With reference to the cardboard bridge and fake 'bus being pulled across it in "Gideons Day ", the same bizarre thing happens in the 1961 film "No Love For Johnnie ".Whenever Peter Finch and his fellow actors are on the terrace of the House Of Commons ( a studio set )with Westminster Bridge in the background, the bridge is obviously a piece of scenery and every now and then a flat cardboard 'bus and the occasional car can be seen juddering back and for. In real life of course, even in 1961 there would have been a constant stream of traffic on the bridge.It's an unbelievably ( and laughably ) cheap effect, especially in such a gritty, kitchen-sink style political drama which was pretty sensational stuff at the time of its release. Yet no one mentions it on the films IMDb page!

British film-goers were by 1958 entirely used to police films set in London. They were part of a continuum year by year slowly ratcheting up realism and violence - and dropping the humour in the process. "The Blue Lamp" (1950) where a much liked elderly copper (the in-fact almost immortal actor Jack Warner who went on to reprise the role on TV for the following 30 years) is shot and killed by a downright bad 'un (the rather effete Dirk Bogarde), was apparently quite controversial in its day. The public's favoured cup of tea - or at least what was regularly served up to them in police films of the day was not too strong and not without trace of sugar. Bent cops didn't exist then, neither were detectives rough and insensitive with recently (ie 20 minutes earlier) bereaved widows. Rows and shouting were for the lower orders who were either quickly dispersed or shuffled off into separate cells. Jack Hawkins, iconic British actor of the time was heroism and gentlemanliness personified whether captaining a ship or being the sensitive father of a deaf and dumb daughter (the guaranteed weepy "Mandy").British film-goers knew the rules of what to expect of both story and cast when it came to police films and it was nothing like the gritty US productions of the day. With a comparatively very low murder rate and cops who didn't carry guns the real life conditions were very different between the two countries. A British policeman's lot could appear a rather whimsical one by comparison.Somehow John Ford, THE John Ford, comes to direct some of Britain's finest at a British studio in a production set in the streets of London based on a book by an English writer for an audience thoroughly used to a set of confined and unfamiliar conventions. Ford's favourite actor was John Wayne - the personification of plain talking, straight shooting and unrefined acting - rarely wasting a word when a punch will do. Here instead he has perhaps cinema's quintessential portrayer of sensitive masculinity being called on to steam-roller evidence from a widow, confront an underling with evidence confirming he's been on the take from "dope" dealers, solve a couple of slayings - and not forget the running bit of levity - bringing home the fresh salmon for dinner.The result although fast paced and not without its moments - Marjorie Rhodes as a bereaved mother is electrifying - is nevertheless a cultural car-crash. Two very different cinematic cop traditions from either side of the Atlantic - one whimsical, domestic and a little jokey, the other harsh and procedural, each proceeding at a reckless speed towards the other and meeting in the middle of the screen. The result is something which clearly contains a mixture of both but which thereafter proceeds irregularly and uncertainly in various directions like particle tracks in a bubble chamber following a near light speed atomic collision.

This rarely seen (or shown) rarity from the great westerns director John Ford, was screened recently as Channel 4's weekday lunchtime movie. The film's alternative title, 'Gideon of Scotland Yard' gives us a clearer picture of where it is set and what it is about.Not paying much attention to what it said in Radio Times beforehand, I assumed it was a Dixon Of Dock Green sort of black & white semi- documentary, along the lines of the excellent 'Blue Lamp'.For a start, it's in colour and opens with breakfast time with the family, for Inspector Jack Gideon, all brisk and jovial. His drive to work results in going through a red light and is embarrassingly challenged by a youth PC.From here-on in, the comedic elements dissipate as Insp Gideon's day unfolds, with phone calls and leads, all going on to illustrate 'the day in the life' that is the title. The mixture of crime is, obviously quite innocent when compared to today and the likes of 'The Bill', but this is 1958 and the censors were always prevalent, not that I'm suggesting that Ford would have set out to paint an overly colourful scenario.The script is by Ealing Studio regular T.E.B Clarke, from John Creasey's novel and whilst it's not exactly electric, it's brisk enough, with a light tone and those of a certain age will find much pleasure in the period detail, scenes around London and the general way of doing things 'back then'.Such viewers might have wanted to give a higher score than I am, though. To be honest, the direction could have been done by anyone proficient and whilst the studio-bound indoor sets are well done, they are just that, though also to be fair, Insp Gideon is seen going about between locations enough to remind us that he's very busy...Finally, there is a nice John Ford sense of irony at the end though, which gives a real sense of satisfaction.

Not classic John Ford by any stretch of the imagination but I watched for the first time in years on t.v. this afternoon, and it certainly brightened up a wet afternoon.There are some lovely comic moments such as Andrew Rays young rookie policeman booking Jack Hawkins(Gideon)for speeding then in the final scene getting caught him self with Gideon as a passenger, by then he is son in law material.Miles Mallison as an eccentric judge and John Le Mesurier as a prosecuting council have delicious little cameos, so much so that they might have drifted in from another film set. How I cheered when Jack Watling's timid vicar suddenly floors the toughs in his church who are threatening him, it turns out he is an ex wartime para.Michael Trubshawe plays the typical British police sargeant. Jack Hawkins is of course his usual irrascible but dependable self.What a success rate,three murders solved in one day.Always a pleasure to watch Anna Lee as the long suffering wife who in one scene tells her daughter played by Anna Massey never to marry a policeman,too late her eyes are already set on the young officer.Fortunately they showed the ninety minute colour version not the truncated sixty minute black and white version shown in USA but if one is going to be overly critical the editing is somewhat choppy and I wonder if they wrote the script as they were filming.Neverless the film rattles along and is never boring,there's not a weak link in the cast.If John Ford is not exactly at his peak he's by no means off form.7 out of 10 seems a fair assessment.