Street Corner *** (1953, Anne Crawford, Peggy Cummins, Rosamund John, Terence Morgan, Barbara Murray, Sarah Lawson, Ronald Howard, Eleanor Summerfield, Michael Medwin, Maurice Denham, Thora Hird, Dora Bryan, Joyce Carey) – Classic Movie Review 11,085

‘TORN from the records of women who fight crime!’

Director Muriel Box’s 1953 realist crime drama Street Corner [Both Sides of the Law] is an interesting women’s riposte to The Blue Lamp (1950) that spawned TV’s Dixon of Dock Green, focusing on the daily routine of London’s Chelsea district policewomen (Rosamund John as Sgt. Pauline Ramsey, Anne Crawford as WPC Susan, Barbara Murray as WPC Lucy Loggart and Eleanor Summerfield as Edna Hurran), with the attractive, naturalistic filming in almost documentary style and fresh, vibrant performances that were then in vogue.

It is written by Muriel Box and Sydney Box, based on a story by Jan Reid, who wrote the original treatment for The Blue Lamp with Ted Willis. There are three main stores: 18-year-old Bridget Foster (Peggy Cummins) is picked up for shoplifting; a girl deserts the army to marry a boy who needs her and commits bigamy; a baby is mistreated by its father and stepmother but is reunited with the real mother.

The film is modestly made, but it boasts a decent script eschewing simple stereotypes, and old age has lent it charm. Of course, all the top cops are men: Archie Duncan as the chief inspector, Michael Hordern as the detective inspector, Lloyd Lamble as the detective sergeant, and Russell Waters as the detective constable (but they are at least sidelined for once here. Among a superb vintage Brit cast, Dora Bryan is typecast (acting wise, that is) as a prostitute at the police station. It is Sarah Lawson’s second film (as WDC Joyce).

The cast are Rosamund John, Anne Crawford, Peggy Cummins, Terence Morgan, Barbara Murray, Sarah Lawson, Ronald Howard, Eleanor Summerfield, Michael Medwin, Maurice Denham, Thora Hird, Dora Bryan, Joyce Carey, Anthony Nicholls, Charles Victor, Eunice Gayson, Yvonne Marsh, Isabel George, Archie Duncan, Michael Hordern, Lloyd Lamble, Russell Waters, John Warwick, Campbell Singer, Martin Wyldeck, James Gilbert, Marjorie Rhodes, Jean Anderson, Nelly Arno, Lily Kann, Harold Lang, Myrtle Reed, Leo Bieber, Brian Kent, Basil Lord, Kathleen Michael, Charlotte Mitchell, Dandy Nichols, Anthony Oliver, Peter Swanwick, Michael Ward, Brian Wilde, David Horne, John Stuart, Frances Rowe, Pat Nye, and  Desmond Llewelyn as Police Constable .

Peggy Cummins (1925–2017) introduced a screening of the film at the BFI Southbank on 29 September 2010.

© Derek Winnert 2021 Classic Movie Review 11,085

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