The Blue Lamp

Artist: James Boswell
Format: UK Quad (30"x 40")
Condition: Excellent
Year: 1950

Description

British production company Ealing Studios are now best-known for their output of comedy films in the decade following WWII with many like “Kind Hearts and Coronets” (1949) and “The Ladykillers” (1955) now regarded as classics of the genre. However, often forgotten are their more serious productions, some of which also replicate the brilliance and influence of the Ealing comedy canon. “The Blue Lamp”, released in 1950, is one such film whose legacy can still be seen in contemporary British film and television.

 

"The Blue Lamp" was an early example of the British social realism films that surfaced in the 1950's-60’s and tells the story of the police clashing with juvenile delinquents in post-war London. A huge success on original release in Britain, it had the highest audiences for a British film that year, and went on to win the BAFTA Award for Best British Film. A further sign of its success was that in 1955 it was adapted into a television series with many characters from the film returning in “Dixon of Dock Green” which ran for a staggering 432 episodes (1955-76).

The film was also provided Dirk Bogarde with one of his breakout roles, playing a thug who kills a police officer. Throughout the 1950’s Bogarde’s image was that of the heart-throb matinee idol which saw him become one of Britain’s most popular stars. In the 1960’s he made efforts to depart from this type-casting in pursuit of more challenging roles which brought him critical attention and in the 1970’s he became strongly associated with European art-house cinema, starring in an array of acclaimed and controversial films like “Death in Venice” (1971) and “The Night Porter” (1974).

The striking UK Quad poster for the film was designed by New Zealand-born British artist James Boswell. Boswell was a controversial figure, he had been thrown out of the Royal Academy of Art twice for his radical politics (he would go on to join the Communist Party) as well as for his approach to art. His skill as an artist and painter though are undeniable with sketch books that he filled during his time serving in Iraq during WWII being exhibited at the Tate Modern in 2006.

Boswell’s distinctive and somewhat unusual artwork for “The Blue Lamp” is highly colourful and arresting, reflecting a sense of the growing tension between the youth of London and institutions such as the police with the use of reds and yellows, particularly on the character’s face, signifying the violence and bloodshed just waiting to erupt. In his career Boswell would provide the artwork for three Ealing film posters though as the Quad for “Pool of London” also attached shows (courtesy of emovieposter.com) he had real skill in portraying the unsettling and seedy landscapes of the films he worked on.

 

This poster has been restored and linen-backed.