The Gentle Gunman

The Gentle Gunman
The Gentle Gunman
Directed by	Basil Dearden
Written by	Roger MacDougall
Based on	The Gentle Gunman by Roger MacDougall
Produced by	Basil Dean; Michael Relph
Starring	John Mills; Dirk Bogarde ; Elizabeth Sellars; Robert Beatty
Cinematography	Gordon Dines
Edited by	Peter Tanner
Music by	John Greenwood
Production; company	Ealing Studios
Distributed by	General Film Distributors
Release dates	October 1952 (UK); 30 September 1953 (U.S.);
Running time	86 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English

The Gentle Gunman is a 1952 British drama film directed by Basil Dearden and starring John Mills, Dirk Bogarde and Elizabeth Sellars. The film is based on a 1950 play of the same title by Roger MacDougall^[1] that was televised by the BBC in September 1950.^[2] It was produced by Ealing Studios. The film's sets were designed by the art director Jim Morahan.

Plot

Terence (John Mills) and Matthew (Dirk Bogarde) Sullivan are two IRA men in London during World War II. Terry starts questioning the worth of the IRA's war against the United Kingdom that involves planting bombs in a crowded London Underground station and becomes marked for death by the IRA. In addition to Terry's questioning of the IRA's methods, Matt is affected by a mother whose husband and son had joined the IRA with fatal results. Though Matthew escapes capture in London, his comrades-in-arms Connolly (Liam Redmond) and Patsy (Jack MacGowran) are captured by the British police. Both Terry and the IRA leader Shinto (Robert Beatty) vow to free the men and take them from their trial in Belfast to safety in the Irish Free State, but Shinto favours more violent methods than Terry.

Cast

John Mills as Terence Sullivan
Dirk Bogarde as Matt Sullivan
Robert Beatty as Shinto
Elizabeth Sellars as Maureen Fagan
Barbara Mullen as Molly Fagan
Eddie Byrne as Flynn
Joseph Tomelty as Dr Brannigan
Gilbert Harding as Henry Truethome
James Kenney as Johnny Fagan
Liam Redmond as Connolly
Michael Golden as Murphy
Jack MacGowran as Patsy McGuire
Terence Alexander as Ship's Officer (uncredited)
Patric Doonan as Sentry (uncredited)

Critical reception

The British magazine Time Out thought the film was "stiff" and "overplotted",^[3] while the British Film Institute thought the film struggled to "find the right tone" and culminated with a "car-crash of an ending".^[4] The New York Times thought that the film had "failed to search beneath the surface" of the screen-play and described much of the content as "superficial".^[5]

Quotes

Englishman: "The situation in England is serious, but it's never hopeless"
Irishman: "The situation in Ireland is hopeless but it's never serious"

References

^ "Production of The Gentle Gunman | Theatricalia". theatricalia.com.
^ "Radio Times". London: BBC. 24 September 1950. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
^ "The Gentle Gunman". Time Out. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
^ "Gentle Gunman, The (1952)". British Film Institute. Retrieved 28 May 2014.
^ "The Gentle Gunman (1952)". British Film Institute. 1 October 1953. Retrieved 28 May 2014.