The Gentle Gunman

The Irish 'Troubles' might seem an unlikely subject for an Ealing film of the early fifties but when you consider it's a Basil Dearden/Michael Relph movie then perhaps not, for Dearden and Relph were the team behind "Sapphire" and "Victim" which tackled racism and homosexuality at a time when such subjects were considered taboo. It's set during the Second World War and it's about the IRA doing their bit to heighten the Blitz in London and casts John Mills and Dirk Bogarde as very unlikely Irish brothers, one for the use of violence and the other against it. Bogarde, in particular, is miscast, (he never wanted to make the movie), and his attempt at an Irish accent is pretty awful but Mills, once again, proves the better actor and turns in a fairly credible performance while Dearden ensures the suspense quota remains high. An excellent supporting cast includes Jack MacGowran, Liam Redmond, Robert Beatty and Barbara Mullen. It's unlikely it will ever go down as one of the better films to deal with the Irish question but neither is it negligible and it is worth seeing.

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

Hard to understand the mediocre reviews for this classic. Don't be put off - The Gentle Gunman is a must-see. The story is engrossing - reminiscent of better-known Irish-revolution films like Odd Man Out and The Informer, and every bit their equal. The two brothers - one headstrong, the other cool and clever - are perfectly matched in a love-hate duel to the death. The casting is hard to beat - John Mills and Dirk Bogarde together in one film. Wow. The supporting parts are excellent as well, especially Elizabeth Sellars in an unusually negative role. Then there's Basil Dearden, one of the best UK directors of the 1950s, doing what is surely his best work ever. The photography is breathtaking, especially the scenes out in the hills of Ireland. These contrast perfectly with the dark and gritty scenes in London. Unlike so many films dealing with the IRA, The Gentle Gunman manages to embrace both heartbreak and hope, while detouring expertly from the obvious love and revenge subplots. I don't hand out 10/10 ratings lightly, but in this case it's barely sufficient.

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.

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.

This is a truly woeful effort from Ealing.So much about it is wrong.Most of the actors are ill suited to their roles and end up speaking like Barry Fitzgerald.Characters are underwritten.John Mills part in particular.Also the action is ridiculous.IRA men are taken to serve a sentence in Belfast!When the guards discover an intruder in the docks they don't guess what he is after.John Mills is allowed on a navy ship without question and then gets away.Naturally unshown as the writer could not dream up a plausible way of showing this.Despite the fact that the 2 prisoners have escaped the prison van still shows up at the yard.Difficult to know who the studios were aiming at with this film and little surprise that it had only a short time left of its existence.

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.

The Irish 'Troubles' might seem an unlikely subject for an Ealing film of the early fifties but when you consider it's a Basil Dearden/Michael Relph movie then perhaps not, for Dearden and Relph were the team behind "Sapphire" and "Victim" which tackled racism and homosexuality at a time when such subjects were considered taboo. It's set during the Second World War and it's about the IRA doing their bit to heighten the Blitz in London and casts John Mills and Dirk Bogarde as very unlikely Irish brothers, one for the use of violence and the other against it. Bogarde, in particular, is miscast, (he never wanted to make the movie), and his attempt at an Irish accent is pretty awful but Mills, once again, proves the better actor and turns in a fairly credible performance while Dearden ensures the suspense quota remains high. An excellent supporting cast includes Jack MacGowran, Liam Redmond, Robert Beatty and Barbara Mullen. It's unlikely it will ever go down as one of the better films to deal with the Irish question but neither is it negligible and it is worth seeing.

Many British films make light of The Troubles (like the same team's 'The League of Gentlemen') in stark contrast to the earnestness with which they depict them in dramas. By contrast this film paints a stark picture of the IRA when they wore trenchcoats and trilbies, the leads as usual played by Brits (and one Canadian) with authentic Irish players making up the supporting cast.

This small gem of a thriller is set in the ambiguous battleground of Northern Ireland during World War Two, where a hotheaded young Irish patriot (i.e. terrorist) learns his older and wiser brother (a disenchanted ex-IRA soldier) has been suspected by his old comrades of duplicity. It may not be a classic, but the film offers plenty of action, some unobtrusive melodrama, and a script that never strays too far from the larger issues. The optimistic ending may ring false, but it at least provides a memorable punch line, when an Englishman and his Irish companion are shown celebrating their differences with a toast. Says the Britisher: "To England, where the situation is serious but never hopeless", to which the Irishman replies: "To Ireland, where the situation is hopeless but never serious."