The Blue Parrot

1953 British film by John Harlow

October 1953 (1953-10) (UK)

Running time

69 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglish

The Blue Parrot is a low budget 1953 British "B" crime film directed by John Harlow and starring Dermot Walsh, Jacqueline Hill, Ballard Berkeley, Richard Pearson, and John Le Mesurier.^[1] The film was produced by Stanley Haynes for Act Films Ltd.^[2] The screenplay is by Alan MacKinnon from a story by British crime reporter Percy Hoskins.

Plot

Small-time crook Rocks Owen receives a mysterious phone call at the Blue Parrot Soho night club and is later found murdered. Bob Herrick, a New York detective in London to learn about Scotland Yard's methods, investigates, and policewoman Maureen Maguire goes undercover at the club posing as a hostess.

Cast

Dermot Walsh as Bob Herrick
Jacqueline Hill as Maureen Maguire
Ballard Berkeley as Superintendent Chester
June Ashley as Gloria
Richard Pearson as "Quinny"
Ferdy Mayne as Stevens
Victor Lucas as Rocks Owen
Edwin Richfield as Taps Campelli
John Le Mesurier as Henry Carson
Arthur Rigby as Charlie
Valerie White as Eva West
Diane Watts as Carla

Critical reception

In a contemporary review Kine Weekly wrote: "Pleasantly intriguing, if modest, whodunnit. It illustrates the big part played by a young American detective in the apprehension of a Soho killer, and ends with a bang. The red herrings are neatly handled by the competent cast. The comedy relief is apt and the dénouement suspenseful. Feminine appeal slight yet piquant."^[3]

The Radio Times said: "Dermot Walsh does his best with lacklustre material, and John Le Mesurier turns up in a supporting slot, but there's little else to recommend it."^[4]

In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan wrote: ''Efficient thriller with a bit more sting in the action than usual.''^[5]

Chibnall and McFarlane in The British 'B' Film write: "There is little to distinguish this from numerous other urban-set thrillers, but its pacey editing (Robert Hill) and cast of reliable character players carries one over the less probable plot maneuvers."^[6]

References

^ "The Blue Parrot". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 8 November 2023.
^ Action! Fifty Years in the Life of a Union. Published: 1983 (UK). Publisher: ACTT. ISBN 0 9508993 0 5. ACT Films Limited - Ralph Bond p81 (producer listed as Stanley Haynes)
^ "The Blue Parrot". Kine Weekly. 439 (2417): 18. 15 April 1948.
^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 113. ISBN 9780992936440.
^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 286. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
^ Chibnall, Steve; McFarlane, Brian (2009). The British 'B' Film. London: BFI/Bloomsbury. p. 106. ISBN 978-1-8445-7319-6.