ianlouisiana Review of Pool of London

Pool of London (1951)

In which Mr Bonar Colleano discovers that Crime Does Not Pay

[10/10 · 25 October 2009]

Like a malevolent gargoyle,third - rate variety artiste Max Adrian casts a basilisk glare over The City's bombsites as he climbs up the broken walls to break into a jeweller's office through the roof,a feat that needs all his acrobatic skills as it involves a prodigious leap from one building to another.Opening the door he admits his cohorts who blow the safe.Unfortunately they disturb the watchman and they murder him before making good their escape,thus making their crime a "Topping Job". Anybody involved in the offence is liable to be hanged,perhaps even fairly innocent Merchant Seaman Bonar Colleano whose readiness to earn a quick couple of quid pushes him into something much deeper when the proverbial "man in a pub" offers him £50 to smuggle a package on board his ship and drop it off in Amsterdam. Normally dealing in packs of cigarettes and Nylon stockings,Colleano is happy to step up into the big boys' world until it all goes wrong..... "Pool of London" brilliantly records the vibrant working - class culture of south east London as it recovers from the depredations of the second world war.The noisy,crowded,smoke - filled pubs,the rumbling trams,the seedy Music halls and all - night dives where punters are fleeced,the coffee stalls and fruit markets,badly - lit alleyways between the tall,dark buildings where only the sound of a tin can kicked by a lonely man spoils the silence. Similar in style to its stablemate "The Blue Lamp",it escapes being a "police procedural" by dint of powerful performances by Mr Colleano and Mr Earl Cameron as his Jamaican shipmate whose friendship is at the core of the movie. Miss Renee Asherson as a clerk at the Shipping Agency and Miss Susan Shaw as the cashier at the Variety Theatre also make a strong impact. Miss Moira Lister is a little de trop as a shrill goodtime girl whose accent swings wildly between Kennington and Kensington. But for me,the performance that characterises "Pool of London" 's case to be considered as one of the finest early post - war British movies is that of Mr Max Adrian as the sinister sunken - eyed broken down Music Hall acrobat who bizarrely performs his act in full evening dress including top hat.His smile as he acknowledges the smattering of applause from the sparse audience is one of desperation indeed.