''The Rainbow Jacket'' is a 1954 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...

directed by

Basil Dearden Basil Dearden (born Basil Clive Dear; 1 January 1911 – 23 March 1971) was an English film director. Early life and career Dearden was born at 5, Woodfield Road, Leigh-on-Sea, Essex to Charles James Dear, a steel manufacturer, and his wife, Fl ...

, and featuring

Robert Morley Robert Adolph Wilton Morley, CBE (26 May 1908 – 3 June 1992) was an English actor who enjoyed a lengthy career in both Britain and the United States. He was frequently cast as a pompous English gentleman representing the Establishment, of ...

Kay Walsh Kathleen "Kay" Walsh (15 November 1911 – 16 April 2005) was an English actress, dancer, and screenwriter. Her film career prospered after she met her future husband film director David Lean, with whom she worked on prestige productions such as ...

, Bill Owen,

Honor Blackman Honor Blackman (22 August 1925 – 5 April 2020) was an English actress, known for the roles of Cathy Gale in '' The Avengers''Aaker, Everett (2006). ''Encyclopedia of Early Television Crime Fighters''. McFarland & Company, Inc. . P. 58. (1962 ...

and

Sid James Sidney James (born Solomon Joel Cohen; 8 May 1913 – 26 April 1976) was a British actor and comedian whose career encompassed radio, television, stage and screen. He was best known for numerous roles in the Carry On film series. Born to a mi ...

. It was made at

Ealing Studios Ealing Studios is a television and film production company and facilities provider at Ealing Green in West London. Will Barker bought the White Lodge on Ealing Green in 1902 as a base for film making, and films have been made on the site ever ...

produced by Michael Balcon and

Michael Relph Michael Leighton George Relph (16 February 1915 – 30 September 2004) was an English film producer, art director, screenwriter and film director. He was the son of actor George Relph. Films Relph began his film career in 1933 as an assistant ...

and shot in

Technicolor Technicolor is a series of Color motion picture film, color motion picture processes, the first version dating back to 1916, and followed by improved versions over several decades. Definitive Technicolor movies using three black and white films ...

. 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 ...

Thomas N. Morahan.

Location shooting Location shooting is the shooting of a film or television production in a real-world setting rather than a sound stage or backlot. The location may be interior or exterior. The filming location may be the same in which the story is set (for ex ...

took place in

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 ...

and at a variety of

racecourse A race track (racetrack, racing track or racing circuit) is a facility built for racing of vehicles, athletes, or animals (e.g. horse racing or greyhound racing). A race track also may feature grandstands or concourses. Race tracks are also use ...

towns including Newmarket and

Epsom Epsom is the principal town of the Borough of Epsom and Ewell in Surrey, England, about south of central London. The town is first recorded as ''Ebesham'' in the 10th century and its name probably derives from that of a Saxon landowner. The ...

. The film was released by General Film Distributors as a part of a long-term arrangement with Ealing.

Premise

A champion jockey, having forfeited his own career by taking a bribe, takes a young rider under his wing. At a racetrack meeting banned former jockey Sam is checking the perimeter for illicit means of entry and a cheeky young boy, Georgie, shows him how to get in. Georgie show a penchant for horse riding and is befriended by Sam who 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 A photo finish occurs in a sporting race when multiple competitors cross the finishing line at nearly the same time. As the naked eye may not be able to determine which of the competitors crossed the line first, a photo or video taken at the finis ...

shows he comes second. On his second race his mother steals £50 from her employer's safe and bets it on him to win. He comes first but a stewards’ inquiry wrongly disqualifies him and his mother loses the money. On the third race and for his mother’s sake, Sam persuades Georgie to take a fall to throw the race but when Sam visits in first aid area their connection is exposed. Sam faces another ban but Georgie’s staunch defense of his character to the stewards eventually leads to Sam having his license renewed. But in the final classic of the season, the St Leger, the two are neck and neck and Sam clearly whips Georgie’s horse to urge it on and to win. He does this because he has realized that Georgie threw the previous race to avoid implicating Sam. Sam’s actions of course mean he is finally banned from racing and after a final piece of illicit betting he retires to live with Georgie’s widowed mother and all us right with the racing world.

Cast

Fella Edmonds Fella Edmonds also known as Eddie Edmonds (born 25 October 1941) is a British child actor of film and television. Life He was born on 25 October 1941 in Chiswick. His early promise as Georgie Crain, the principal figure in ''The Rainbow Jacket'' ...

as Georgie Crain *

as Barbara Crain * Bill Owen as Sam *

Edward Underdown Charles Edward Underdown (3 December 190815 December 1989) was an English theatre, cinema and television actor. He was born in London and educated at Eton College in Berkshire. Notable work Early theatre credits include: Noël Coward's '' Words ...

as Geoffrey Tyler *

as Lord Logan *

as Mrs Tyler *

Charles Victor Charles Victor (10 February 1896 – 23 December 1965) was a British actor who appeared in many film and television roles between 1931 and 1965. He was born Charles Victor Harvey. Born in Southport, Lancashire, England, Victor was a fourth ...

as Mr Voss *

Wilfrid Hyde-White Wilfrid Hyde-White (12 May 1903 – 6 May 1991) was a British character actor of stage, film and television. He achieved international recognition for his role as Colonel Pickering in the film version of the musical ''My Fair Lady'' (1964). Ear ...

as Lord Stoneleigh *

Ronald Ward Ronald Ward (5 April 1901 – 31 March 1978) was a British actor who, alongside his stage work, appeared in more than twenty British films between 1931 and 1956. He was born in Eastbourne in 1901 as Ronald William Ward, and made his screen ...

as Bernie Rudd *

Howard Marion-Crawford Howard Marion-Crawford (17 January 1914 – 24 November 1969), the grandson of writer F. Marion Crawford, was an English character actor, best known for his portrayal of Dr. Watson in the 1954 television adaptation of Sherlock Holmes. In 1 ...

as Travers *

as Harry * Michael Trubshawe as Gresham *

Sam Kydd Samuel John Kydd (15 February 1915 – 26 March 1982) was a British-Irish actor. His best-known roles were in two major British television series of the 1960s, as the smuggler Orlando O'Connor in '' Crane'' and its sequel ''Orlando''. He als ...

as Bruce * Colin Kemball as Archie Stevens *

Michael Ripper Michael George Ripper (27 January 1913 – 28 June 2000) was an English character actor. He began his film career in quota quickies in the 1930s and until the late 1950s was virtually unknown; he was seldom credited. Along with Michael Gough ...

as Benny Loder *

Frederick Piper Frederick Piper (23 September 1902 – 22 September 1979) was an English actor of stage and screen who appeared in over 80 films and many television productions in a career spanning over 40 years. Piper studied drama under Elsie Fogerty at th ...

as Lukey * Herbert C. Walton as Adams * George Thorpe as Ross *

Eliot Makeham Harold Elliott Makeham (22 December 1882 – 8 February 1956) was an English film and television actor. Career Makeham was born in London, England. Between 1931 and 1956, Makeham appeared, primarily in character roles, in 115 films and in 1 ...

as Valet * Brian Roper as Ron Saunders *

Bernard Lee John Bernard Lee (10 January 190816 January 1981) was an English actor, best known for his role as M in the first eleven Eon-produced James Bond films. Lee's film career spanned the years 1934 to 1979, though he had appeared on stage from ...

as Racketeer * Glyn Houston as Security Man at Stables * Katie Johnson as Sports Paper Reader on Train *

Raymond Glendenning Raymond Carl Glendenning (25 September 1907 – 23 February 1974) was a BBC radio sports commentator and occasional character actor. Early years He was born in Newport, Monmouthshire, Wales, and was educated at Newport High School and the Unive ...

as Racing Commentator * Gordon Richards cameo as a jockey

Reception

The film premiered at the

Odeon Leicester Square The Odeon Luxe Leicester Square is a prominent cinema building in the West End of London. Built in the Art Deco style and completed in 1937, the building has been continually altered in response to developments in cinema technology, and was the ...

in London on 27 May 1954,The Times, 27 May 1954, page 2: ''Classified - Picture Theatres - Odeon Leic. Sq. - The Rainbow Jacket''
Linked 2015-07-06 and the reviewer for ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday 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." Sixty years after the premiere, ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media company that provides television program listings information as well as entertainment and television-related news. The company sold its print magazine division, TV Guide Magazine LLC, in 2008. Corporat ...

'' felt that "a trite outcome mars this fairly entertaining film, which features real-life British racing figures

and Gordon Richards" while ''

Time Out Time-out, Time Out, or timeout may refer to: Time * Time-out (sport), in various sports, a break in play, called by a team * Television timeout, a break in sporting action so that a commercial break may be taken * Timeout (computing), an engine ...

'' noted that the film was "the first collaboration between Dearden and TEB Clarke after

The Blue Lamp ''The Blue Lamp'' is a 1950 British police procedural film directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that t ...

...Despite its intriguing subject, the film offers little but the cosy, sentimental view of life that is typical of late Ealing films."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Rainbow Jacket, The 1954 films 1950s sports drama films British sports drama films Ealing Studios films Films directed by Basil Dearden British horse racing films Films scored by William Alwyn Films set in London Films shot in London Films shot in Suffolk 1954 drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films