The Gentle Gunman (Vintage Classics) [Blu-ray] [2022]

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In fact, Bogarde’s performance in The Gentle Gunman feels rather restrained, his character coming across as ineffectual and subdued for most of the running time, certainly standing in marked contrast to his more violent and belligerent turn in The Blue Lamp. Mills is the moral compass, committed to acting and believing in what is right and wrong, whereas Bogarde's character is more youthful and has to contend with making ethical judgments between clashing sides. The fact that the film utilises so many real locations, from urban streets to countryside roads, only adds to the visceral thrill. John Mills, Dirk Bogarde and Robert Beatty are near perfection together in this Basil Dearden film about two Irish brothers working for the I. But it is certainly worth a watch if you are seeking a light challenge and something that asks a few questions in an emotional and absorbing way.

Ealing Studios produced this interesting take on the Troubles with a handful of its most famous stars in front and behind the camera. After Matt goes to see Terry and is occupied in a botched subway assault, he cautions Terry on no occasion to come home. A shame that the rest of this is so lukewarm, although Dirk and Johnny as brothers in macs and hats running around trying to bomb the British is still good value, and Dirk looks very sharp-featured and beautiful in the moody lighting. Meanwhile, his brother Matt (Dirk Bogarde) is still deep into the cause and striving to prove his loyalty.Terry has decided to spring from custody the two men arrested because of his information; he does, and they arrive to thank him just as he is about to be shot. Elizabeth Sellers plays the rather bland love interest, whose desire for the two brothers only seems to be motivated by how committed they are to the IRA cause.

If you have any information regarding this production, the locations or, even better, some comparison shots please contact us. The Gentle Gunman was written by Roger MacDougall, based upon his earlier stage play (MacDougall’s plays were clearly popular at Ealing Studios around this time; The Man in the White Suit, based upon another of MacDougall’s plays, came out the same year as The Gentle Gunman). Terry is trying to keep their comrades from completing a violent demonstration that would injure many innocent women and children in a residential street. The all-important chemistry between Thompson and McCormack is most definitely there and, even if his character isn’t quite as satisfying, the film cradles us with an irresistible balance of truth and wryly observed compassion.Instead, you applaud both the character and the actor for taking what is literally a no filter approach in an age when we’ve come to expect nothing less than physical perfection, especially in front of the camera. Alan Bourke, Paschal Newell and Tony Hanna confirm PW's suspicion that this is the junction of the R755 and R760 roads in Rocky Valley to the west of Kilmacanogue in County Wicklow. The British magazine Time Out thought the film was "stiff" and "overplotted", [3] while the British Film Institute thought the film struggled to "find the right tone" and culminated with a "car-crash of an ending". When his co-conspirators are arrested, he ensures that his brother Matt (Sir Dirk Bogarde) escapes back to Ireland.

By contrast this film paints a stark picture of the IRA when they wore trenchcoats and trilbies, the leads as usual played by Brits (and one Canadian) with authentic Irish players making up the supporting cast.

On a remote Irish quayside, Terry meets with Barney (Harry Brogan) after Patsy and Connolly are sentenced. Interestingly, it is the most obviously English character who comes off the worst, portrayed as both pompous and narrow minded (this is perhaps explained by the fact that this character is played by Gilbert Harding, a man who had no love for the British Empire).

While not an example of any of the participants’ finest works, The Gentle Gunman is still a compelling film. Both Terry and the IRA leader Shinto ( Robert Beatty) vow to free the men and take them from their trial in Belfast to safety in the Irish Free State, but Shinto favours more violent methods than Terry. Determined to clear his name and save Matt from a life of crime, Terry travels to Ireland to confront Shinto (Robert Beatty), the local IRA leader. The bulk of the character-led side of the plot deals with Terry trying to persuade his brother that they have been mistaken to take part in violent acts for their “cause”. prisoners as they disembark the ship that brings them home to serve their sentences is futile, as they have already been liberated, he blindly goes ahead, losing two colleagues in the gun battle.Points for the effort, and it’s not a disaster by any means, but it is a bit of a farce when it would have been stronger taking things more seriously. Dirk Bogarde and John Mills deliver fairly engaging performances (although both are let down by some rather ropey Irish accents, with Mill’s attempt especially bad, seemingly taking in a tour around the British Isles by way of Belfast). Although its boss, Michael Balcon, could be a mild autocrat, Ealing Studios took a democratic approach to the content of its films. Quite a few people may be surprised to learn, for example, that the IRA were operating in England during the Second World War.