Ludicrously Undervalued
Fans of the more recent 'Leon' will be familiar with the plot of a pubescent child infatuated by a criminal adult.In 'Tiger Bay' Hayley Mills plays just such a child who witnesses a murder and forms a similar bond with the culprit. Young Hayley had an amazing presence both in appearance and acting skill, and with her star-rated father blazing the trail you might have expected her to dominate the screen for decades. Yet, as sometimes happens, she quickly faded with adulthood.
Well, here she's on top form as tom-boy par excellence. Her murderous mentor is played by a scarcely-less-juvenile Horst Buchholst. Both bring complete conviction to their roles. Cop on the case is Hayley's dad, John. The scenes in which these two spar-off, father and daughter, actor and actress, law and disorder, is mesmerising stuff. You bet they were roaring with laughter off-set. A solid support cast is led by Megs Jenkins.
There's lovely location-work depicting port life at the turn of the 1960's. 'Kitchen sink' elements are authentic, too. The plot moves along at a good steady lick with lots of little twists & turns. Filming is in B&W with good use made of camera. There are many sly, noirish elements. Editing is also right on the money. Our anti-hero needs to find another sailing-berth before the inquiry net can tighten. He must be beyond the then 3-mile limit and bound for a country with which Britain has no extradition treaty. In a complete moral turnaround; we find ourselves rooting for the villain. The ending is suitably righteous.
It's so nice to watch a mature movie featuring kids, instead of the gooey schmaltzfests that Hollywood turns out today.
There's no particular issue I can fault with this movie, so I'm giving it 10 stars. Highly recommended.
score 10/10
screenman 25 September 2011
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2493463/34959
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