London Belongs to Me

London Belongs to Me (also known as Dulcimer Street) is a British film released in 1948, directed by Sidney Gilliat, and starring Richard Attenborough and Alastair Sim. It was based on the novel London Belongs to Me by Norman Collins, which was also the basis for a seven-part series made by Thames Television and shown in 1977.

London Belongs to Me
Original theatrical poster
Directed bySidney Gilliat
Produced bySidney Gilliat
Frank Launder
J. Arthur Rank (Executive Producer)
Written bySidney Gilliat
J. B. Williams
Based onLondon Belongs to Me
by Norman Collins
StarringRichard Attenborough
Alastair Sim
Wylie Watson
Joyce Carey
Fay Compton
Stephen Murray
Susan Shaw
Music byBenjamin Frankel
CinematographyWilkie Cooper
Edited byThelma Myers
Production
company
Individual Pictures
Distributed byGeneral Film Distributors
Release date
  • 12 August 1948 (1948-08-12) (London)
  • 13 August 1948 (1948-08-13) (United Kingdom)
Running time
112 mins
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Budget£230,000

Plot

The film concerns the residents of a large terraced house in London between Christmas 1938 and September 1939. Among them are the landlady, Mrs Vizzard (played by Joyce Carey), who is a widow and a believer in spiritualism; Mr and Mrs Josser (Wylie Watson and Fay Compton), and their teenage daughter Doris (Susan Shaw); the eccentric spiritualist medium Mr Squales (Sim); the colourful Connie Coke (Ivy St. Helier), the young motor mechanic Percy Boon (Attenborough) and his mother (Gladys Henson).

Percy is in love with the Jossers' daughter and turns to crime to raise money to impress her with, but he bungles a car theft and finds himself accused of murder. Mr Josser digs into his retirement fund to hire the boy a lawyer. Mr Squales testifies against Percy, but in the process exposes to his fiancée Mrs Vizzard the falsity of his claims to be able to contact the dead and to predict the future.

Percy is found guilty, but his neighbours rally to his defence. With the assistance of Mr Josser's staunchly socialist Uncle Henry (Stephen Murray), they gather thousands of signatures on a petition to win him a reprieve. At the end of the film, Percy's supporters march through the rain to Parliament, only to discover just before their arrival that clemency has already been granted.

Cast

Production

Filming started 6 November. The film was shot at Pinewood Studios. The main street was an interior set, but additional location filming took place around London,[1] and at Burnham Beeches in Buckinghamshire.

The film includes the first screen appearance of Arthur Lowe, who makes a brief and uncredited appearance as a commuter on a train.

Patricia Roc was originally cast in the female lead, but pulled out because she did not want to keep playing cockney roles. She was replaced by Susan Shaw.[2][3][4]

Reception

Trade papers called the film a "notable box office attraction" in British cinemas in 1948.[5]

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote, "Norman Collins' story, which is Dickensian in the richness of its pathos and kindly humour, has been triumphantly captured on the screen."[6]

Television series

The novel was also adapted for Thames Television as a series, broadcast in seven one-hour episodes from 6 September to 18 October 1977.[7] The cast included Derek Farr as Mr Josser, Madge Ryan as Mrs Vizzard and Patricia Hayes as Connie Coke.

References
  1. Reel Streets
  2. "GOSSIP AMONG STARS". The Argus. Melbourne. 23 December 1947. p. 9 Supplement: The Argus Woman's Magazine. Retrieved 7 July 2012 – via National Library of Australia.
  3. Jock Phillips. 'Kiwi – A kiwi country: 1930s–2000s', Te Ara – the Encyclopedia of New Zealand, updated 5-May-15
  4. "PATRICIA ROC QUITS PICTURE". The News. 49 (7, 595). Adelaide. 6 December 1947. p. 1. Retrieved 30 August 2017 – via National Library of Australia.
  5. Robert Murphy, Realism and Tinsel: Cinema and Society in Britain 1939-48 2003 p211
  6. "Monthly Film Bulletin review". www.screenonline.org.uk.
  7. "London Belongs To Me". BFI website. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 25 October 2013.
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