Pool of 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!!.

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.

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")

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.

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.