ealing seems to be known for light hearted comedies, this is certainly one of the best things from the studio, even if it isn't that well known. An easy recommendation.

A film of super quality. Great direction and cinematography but probably a nightmare for the sound crew doing London location shooting…must have required extensive post-production work in the studio.

The actors are all well chosen in that they are totally believable…even down to Michael Ward's camp cameo pianist "…who ME?".

There are usually complaints about women with cut-glass accents appearing in films of that era and sounding out of place, but this was post-WW2 and lots of young, and not so young women who'd earned independence in the services or the war factories, or had become war-widows weren't quite ready to go back to mummy…so they got city jobs and lived in or shared bed-sits and tried to enjoy life in Austerity Britain.

This film shows that in spite of what hindsight historians would have us believe, not everyone went round looking glum. They still wanted pleasure in life in spite of severe rationing...and in spite of the five and a half- to six-day working week. In the absence of TV, with only the radio to rely on, people went out to pubs, clubs, dance-halls, variety shows, the theatre and the cinema. They didn't embrace austerity, they needed a break from it.

All of which is beautifully reflected in this film. The plot is no real surprise, the acting is more than adequate for a low-budget film, but the addition of location filming around the city streets, the bomb sites, the wharfs, the cobbled alleys, the dockyard taverns and the hustle and bustle of a busy port give this film a sheen that makes it rise above expectations.

A long overdue release, that finally came in 2009, the film is a face-spotters delight.

I do firmly believe that Bonar Colleano, had he lived, would have had a great career as a character actor in the UK.

Quite splendid and surprisingly good British film with marvellous and evocative location shooting, mainly in and around the Tower Bridge and the docks. Fast moving, with decent story, well acted and directed, I am amazed I have never come across this before. Living in Greenwich, I was particularly thrilled to see a sequence shot in the Maritime Museum plus a shot which included a glimpse of what looked like a derelict observatory, certainly not surrounded by tourists as it is today. Also great to see the power station billowing smoke and absolutely no docklands development beyond. Earl Cameron plays the West Indian sailor who is shown getting pretty close to the action, even if he is considered, 'Just like all the rest.' Good to see he has continued to work right up to the present. Unlike the co-lead, very popular in his day apparently, Bonar Colleano, who died in a motor accident eight years after making this. Not a 'noir' as some have suggested, but a rattling good yarn and if you are interested in a glimpse of early post-war London, trams and all, this is a must.

This is a much overlooked and underrated Ealing gem. It features fine performances by Bonar Colleano and Earl Cameron as his friend and ship-mate. Cameron's performance is an important and groundbreaking one for a black actor in a British movie. The location shots of post-war London are wonderful. I thoroughly commend this movie

Stumbled across this little gem of a film on the internet, after seeing it mentioned in an article entitled "The 10 Best British Noir Films You Should Watch" on tasteofcinema.com.

I am something of a noir fanatic, and Pool of London holds up with the best of the late, gritty urban films in that "genre," which often forsake the noir femme fatale formula, making males with tragic flaws their own antagonists. This film has all the elements of great drama, and Hitchcock couldn't have done it better. It even features a strikingly beautiful blond, the kind Hitch favored, in Susan Shaw. Va-va-voom!

This film transcends most thrillers of the era by making one of the leads a black man, and the ramifications are expertly and sensitively woven into the story, unlike the heavy-handed examples which would follow as the upcoming civil rights era ensued.

I was so impressed by the incredible photography in this film that I was compelled to look up the director of photography: Gordon Dines. I must say, John Alton has nothing on Mr. Dines! He is a master of the craft, and makes this film a must-see on that basis alone.

This is a well paced, well shot, well acted thriller, and I am glad I finally stumbled across it after all these years. It's so nice to be surprised by the quality of a long lost film, just when you think you've seen all the best. They don't make them like this anymore. Now all you see are cardboard characters, 2-second shots, nauseating hand-held camera takes (even when they aren't warranted ) and CGI explosions....no thanks.

Now I need to track down "The Blue Lamp", which was also shot by Gordon Dines.

Conceived as a crime thriller set in London's now-vanished docklands around the Tower Bridge area, POOL OF London is both tautly directed (by Basil Dearden) and ably performed by an ensemble cast including Bonar Colleano (in a rare leading role), Earl Cameron, Renee Asherson and James Robertson Justice. But perhaps its chief merit lies in its documentary realism: Dearden locates the action in the bomb-damaged streets of the City of London, where even the famous landmarks such as St. Paul's Cathedral seem shabby. The interior sequences take place in a tatty variety theater (even in the early Fifties the music-hall survived, although attracting tiny audiences), smoky bars and a doubtful-looking after-hours club full of crooks and a good-time girl (Rowena Gregory). Many of the characters are 'on the make' - such as downtrodden acrobat Charlie Vernon (Max Adrian), who teams up with a shady gang of crooks including safe-cracker Alf (Alfie Bass) to initiate a diamond-robbery. In a London whose people have to survive on very little money and continuing rationing, any get-rich-quick scheme will be readily embraced. POOL OF London also communicates some of the casual racism dominating British society at that time - in spite of his upstanding nature, Johnny Lambert (Cameron) is almost inevitably considered a shady character or potential crook on account of his skin-color. Pat (Susan Shaw), an attractive young white woman who keeps him company while he is ashore, is likewise considered aberrant for choosing to be seen in public with him. The society depicted in POOL OF London is both small-minded and desperate, trying to make ends meet yet refusing to acknowledge some of the profound social changes taking place around it. Perhaps Johnny makes the right decision in choosing to return to his ship, with the intention not to return to London in the foreseeable future.

Finally this superb post war British thriller has got the DVD release it deserves. It is on the 'London Boxset'which as been released in June by Optimum Releases. Sadly no 'extras' on the box set, but at least it has at long last given a great film the recognition it deserves. It would have been nice if two of the surviving stars Earl Cameron and Leslie Phillips could have been interviewed on their recollections on working with Bonar Coleano, James Robertyson Justice, Renee Asherton and Susan Shaw. The box set includes The Yellow Balloon, The Small World Of Sammy Lee, Sparrows Can't Sing and two shorts in 'Les Bicyclettes De Belsize' and 'The London Nobody Knows.' The box set gets 8 out of 10 from me, but that's mainly down to the 'Pool Of London.'