CRIME OVER LONDON
UK, 1936, 63 minutes, Black-and-white.
Margot Grahame, Paul Cavanagh, David Burns, Joseph Cawthorne, Basil Sydney, Rene Ray, Bruce Lester, Danny Green, Googie Withers, Edward Rigby.
Directed by Alfred Zeisler.
This is quite an entertaining film, re-creating the atmosphere of central London in the mid 1930s.
Within a short running time, there are quite a number of characters as well as some subplots, all of them interesting while, perhaps, not fully developed.
The film opens with a group returning to London after the United States being too hot for them. Their leader is Joker Finnegan, Basil Sydney in a very good role, arriving in England, quite a group of them, especially not understanding how England ticked. They get accommodation and Joker has to control them because they are eager to do robberies rather than just sit around and wait for something special.
In the meantime, we are taken to Sherwood’s shopping Emporium in central London – reminiscent of Selfridge’s and in fact the facade of Selfridge’s being used towards the end of the film. The proprietor is Mr Sherwood who came to England with very few goods, little English and an accent. He has been very successful and the company is about to have an anniversary celebration.
The film must have seemed very modern in the time and it communicates this impression. There are plenty of scenes of contemporary London, the streets, Piccadilly Circus, the buses… There is quite an amount of detail of life in the store, the various departments – and quite a funny joke about a most haughty woman who is never satisfied about the service being offered her and it is suggested, even by the owner, that she try the hardware area to get carbolic soap! It is a joke when the owner likes to repeat throughout the film.
The focus is on a young man who is the owner’s nephew and is very sweet on a young girl whom he introduces to the store as a piano player attracting customers.
The gang discover that there is a double for the owner, an old criminal they know from the past and who serves as a double while the owner is out playing golf. It is only the owner’s nephew who knows the truth. This means that the screenplay introduces quite early rather fanciful use of the double. It means then that the gang have a hold over him and he is to impersonate the owner whom they will capture in order to steal the payroll.
Joseph Cawthorne is very good in the double role, sufficient differentiation, different accents – and he is obviously enjoying himself.
The group target the store through means of their contact, Pearl (Margot Grahame). She goes to the store to buy a coat, targets the nephew, invites him to meet her fiance at a gambling casino, he goes, plays, loses money and is found in a compromising situation when one of the gang is murdered.
However, Paul Cavanagh portrays the Scotland Yard detective who suspects that the gang is back in London, knows that Joker likes to play cards and so canvases various casinos. He is asked to investigate the murder and can do nothing else but arrest the nephew.
The robbery goes ahead fairly smoothly but the Scotland Yard detective asks to interview Mr Sherwood, with whom his nephew had spoken the evening before and who could give an alibi. However, this is the double who decides to give a note to the detective explaining what has happened.
Which means then that the police arrive on the scene, shoppers are scattered – and there is an over-elaborate shootout in the toy and crockery departments of the store, lots of mayhem during the shooting.
Pearl returns to the store, is confronted by Joker who has killed the gangster that she actually loves and who wants to go out on his own, and when the police pursue Joker, he is found dead, Pearl saying that she has saved them the effort.
An above average entertainment from the 1930s.
