Tiger Bay (1959 Film)

Brilliant and touching movie. Terrific watch. Awesome acting from the three main characters: Sir John Mills (Police Superintendent Graham), Horzt Bucholz (Bronislav Korchinsky, a professional Polish seaman), and Hayley Mills in her debut performance as a child actress (Gillie, a tomboyish, wayward young girl). 

An excellent crime thriller. Exactly why old films are unmatched and remain so. Those moments before the ending are great, showing the bond between Bronislav Korchinsky, (guilty of murder) and the girl Gillie.

Tiger Bay is a 1959 British crime drama film based on the short story "Rodolphe et le Revolver" by Noël Calef. It was directed by J. Lee Thompson, produced by John Hawkesworth, and co-written by John Hawkesworth and Shelley Smith (pseudonym of Nancy Hermione Bodington). It stars John Mills as a police superintendent investigating a murder; his real-life daughter Hayley Mills, in her debut performance, her first major film role, as a girl who witnesses the murder; and Horst Buchholz as a young sailor who commits the murder in a moment of passion. Unusually the overall ambience is one of sympathy towards the killer, seeing him as a basically good person, and victim of circumstance.

The film was shot mostly on location in the Tiger Bay district of Cardiff, at Newport Transporter Bridge in Newport (12 miles/19 km from Cardiff) and at Avonmouth Docks in Bristol. It features many authentic scenes of the children's street culture and the black street culture of the time, along with many dockside shots and scenes in real pubs and the surrounding countryside. The name 'Tiger Bay' was used by sailors, as a slang term for docklands that were rough and infamous areas. The Bay was also home for many people including newcomers who married Welsh inhabitants, creating a melting-pot of foreign and Welsh culture.  

Video. Tiger Bay 1959 John Mills, Horst Buchholz & Hayley Mills. Youtube, uploaded by DK Classics. Accessed April 18, 2008.

Plot Summary:

In Tiger Bay, tomboyish young girl Gillie (Hayley Mills) witnesses the brutal killing of a woman at the hands of visiting sailor Korchinsky (Horst Buchholz). Gillie keeps Korchinsky's black revolver instead of reporting the crime to the authorities. When Welsh Detective Graham (John Mills) discovers that Gillie has the murder weapon, fiery young Gillie concocts a web of lies to throw Detective Graham off the course. (For in-depth plot summary, visit wikipedia.) 

Links to Reviews:

Screen: Like Father, Like Daughter; John Mills' Hayley, 12, Stars in 'Tiger Bay'. The New York Times. Written by Bosley Crowther. Dec. 15, 1959. Accessed April 18, 2008. 

Tiger Bay 1959. Christina Wehner: Classic movies, musicals, old books, and the great american songbook. Accessed April 18, 2023.

Tiger Bay 1959. Directed by J. Lee Thompson. Letterboxd. Accessed April 18, 2008. 

Tiger Bay 1959. Screen Online UK. Accessed April 18, 2008.

Resources: 

Tiger Bay (1959 Film). en.wikipedia.org.   

 

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