Figure 1.-- 'Hue and Cry' is based loosely on 'Emil and the Detectives'. Fleeing through the London sewer system is a parody on the Carol Reed Cold War thriller, 'The Third Man'.

'Hue and Cry' was one of Ealing Studios finest post-war films, in that it captured the best of the documentary realist tradition that was so typical of British cinema. Hue and Cry took us into the very heart of East London and of the people who lived there. It is populated with characters like Joe (Harry Fowler) and the gang of children he leads. They have their suspicions that a gang of criminals are getting ideas for their crimes from 'The Trump' a comic that he and the children read. The film is about a group of 11 to 16 year-old boys who read the comic which is used by a London criminal Organisation to send messages to the gang members who are to do a robbery job. A comic is used because the criminals can hardly read. The street names in the comic are in code. When the place number is used in conjunction with the London Street directory the real street is revealed. Joe is duped into accepting a job working for a local businessman. Unfortunately for Joe, the man he is working for is one of the criminals he and his gang are chasing. Joe sets up a meeting with the writer of The Trump stories Felix Wilkinson (Alistair Sim) and this eventually leads Joe and the gang to set a trap for the criminals. Joe persuades Wilkinson to rewrite the climax to one of his stories which lures the gang toward the trap and a massive fight sequence staged amidst the bomb ravaged East London dockyards.

Created: 12:07 AM 3/3/2011
Last updated: 12:07 AM 3/3/2011