''Street Corner'' is a 1953 British drama film. It was written by Muriel and Sydney Box and directed by Muriel. It was marketed as ''Both Sides of the Law'' in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...

. While not quite a documentary, the film depicts the daily routine of women in the police force from three different angles. It was conceived as a female version of the 1950 film '' The Blue Lamp''. It was shot at

Pinewood Studios Pinewood Studios is a British film and television studio located in the village of Iver Heath, England. It is approximately west of central London. The studio has been the base for many productions over the years from large-scale films to t ...

and on location around

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and unify the vis ...

Cedric Dawe Cedric Dawe (1906–1996) was a British art director. He worked on the set design of over sixty films during his career, spending many years working for ABPC at the company's Elstree and Welwyn Studios. He was praised for his realistic designs f ...

Plot

The three plotlines comprise a female army

deserter Desertion is the abandonment of a military duty or post without permission (a pass, liberty or leave) and is done with the intention of not returning. This contrasts with unauthorized absence (UA) or absence without leave (AWOL ), which ...

guilty of

bigamy In cultures where monogamy is mandated, bigamy is the act of entering into a marriage with one person while still legally married to another. A legal or de facto separation of the couple does not alter their marital status as married persons. ...

, a toddler neglected and beaten by its

stepmother A stepmother, stepmum or stepmom is a non-biological female parent married to one's preexisting parent. A stepmother-in-law is a stepmother of one's spouse. Children from her spouse's previous unions are known as her stepchildren. Culture Step ...

and an 18-year-old married mother who's caught

shoplifting Shoplifting is the theft of goods from an open retail establishment, typically by concealing a store item on one's person, in pockets, under clothes or in a bag, and leaving the store without paying. With clothing, shoplifters may put on item ...

and gets involved with a jewel thief. The film climaxes in a police dog attack on a criminal.

Cast

Peggy Cummins Peggy Cummins (born Augusta Margaret Diane Fuller; 18 December 1925 – 29 December 2017) was an Irish actress, born in Wales, who is best known for her performance in Joseph H. Lewis's ''Gun Crazy'' (1950), playing a trigger-happy '' femme f ...

as Bridget Foster * Terence Morgan as Ray *

Anne Crawford Imelda Anne Crawford (22 November 1920 – 17 October 1956) was a British film actress, born in Palestine of a Scottish father and an English mother, and brought up in Edinburgh. Biography A contemporary of Margaret Lockwood and Phyllis Calver ...

as Susan *

Rosamund John Rosamund John (19 October 1913 – 27 October 1998), born Nora Rosamund Jones, was an English film and stage actress. Early life She was born and brought up in Tottenham in North London, the daughter of Frederick Henry Jones, a wine merchant' ...

as Sergeant Pauline Ramsey *

Barbara Murray Barbara Ann Murray (27 September 1929 – 20 May 2014) was an English actress. Murray was most active in the 1940s and 1950s as a fresh-faced leading lady in many British films such as ''Passport to Pimlico'' (1949) and ''Meet Mr. Lucifer'' (19 ...

as WPC Lucy * Sarah Lawson as Joyce * Ronald Howard as David Evans *

Eleanor Summerfield Eleanor Audrey Summerfield (7 March 1921 – 13 July 2001) was an English actress who appeared in many plays, films and television series. She is known for her roles in '' Laughter in Paradise'' (1951), '' Final Appointment'' (1954), '' Odongo'' ...

as Edna Hurran * Michael Medwin as Chick Farrar * Charles Victor as Muller * Anthony Oliver as Stanley Foster * Harold Lang as Len * Dora Bryan as Prostitute *

Eunice Gayson Eunice Elizabeth Sargaison (17 March 1928 – 8 June 2018), known professionally as Eunice Gayson, was an English actress best known for playing Sylvia Trench, James Bond's love interest in the first two Bond films ('' Dr. No'' and '' From Russ ...

as Janet *

Michael Hordern Sir Michael Murray Hordern Commander of the Order of the British Empire, CBE (3 October 19112 May 1995)Morley, Sheridan"Hordern, Michael Murray (1911–1995)" ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004, online e ...

as D.I. Heron * Maurice Denham as Mr Dawson * Yvonne Marsh as Elsa * Isabel George as Helen * Nelly Arno as woman customer * Dandy Nichols as Mrs. Furness - Neighbour (uncredited)

Critical reception

''The Movie Review Warehouse'' said of Muriel Box's direction, "she doesn’t do anything terribly innovative with the camera but she does know how to tell a story effectively, which is often a rarer skill in the film world."

References

Bibliography

* Harper, Sue and Porter, Vincent. ''British Cinema of the 1950s: The Decline of Deference''. Oxford University Press, 2007.

External links

* 1953 films British black-and-white films British crime drama films Films directed by Muriel Box 1953 crime drama films Films set in London Films shot in London British crime thriller films Films produced by Sydney Box Films with screenplays by Sydney Box Films with screenplays by Muriel Box Films shot at Pinewood Studios 1950s crime thriller films Films shot at Station Road Studios, Elstree 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{crime-drama-film-stub