The Rainbow Jacket
| The Rainbow Jacket | |
|---|---|
 Original UK quad format poster | |
| Directed by | Basil Dearden |
| Written by | T.E.B. Clarke |
| Produced by | Michael Relph |
| Starring | Kay Walsh Bill Owen Edward Underdown Robert Morley Honor Blackman |
| Cinematography | Otto Heller |
| Edited by | Jack Harris |
| Music by | William Alwyn |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | GFD (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 99 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
The Rainbow Jacket is a 1954 British Ealing Studios drama film, produced by Michael Relph, directed by Basil Dearden, and featuring Robert Morley, Kay Walsh, Bill Owen, Honor Blackman and Sid James.[2][3]
Premise
A champion jockey, having forfeited his own career by taking a bribe, takes a young rider under his wing.[4]
At a racetrack meeting Sam is checking the perimeter for illicit means of entry and a cheeky young boy, Georgie, shows him how to get in. They become friends and Sam encourages him to train as a jockey.
He is placed in the stables of Lord Logan at Newmarket. He shows much promise and Sam bets £100 on him to win. Georgie is impressive but a photo finish shows he comes second. On his second race his mother borrows £50 from her employer's safe and bets £50 for him to win. He does, but a stewards inquiry wrongly concludes that he used a whip and interfered with the next horse. His mum loses the money.
On the third race Sam persuades him to take a fall to throw the race and at last wins some money. Georgie is taken to the first aid area and Lord Logan spots Sam and orders him off the track. He later questions Georgie about his relationship with Sam.
Sam gets his racing licence back and ends racing against Georgie. They are in joint lead when Sam clearly whips Georgies horse to urge it on and to win. The stewards inquiry bans him from racing again.
Main cast
- Fella Edmonds as Georgie Crain
- Kay Walsh as Barbara Crain
- Bill Owen as Sam
- Edward Underdown as Geoffrey Tyler
- Robert Morley as Lord Logan
- Honor Blackman as Mrs Tyler
- Charles Victor as Mr Voss
- Wilfrid Hyde-White as Lord Stoneleigh
- Ronald Ward as Bernie Rudd
- Howard Marion-Crawford as Travers
- Sid James as Harry
- Michael Trubshawe as Gresham
- Sam Kydd as Bruce
- Michael Ripper as Benny Loder
- Frederick Piper as Lukey
- Eliot Makeham as Valet
- Brian Roper as Ron Saunders
- Gordon Richards cameo as a jockey
Reception
The film premiered at the Odeon Leicester Square in London on 27 May 1954,[1] and the reviewer for The Times wrote that, "It is, then, an entertaining film, a film in love with racing and yet not quite so devotedly so as to refrain from suggesting that in the running of the St. Leger there can be some very queer goings-on indeed."[5]
Sixty years after the premiere, TV Guide felt that "a trite outcome mars this fairly entertaining film, which features real-life British racing figures Raymond Glendenning and Gordon Richards,"[6] while Time Out noted that the film was "the first collaboration between Dearden and TEB Clarke after The Blue Lamp...Despite its intriguing subject, the film offers little but the cosy, sentimental view of life that is typical of late Ealing films."[4]
References
- ^ a b The Times, 27 May 1954, page 2: Classified - Picture Theatres - Odeon Leic. Sq. - The Rainbow Jacket Linked 2015-07-06
- ^ Barr, Charles (1998). Ealing Studios. University of California Press. p. 157. ISBN 978-0-520-21554-2.
- ^ "The Rainbow Jacket". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on 13 January 2009. Retrieved 20 November 2013.
- ^ a b "The Rainbow Jacket | review, synopsis, book tickets, showtimes, movie release date | Time Out London". Timeout.com. 18 September 2007. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
- ^ The Times, 27 May 1954, page 4: Odeon Ceinama - "The Rainbow Jacket" Linked 2015-07-06
- ^ "The Rainbow Jacket Review". Movies.tvguide.com. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
External links
- Template:BFI Explore
- The Rainbow Jacket at the British Board of Film Classification
- The Rainbow Jacket at IMDb
 | This article related to a British film of the 1950s is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |