A Kids Noir, a Road Noir, a nice surprise. We first see Robbie excellently played by Jon Whiteley running in a panic with his teddy bear through the streets of London. He runs almost under the hooves and wheels of a Watneys Keg wagon carrying Reid's Stout. He darts off and climbs up into the ruins of a still bombed out rubble filled section of the city. He runs down into a ruined cellar and almost into Chris Lloyd (Dirk Bogarde).
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| on the run |
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| Robbie (Jon Whiteley) |
Chris grabs him in mid run. Robbie startled drops his teddy when he sees the other man's body. Chris asks him what is he doing down here. Robbie tells Chris that he set the house on fire. We hear the happy voices of playing children. Chris takes Robbie's hand and they run out through a ruptured cellar wall and out into the daylight.
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| Chris (Dirk Bogarde) and Robbie |
We cut to Robbie's apartment. His step mother arrives opening the door. She calls out for Robbie. She immediately smells the smoke. Robbie's been playing with matches again and has set a lace kitchen curtain to smoldering, it didn't ignite enough to cause much damage, but Robbie doesn't know that. She rips the curtain down and dumps it into the sink dousing it out. She looks around for Robbie but he's vanished. She begins a worried search.
Back out on the streets of London Chris and Robbie and walking swiftly down the sidewalk. Suddenly Robbie begins to drag his feet he wants to go back for his teddy. Chris wants no part of that and tells him to come on. At this point a fire truck goes by and in a panic Robbie tells Chris that he doesn't want to go home. He breaks free and runs away in the opposite direction. Chris catches up to him and tells him that he's not taking him home. The head to the Thames waterfront where they hide out in a tarp covered barge.
Robbie's adopted parents Mr. and Mrs.Sykes, are reporting his disappearance to the police. They report the incident with the curtains. Later that evening a man an a woman, a prostitute perhaps, are embracing outside of a saloon. A man emerges and they move off through the blitz ruins ending up down in the cellar with a little bit of the old "in-and-out" in mind. Before they can get it on the woman spots the dead man and screams.
Scotland Yard arrives and begins investigating. The dead man is a Charles James Mills and the police are questioning the Saloon's barmaid. They find out that he left with a bloke called Lloyd a third engineer or mate or something on a ship. That he used to come in once or twice with his girl.
The next morning Chris reads in a paper that they have discovered the body. While sitting eating a breakfast roll with Robbie, Chris asks Robbie why he doesn't want to go home.
Chris: You don't like me, do you?
Robbie: No.
Chris: Well, why don't you go off home, then?
Robbie: I don't want to go home.
Then Chris puts two and two together and figures out that Robbie burned his house down. Chris cons Robbie telling him that if he wants Chris to get him out of this jam, they are going to need money.
Chris tells Robbie that he must go to Chris' place and get his money. Chris takes him to the building with his flat. Gives him instructions to ring the bell and if no one answers, to let himself in with Chris' key. Tells him to get his money out of a draw, it's in a pay packet tucked under some shirts.
Robbie follows instructions, but while inside the flat Chris's wife Magda returns home with some inspectors from Scotland Yard. Robbie dives under a bed and when they pass into another room runs out of the flat and back to Chris without getting his money. He runs back to Chris telling him about the bobbies.
Trying to raise some money Chris tries to sell his trench coat outright. The pawnbroker is wise to him from a police description, and telling Chris that he knows someone looking for a coat, goes back to his office and calls Scotland Yard. Chris realizes what's going on and runs off with Robbie hiding out in a Amusement Arcade.
Later that night Chris and Robbie go back to Chris' flat. Chris has Robbie case the joint out for bobbies. Robbie tells him the police are staked out at the entrances of his building. Chris goes over a wall and tightrope like walks along it's top to a balcony.
Over the railing and he's in the building. However another stakeout man is in the hall outside his flat so Chris goes up to the roof and shimmies down the buildings facade to a ledge where he enters his flat through an open window.
He goes into his bedroom and puts a hand over his wife's mouth waking her up.
Chris: One squawk out of you. [releases her mouth] You rotten little....
Magda: Chris, Chris why did you do it?
Chris: You ask me
Chris goes to the dresser taking his money. Magda gets out of bed comes over to him and asks him what is he going to do? She tries to embrace him, tries to get him to stay. She tries to explain her infidelity.
Magda: You were always away, I couldn't help it I couldn't...
Chris flings her on the bed. We see on the wall a publicity shot of a stripper/belly dancer, probably Magda. Magda offers Chris a string or pearls for extra getway money. Chris knocks them out of her hand and slips back out the window and back up over the roof. He just eludes the police who now give chase and he joins Robbie. They run down a street and hop into the back of a lorry stopped at a red light
The two unlikely fugitives one only in his mind, the other for real hit the road and escape from London headed for the "wild" North.
Noirsville
Obviously the tale is in a similar vein to Stevenson's Treasure Island, parts of Twain's Huckleberry Finn, and films like Chaplin's The Kid (1921), the more contemporary (1959) and modern takes like Paper Moon (1973), Gloria (1980), A Perfect World (1993), Léon: The Professional (1994)
A very well acted film directed by Charles Crichton, based on an idea of Michael McCarthy and a screenplay by Jack Whittingham. The excellent cinematography was by Eric Cross.
Music was by Hubert Clifford.
The cast stars Dirk Bogarde as Chris Lloyd, Jon Whiteley as Robbie, Elizabeth Sellars as Magda, Kay Walsh as Mrs. Syke, Frederick Piper as Mr. Sykes., Julian Somers as Jack Lloyd, Geoffrey Keen as Detective Inspector Drakin, and Douglas Blackwell as Detective Sergeant Grayson.
It's a gem of British Noir 9/10.
"It really is a superbly made drama and I read somewhere that, of all the many Rank films Dirk Bogarde made during his long career, this was his personal favourite. It is also a film record of a bygone post-war Britain; from its bomb sites and tramcars and horse drawn traffic in the capital, to the now long gone pottery factories of Stoke on Trent, belching forth their black smoke from huge bottle ovens and covered with industrial grime. The railway scenes in the film were filmed on the equally now long gone Potteries Loop Line at Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, one of hundreds of lines that fell under the Dr Beeching axe in the 1960's. All completely gone now, but captured for posterity on 35mm black and white film in Hunted." (DavidW1947 IMDb)
Hunted is a part of Great British Movies - Film Noir [DVD] along with 21 Days, Sapphire, So Long At The Fair, and Turn the Key Softly.
PS - You'll need a third party converted region free DVD player to watch these in the U.S.
![Great British Movies - Film Noir [DVD] [1940]](https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/51ib9MlVrdL._SX385_.jpg)
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| Kay Walsh as Mrs. Syke |
Robbie's adopted parents Mr. and Mrs.Sykes, are reporting his disappearance to the police. They report the incident with the curtains. Later that evening a man an a woman, a prostitute perhaps, are embracing outside of a saloon. A man emerges and they move off through the blitz ruins ending up down in the cellar with a little bit of the old "in-and-out" in mind. Before they can get it on the woman spots the dead man and screams.
Scotland Yard arrives and begins investigating. The dead man is a Charles James Mills and the police are questioning the Saloon's barmaid. They find out that he left with a bloke called Lloyd a third engineer or mate or something on a ship. That he used to come in once or twice with his girl.
The next morning Chris reads in a paper that they have discovered the body. While sitting eating a breakfast roll with Robbie, Chris asks Robbie why he doesn't want to go home.
Chris: You don't like me, do you?
Robbie: No.
Chris: Well, why don't you go off home, then?
Robbie: I don't want to go home.
Then Chris puts two and two together and figures out that Robbie burned his house down. Chris cons Robbie telling him that if he wants Chris to get him out of this jam, they are going to need money.
Chris tells Robbie that he must go to Chris' place and get his money. Chris takes him to the building with his flat. Gives him instructions to ring the bell and if no one answers, to let himself in with Chris' key. Tells him to get his money out of a draw, it's in a pay packet tucked under some shirts.
Robbie follows instructions, but while inside the flat Chris's wife Magda returns home with some inspectors from Scotland Yard. Robbie dives under a bed and when they pass into another room runs out of the flat and back to Chris without getting his money. He runs back to Chris telling him about the bobbies.
Trying to raise some money Chris tries to sell his trench coat outright. The pawnbroker is wise to him from a police description, and telling Chris that he knows someone looking for a coat, goes back to his office and calls Scotland Yard. Chris realizes what's going on and runs off with Robbie hiding out in a Amusement Arcade.
Later that night Chris and Robbie go back to Chris' flat. Chris has Robbie case the joint out for bobbies. Robbie tells him the police are staked out at the entrances of his building. Chris goes over a wall and tightrope like walks along it's top to a balcony.
Over the railing and he's in the building. However another stakeout man is in the hall outside his flat so Chris goes up to the roof and shimmies down the buildings facade to a ledge where he enters his flat through an open window.
He goes into his bedroom and puts a hand over his wife's mouth waking her up.
 |
| Magda (Elizabeth Sellars) |
Magda: Chris, Chris why did you do it?
Chris: You ask me
Chris goes to the dresser taking his money. Magda gets out of bed comes over to him and asks him what is he going to do? She tries to embrace him, tries to get him to stay. She tries to explain her infidelity.
 |
| getting the money |
Magda: You were always away, I couldn't help it I couldn't...
Chris flings her on the bed. We see on the wall a publicity shot of a stripper/belly dancer, probably Magda. Magda offers Chris a string or pearls for extra getway money. Chris knocks them out of her hand and slips back out the window and back up over the roof. He just eludes the police who now give chase and he joins Robbie. They run down a street and hop into the back of a lorry stopped at a red light
The two unlikely fugitives one only in his mind, the other for real hit the road and escape from London headed for the "wild" North.
Noirsville
 |
| Potteries Loop Line at Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, |
 |
| pottery factories of Stoke on Trent |
Obviously the tale is in a similar vein to Stevenson's Treasure Island, parts of Twain's Huckleberry Finn, and films like Chaplin's The Kid (1921), the more contemporary (1959) and modern takes like Paper Moon (1973), Gloria (1980), A Perfect World (1993), Léon: The Professional (1994)
A very well acted film directed by Charles Crichton, based on an idea of Michael McCarthy and a screenplay by Jack Whittingham. The excellent cinematography was by Eric Cross.
Music was by Hubert Clifford.
The cast stars Dirk Bogarde as Chris Lloyd, Jon Whiteley as Robbie, Elizabeth Sellars as Magda, Kay Walsh as Mrs. Syke, Frederick Piper as Mr. Sykes., Julian Somers as Jack Lloyd, Geoffrey Keen as Detective Inspector Drakin, and Douglas Blackwell as Detective Sergeant Grayson.
It's a gem of British Noir 9/10.
"It really is a superbly made drama and I read somewhere that, of all the many Rank films Dirk Bogarde made during his long career, this was his personal favourite. It is also a film record of a bygone post-war Britain; from its bomb sites and tramcars and horse drawn traffic in the capital, to the now long gone pottery factories of Stoke on Trent, belching forth their black smoke from huge bottle ovens and covered with industrial grime. The railway scenes in the film were filmed on the equally now long gone Potteries Loop Line at Burslem, Stoke-on-Trent, one of hundreds of lines that fell under the Dr Beeching axe in the 1960's. All completely gone now, but captured for posterity on 35mm black and white film in Hunted." (DavidW1947 IMDb)
Hunted is a part of Great British Movies - Film Noir [DVD] along with 21 Days, Sapphire, So Long At The Fair, and Turn the Key Softly.
PS - You'll need a third party converted region free DVD player to watch these in the U.S.
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