Tiger Bay (1959) - film review

On his return to Cardiff after a stint at sea, a young Polish sailor named Bronislav Korchinsky learns that his girlfriend Anya has moved out of his lodgings and is having a relationship with another man.  In a violent argument, Korchinsky shoots Anya dead with a gun given to her by her new lover.  The murder is witnessed by Gillie Evans, a 12-year-old tomboy who lives in the same tenement with her aunt.  As Korchinsky flees in panic, Gillie recovers the gun he has attempted to hide.  A short while later, the girl is confronted by the Polish man who, fearing she may betray him to the police, decides to abscond with her.  Unaware of the danger she is in and thinking that Korchinsky regards her as a friend, Gillie persuades him to hide out with her in the countryside...

Hayley Mills was just 12 years old when she made her screen debut with no previous acting experience in this compelling crime drama.  She stars opposite her father John, a long established actor of British cinema, and German heartthrob Horst Buchholz, who was on the brink of a successful international film career.  Despite the abundance of acting talent that surrounds her, Hayley Mills steals the film almost from the moment she first enters the frame, so convincing is she in the role of a feisty tomboy with a misplaced sense of loyalty and a disturbing interest in firearms.  Her scenes with Buchholz are the most moving and intense, with both actors suggesting far more in looks and gestures than any screenwriter could hope to convey in words.  The scenes between Mills and her father are just as well played and furnish the film with a few well-judged moments of humour.

Masterfully directed by J. Lee Thompson, Tiger Bay represents something of transition piece in British cinema of the late 1950s, a conventional crime-drama with more than a hint of the New Wave realism that would take hold a few years later.  The exterior location sequences, shot on the busy Cardiff Docks, and rundown tenement interiors give a flavour of social realism, although the film is more suspense thriller than kitchen sink drama.  The only thing that mars an otherwise faultless production is the classic B-movie plot that relies far too heavily on contrivance for its own good.  The clunky storyline and superficial secondary characters date the film far more than the performances and the sumptuous black-and-white photography, which both bring a striking modernity.  Tiger Bay is an essential piece of British cinema, one that offers one of the silver screen’s most authentic and intelligent depictions of childhood.

© Chris Alderton 2010

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