Hue and Cry

Watch: Hue and Cry

4/21/20201h 22m

Physical Release (US)

~ The Film that Begs to Differ ~

Overview:

A gang of street boys foil a master crook who sends commands for robberies by cunningly altering a comic strip's wording each week, unknown to writer and printer. The first of the Ealing comedies.

Director:

Charles Crichton

Status:

Released

Language:

English

Buget:

$0.00

Revenue:

$0.00

Key words:

gang leader
gang
black and white
boys
action adventure
bombed building
lighthearted
city in ruins
optimistic

Cast

Alastair Sim

~ as ~

Felix H. Wilkinson

Jack Warner

~ as ~

Nightingale

Valerie White

~ as ~

Rhona

Jack Lambert

~ as ~

Ford

Harry Fowler

~ as ~

Joe Kirby

Douglas Barr

~ as ~

Alec

Stanley Escane

~ as ~

Roy

Ian Dawson

~ as ~

Norman

Gerald Fox

~ as ~

Dicky

David Simpson

~ as ~

Arthur

View full cast & crew

Reviews (1)

CinemaSerf
Written 3 year(s) ago
7
This is one of the lesser known Ealing comedies and it has something of the Children's Film Foundation output to it too, as the youngsters cotton on to a dastardly plan to use the narrative bubbles in a children's comic to convey messages that unwittingly to the publisher and animator facilitate daring robberies. It's only when the young "Joe" (Harry Fowler) and his mates start to put two and two together, and with the help of "Felix" (Alastair Sim) they start to hone in on the kingpin - safe in the knowledge that he is close amongst them and will not go quietly if he is discovered. The humour is dark, subtle and personable, as are the efforts from Jack Warner ("Nightingale") and it is set in a wonderfully gritty post war, bombed-out London full of craters and ruins in which to set the increasingly enjoyable scenario. The youngsters gel well together too, a team effort with the odd red herring and plenty of fisticuffs that compensate for the nor terribly high production standards (especially the tinny audio). Remembering the environment in which it was made, it's a remarkably enjoyable and light-hearted indication that war was over and that the sunlit uplands were again on the horizon. Good fun.