The Blue Parrot
- October 1953 (1953-10) (UK)
The Blue Parrot is a low budget 1953 British "B" crime film directed by John Harlow and starring Dermot Walsh, Jacqueline Hill, Ballard Berkeley, Richard Pearson, and John Le Mesurier.[1] The film was produced by Stanley Haynes for Act Films Ltd.[2] The screenplay is by Alan MacKinnon from a story by British crime reporter Percy Hoskins.
Plot
Small-time crook Rocks Owen receives a mysterious phone call at the Blue Parrot Soho night club and is later found murdered. Bob Herrick, a New York detective in London to learn about Scotland Yard's methods, investigates, and policewoman Maureen Maguire goes undercover at the club posing as a hostess.
Cast
- Dermot Walsh as Bob Herrick
- Jacqueline Hill as Maureen Maguire
- Ballard Berkeley as Superintendent Chester
- June Ashley as Gloria
- Richard Pearson as "Quinny"
- Ferdy Mayne as Stevens
- Victor Lucas as Rocks Owen
- Edwin Richfield as Taps Campelli
- John Le Mesurier as Henry Carson
- Arthur Rigby as Charlie
- Valerie White as Eva West
- Diane Watts as Carla
Critical reception
In a contemporary review Kine Weekly wrote: "Pleasantly intriguing, if modest, whodunnit. It illustrates the big part played by a young American detective in the apprehension of a Soho killer, and ends with a bang. The red herrings are neatly handled by the competent cast. The comedy relief is apt and the dénouement suspenseful. Feminine appeal slight yet piquant."[3]
The Radio Times said: "Dermot Walsh does his best with lacklustre material, and John Le Mesurier turns up in a supporting slot, but there's little else to recommend it."[4]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan wrote: ''Efficient thriller with a bit more sting in the action than usual.''[5]
Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film write: "There is little to distinguish this from numerous other urban-set thrillers, but its pacey editing (Robert Hill) and cast of reliable character players carries one over the less probable plot maneuvers."[6]
References
- ^ "The Blue Parrot". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
- ^ Action! Fifty Years in the Life of a Union. Published: 1983 (UK). Publisher: ACTT. ISBN 0 9508993 0 5. ACT Films Limited - Ralph Bond p81 (producer listed as Stanley Haynes)
- ^ "The Blue Parrot". Kine Weekly. 439 (2417): 18. 15 April 1948.
- ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 113. ISBN 9780992936440.
- ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 286. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
- ^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.
External links
- The Blue Parrot at IMDb
- The Blue Parrot at ReelStreets
- v
- t
- e
- My Lucky Star (1933)
- Master and Man (1934)
- Spellbound (1941)
- This Was Paris (1942)
- The Dark Tower (1943)
- Candles at Nine (1944)
- Headline (1944)
- The Agitator (1945)
- Meet Sexton Blake! (1945)
- The Echo Murders (1945)
- Appointment with Crime (1946)
- Green Fingers (1947)
- While I Live (1947)
- Old Mother Riley's New Venture (1949)
- Old Mother Riley Headmistress (1950)
- Those People Next Door (1953)
- The Blue Parrot (1953)
- Dangerous Cargo (1954)
- Delayed Action (1954)
This article related to a British film of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e
This article about a crime thriller film is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e