Worth a watch
"Tiger Bay" is significant for being one of the first films of the British New Wave. Influenced by the French and Italian neorealists, these films were often shot on location in a pseudo-documentary or cinema verite style.Though it was ahead of its time in showing aspects of life not usually displayed in film in the 1950s, "Tiger Bay" isn't as relentless in its realism as the more gritty flicks ("This Sporting Life", "Look Back In Anger" etc) that would be made in the following decade. As such, the film is unusual in that it straddles the line between traditional and modern social realism. It's too classical and slick to fit in with the more edgy New Wave films that would follow, but too grim to fit in with those that came before.
In terms of plot, the film is simple. A young girl witnesses a Polish sailor murder his girlfriend. She thwarts the police's attempts at capturing the sailor, becomes friends with him, and together they attempt to escape by sea.
Where the film excels is in it's portrayal of working class Cardiff. The street scenes, shabby apartments, and generally oppressive atmosphere, all offer a tangible feel of life in the era. Beyond this, the strange relationship between a wayward girl and a much older man, lends the story an interesting edge.
7.9/10 - Though the film drags in the middle, its final act is as suspenseful as anything Hitchcock cooked up. Child star Hayley Mills is also excellent.
Worth one viewing.
score /10
tieman64 1 February 2009
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw2016863/34959
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