Pool of London (film)

Pool of London is a 1951 British noir^[5] crime film directed by Basil Dearden.^[6] It stars Bonar Colleano, Earl Cameron (in his breakthrough role) and Susan Shaw.^[7][8] It was written by Jack Whittingham and John Eldridge.

Pool of London
Original British quad format film poster
Directed by	Basil Dearden
Screenplay by	Jack Whittingham John Eldridge
Produced by	Michael Balcon Michael Relph (associate producer)
Starring	Bonar Colleano Earl Cameron Susan Shaw
Cinematography	Gordon Dines
Edited by	Peter Tanner
Music by	John Addison
Production company	Ealing Studios
Distributed by	GFD (UK)
Release date	22 February 1951 (1951-02-22) (UK) [1]
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Box office	£130,000[2] or $392,000 (UK)[3] $40,000 (US)[4]

Set in post-war London, the film is of note for portraying the first interracial relationship in a British film.^[9]

Plot

The Dunbar, a merchant ship, arrives in the Pool of London, bringing a crew of sailors eager to spend their shore leave in the bustling city. Among them are Dan MacDonald, a streetwise American-born seaman, and Johnny Lambert, his more reserved Jamaican friend. While Dan seeks excitement and quick money, Johnny experiences London from a different perspective, forming a tentative friendship with Pat, a young white woman who shows him kindness despite the racial prejudices of the time.

Dan is approached by a gang of criminals who offer him a large sum of money to smuggle stolen diamonds out of the country. Unaware of the full extent of their crimes, he agrees, seeing it as an easy way to make extra cash. Meanwhile, Johnny spends his time with Pat, enjoying simple moments of companionship but also facing the unspoken social barriers that make their relationship difficult.

The smuggling plot turns violent when one of the gang members kills a customs officer, leading to a major police investigation. As the authorities close in, Dan realizes he has been set up and desperately tries to evade capture. He attempts to return to the Dunbar before it leaves port, but the police track him down. In a final act of defiance and redemption, Dan makes a run for it but is fatally shot, ensuring that Johnny remains uninvolved in the crime.

As the ship prepares to depart, Johnny, deeply affected by Dan’s fate, reflects on his time in London and the challenges he faces as a Black man in British society. Though his encounter with Pat was brief, it represents a moment of quiet resistance against the racial divisions of the time. Pool of London is notable for its realistic portrayal of post-war London, its gripping crime narrative, and its groundbreaking depiction of an interracial relationship in British cinema.

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 commissionaire
• Campbell Singer as station sergeant

Release

Pool of London premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 22 February 1951.^[1]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "Pool of London is closely modelled on Dearden's earlier picture, The Blue Lamp, telling the same sort of melodramatic crime story in a realistic setting – the river landmarks, the workings of customs officers and river police. A third element is provided by the abortive love of the coloured sailor for the London girl. The mixture has not fused into a whole. The central theme advances in a curiously jerky and disorganised manner; the excitement which the story does not sustain is occasionally whipped up by artificial means – such as the crime itself, and the capture of the crooks – but this tends to produce only the effect of a series of anti-climaxes resulting in a lack of co-ordination and of rhythm. ... Pool of London has the elements of an average melodrama, but they are never satisfactorily brought together, and the result is a diffuse film, lacking shape and control."^[10]

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."^[11]