I watched this as part of an Ealing Studios rarities collection. These collections are always hit and miss affairs with the quality of the films varying wildly from very good to, like this one, really, really poor.
First of all the story is weak beyond belief, concerning an ex docker appointed as Governor of a British colony in the Mediterranean. A situation like this has endless possibilities but the producers went for the lazy option of having the ex docker trying to quell a volatile dock strike. Normally in Ealing films a weak storyline can be overcome with charm but I'm afraid one actor put paid to any chance of that happening.....
My main quibble is with the performance of Eric Portman as the new Governor. His portrayal of the no nonsense, plain speaking Yorkshireman is so bad it spills over into caricature and worse. He spends the whole film shouting and barking at everyone in sight. This goes beyond irritating and becomes incredibly annoying. I could hear and understand everyone else very clearly but at points he was unintelligible. I've seen Mr Portman in many films and he was a very good actor but he was terrible in this.
I've never given any film such a low star rating but I'm afraid Mr Portman is to blame for that. If you haven't seen it and you're tempted, please don't waste your time.
