''Code of Scotland Yard'' is a 1947 British crime film directed by

George King George King may refer to: Politics * George King (Australian politician) (1814–1894), New South Wales and Queensland politician * George King, 3rd Earl of Kingston (1771–1839), Irish nobleman and MP for County Roscommon * George Clift King (184 ...

and starring Oskar Homolka,

Muriel Pavlow Muriel Lilian Pavlow (27 June 1921 – 19 January 2019) was a British actress. Her mother was French and her father Russian. Early life Muriel was born in Lewisham, south-east London, to Boris Pavlov, a Russian émigré and salesman, and his ...

and Derek Farr. It was originally released as ''The Shop at Sly Corner'', being based on the popular stage play of that title by Edward Percy.

Synopsis

A French antique dealer lives a comfortable life in London. He cares only for his daughter, who is trying to become a professional concert violinist. When his shop assistant discovers that much of his money comes from fencing stolen goods he attempts to

blackmail Blackmail is a criminal act of coercion using a threat. As a criminal offense, blackmail is defined in various ways in common law jurisdictions. In the United States, blackmail is generally defined as a crime of information, involving a thr ...

the Frenchman.

Cast

* Oskar Homolka as Descius Heiss * Derek Farr as Robert Graham *

as Margaret Heiss * Manning Whiley as Corder Morris *

Kathleen Harrison Kathleen Harrison (23 February 1892 – 7 December 1995) was a prolific English character actress best remembered for her role as Mrs. Huggett (opposite Jack Warner and Petula Clark) in a trio of British post-war comedies about a working-cla ...

as Mrs Catt *

Garry Marsh Garry Marsh (21 May 1902 – 6 March 1981) was an English stage and film actor. Biography Born Leslie March Gerahty on 21 May 1902 in St Margarets, Middlesex, his parents were George and Laura. His elder brothers were the author Digby George ...

as Major Elliot *

Kenneth Griffith Kenneth Griffith (born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths, 12 October 1921 – 25 June 2006) was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker. His outspoken views made him a controversial figure, especially when presenting documentaries which have been ca ...

as Archie Fellowes * Jan Van Loewen as Professor Vanetti *

Irene Handl Irene Handl () (27 December 1901 – 29 November 1987) was a British character actress who appeared in more than 100 British films; she also wrote novels. Life Irene Handl was born in Maida Vale, London, the younger of two daughters of an Aus ...

as Ruby Towser *

Johnnie Schofield Johnnie William Schofield (10 March 1889 – 9 September 1955) was a British actor, known for '' The Middle Watch'' (1948), '' Tawny Pipit'' (1944) and '' Melody of My Heart'' (1936). Early life John William Schofield was born on 10 March 1889 ...

as Inspector Robson *

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a Bombshell (slang), blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield, and Mamie Van ...

as Mildred * Katie Johnson as Woman in Shop * Vi Kaley as Flower Seller * David Keir as Gentleman Customer * James Knight as Publican *

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 11 t ...

as Theatre Usher

Original play

The film was based on a play by Edward Percy, a Conservative MP. It debuted in London in May 1945. ''Variety'' called it "good theatre". It ran for over two years. The London production only cost $12,000 and made a sizeable profit for its investors. The play was produced on Broadway with

Boris Karloff William Henry Pratt (23 November 1887 – 2 February 1969), known professionally as Boris Karloff () and occasionally billed as Karloff the Uncanny, was a British actor. His portrayal of Frankenstein's monster in the horror film ''Frankenstei ...

in 1949 but only ran seven performances.

BBC TV version

The play was adapted for BBC TV in 1946.

Production

Film rights were bought by British Lion in May 1945. It would be one of the first three films made by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; ; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)

under his new deal with British Lion, the others being ''A Man about the House'' and ''Nightbeat''. Oscar Homolka was imported from the USA to star. George King was to make ''A Lady was to Die'' but delayed that to make this movie. Filming started at 6 August 1946. It was shot at Isleworth Studios. The film's sets were designed by the

art director Art director is a title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, live-action and animated film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supe ...

Bernard Robinson. It was the film debut of

. According to film reviewer Stephen Vagg, "The part was an ideal way to start out – the girlfriend of a slimy blackmailer – and Diana had 'it' from the start; looks, warmth, appeal". Muriel Pavlow and Derek Farr, who played lovers in the film, were married shortly after filming.

Critical reception

''Variety'' reported that the "film gathers pace and is truly cinematic in the second half, but the first part is deadly slow and too explanatory without explaining much. More, too, should have been made of the romance between the two young lovers." ''

TV Guide TV Guide is an American digital media In mass communication, digital media is any media (communication), communication media that operates in conjunction with various encoded machine-readable data formats. Digital content can be created, vi ...

'' described it as an "interesting melodrama rich with character, thanks to the excellent performance by Homolka and a uniformly fine British cast."

Box office

As of 30 June 1949 the film earned £124,197 in the UK of which £92,877 went to the producer. It made a profit of £16,162, a rare successful movie for British Lion when it was releasing movies like ''Bonnie Prince Charlie'' and ''Anna Karenina''.Chapman p 72

References

External links

*
The Shop at Sly Corner
at Letterbox DVD
The Shop at Sly Corner
at BFI
Complete film
at Internet Archive {{George King 1947 films 1947 crime films British crime films Films directed by George King Films set in London Films shot at Isleworth Studios British black-and-white films Films set in stores 1940s English-language films 1940s British films Films scored by George Melachrino English-language crime films