★ 6 / 10
Ealing take on the Irish Troubles. Directed by
John Chard
Ealing take on the Irish Troubles. Directed by Basil Dearden and adapted to screenplay from his own play by Roger MacDougal, The Gentle Gunman finds John Mills…
Ealing take on the Irish Troubles.
Directed by Basil Dearden and adapted to screenplay from his own play by Roger MacDougal, The Gentle Gunman finds John Mills and Dirk Bogarde as brothers in the IRA circa 1941. Matt (Bogarde) is the young and hungry in the name of the cause brother, Terence (Mills) has grown tired of the violence and questions the IRA’s methods. This puts a strain on their relationship, whilst it also puts Terence on a collision course with the IRA superiors who brand him as a traitor.
The Irish Troubles has never been an easy subject to broach in movies, the political stand point of the film makers invariably leaning towards bias. Whilst critics and reviewers have to battle with their own convictions when trying to stay firmly on the fence. The Gentle Gunman is an attempt at being an anti violence movie, one with a “gentle” pro British slant from that most British of film studios, Ealing.
Unfortunately it’s tonally all over the place, awash with a mixed bunch of characters that range from apparent comic relief, to rabid Irish terrorists and a town crier like British bigot. Things are further put into the realm of the unbelievable by Mills and Bogarde trying to hold down Irish accents, a shame because without the fluctuation of the vocal chords the performances are rather good.
It’s also a bit too stagey and the pace often drags itself into a stupor, making the adequate action scenes act more as a merciful release than anything truly exciting. On the plus side the film looks amazing at times, with Gordon Dines (The Blue Lamp) on cinematography dealing firmly in film noir filters. Which goes some way to explain how the film has come to be in a couple of reference books about British noir. But really it’s a marginal entry and all told it's just a routine drama from a Studio who were much better in other genre spheres. 6/10
★ 7 / 10
"Wouldn't it be better if he had a steady job? Coming home with a cheque, instead of a gun in his pocket."
morrison-dylan-fan
Taking a look on Talking Pictures free online catch-up service to see what Ealing titles were currently on the site, I was pleased to spot a movie from the…
Taking a look on Talking Pictures free online catch-up service to see what Ealing titles were currently on the site, I was pleased to spot a movie from the studio which I had not heard of before, leading to me meeting a gentle gunman.
View on the film:
Overlapping dissolves to reveal a hidden bomb, director Basil Dearden & The Third Key (1956-also reviewed) cinematographer Gordon Dines following the divide between the brothers with an excellent, ultra-stylized Film Noir atmosphere, where Dearden cuts through the crisp high contrast lighting, with jagged panning shots over rugged terrain, push-ins on Terry wrestling with his long-held views,and stark close-ups, as Matt becomes increasingly involved with the IRA.
Seeing their family get divided, (with Elizabeth Sellars being wonderful as Fagan) John Mills and Dirk Bogarde give wonderful performances as brothers Terence and Matt, who fight each other over trying to decide if they should stay loyal to family, or the cause. Sadly, the attempt at intense turns by both actors, is undermined by them being forced by the studio to put on Irish accents, which keep gently sliding into iffy.
Continuing with the tight-knitted community (via Matt, Terence and their families) that is a major recurring theme of Ealing Studios productions, Roger MacDougall adapts his own play, and initially appears to take a neutral stance in examining the sides that the brothers take. Disappointingly, as the film attempts to grab a happy ending that comes off as forced, MacDougall drops any attempt at showing the conflict from both sides, in order to take the side of Terence, with little questions allowed to be raised, of the cause which has trigged the conflict with the gentle gunman.
★ 5 / 10
An ending straight out of Mack Sennett!
trevorandrewmillar-70769
Best bit in this film is "Terence's Soliloquy", where John Mills delivers a speech straight out of Sean O'Casey; basically "people are alike all over, Germans…
Best bit in this film is "Terence's Soliloquy", where John Mills delivers a speech straight out of Sean O'Casey; basically "people are alike all over, Germans, British, Irish, French, American, they all pay too much in rent and taxes, it's splitting them up into countries that causes all the trouble"; the ending was like something out of Mack Sennett's "Keystone Kops"; Robert Beatty (Shinto)'s IRA cell races off into the distance, the GARDA in hot pursuit, everybody firing guns out of the car windows like stagecoach passengers pursued by Apaches! No wonder Terence sighs and takes Dirk Bogard off for a drink somewhere.
80%
AUDIENCE
6.4/10
592
