Gideon of Scotland Yard

Legendary director John Ford crosses the Atlantic for this film in which the eponymous Inspector Gideon faces outrage and danger in his quest to bring London’s criminals to justice. A comic tone offsets the drama, with an occasional sense of menace hinting at Ford’s mastery of the medium. Also starring Anna Massey, John Loder and Cyril Cusack., Legendary director John Ford crosses the Atlantic for this film in which London Inspector Gideon faces outrage and danger in his quest to bring the capital’s criminals to justice. Comic tone offsets the drama, with an occasional sense of menace hinting at Ford’s mastery of the medium., Drama starring Jack Hawkins as Police Inspector Gideon, who survives outrage and danger in bringing London’s criminals to justice. With Anna Massey, John Loder and Cyril Cusack., Director John Ford traveled to England to film this adaptation of the novel by J.J. Maraca, which details a typical day in the busy life of a detective for Scotland Yard. Inspector George Gideon (Jack Hawkins) begins his working day by confronting one of his fellow officers who is believed to be accepting graft. The sergeant stubbornly denies the charge, but he dies later the same day in a mysterious hit-and-run accident that piques Gideon’s curiosity. While confronting internal strife within Scotland Yard, Gideon also has more typical crimes to investigate, including a murder in Manchester and a burglary in London, both of which were performed by the same vicious criminal. Gideon himself becomes the victim of a holdup and is forced to take a bullet for his troubles, while on the home front he finds himself in disfavor with his family when he forgets to bring home salmon for dinner and lets his daughter’s recital slip his mind. Along with Jack Hawkins, Gideon’s Day features a stellar cast of British actors, including Cyril Cusack, Anna Massey, Laurence Naismith, Dianne Foster, and Billie Whitelaw. For its initial American release, Gideon’s Day (also shown as Gideon of Scotland Yard) was cut from 91 minutes to a mere 54, and distributed in black and white prints instead of the original Technicolor. Fortunately, nearly all the prints currently in circulation are of the uncut, color edition., John Ford’s account of one hectic day in the life of an English police inspector (Jack Hawkins). Kirby: Derek Bond. Kate: Anna Lee. Sally: Anna Massey. Simon: Andrew Ray. Paul: Ronald Howard. Joanna: Dianne Foster. Liggott: Frank Lawton. Ponsford: John Loder., John Ford directs this chronicle of a cop’s eventful day that consists of exposing police corruption, hunting a murderous maniac, and breaking up a bank robbery. Jack Hawkins stars.