Tiger Bay (film)
Encyclopedia
Tiger Bay is a 1959
British crime drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson
and produced and co-written by John Hawkesworth
. It stars John Mills
as a police superintendent who investigates a murder, his daughter Hayley Mills
, in 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.
The film was shot mostly on location in the Tiger Bay
district of Cardiff
, at Newport Transporter Bridge
in Newport
(12 miles 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. It marks a vital transitional moment in the move towards the British New Wave
cinema exemplified a few years later by A Taste of Honey
.
, Wales
, a young Polish seaman
named Bronislav Korchinsky (Horst Buchholz
) returns from his latest voyage to visit his girlfriend Anya (Yvonne Mitchell
). When he finds a woman named Christine (Shari) living in her apartment, the landlord tells him that he evicted Anya and gives him her new address, which is also the home of a young girl named Gillie Evans (Hayley Mills
), an orphaned tomboy
who lives with her Aunt. Gillie's angelic face hides the fact that she is a habitual liar, and she dearly wants a cap gun so she can play "Cowboys and Indians" with the boys in her neighbourhood. Korchinsky arrives shortly after she gets into a fight, and she begins to like him as she leads him to her apartment building.
Korchinsky finds Anya in her new apartment, but she wants nothing to do with him. Dissatisfied with waiting while he is at sea, she has been seeing another man, a sportscaster named Barkley (Anthony Dawson
). When Korchinsky assaults her, she defends herself with a gun, but he takes the gun from her, becomes furious with jealousy, and shoots her dead. Gillie witnesses the incident through the mail slot in the apartment door. When the landlord investigates the noise, Gillie hides in a closet, and when Korchinsky hides the gun near her, she takes it and runs into her apartment.
Wanting to keep the gun, Gillie lies to police superintendent Graham (John Mills
) about what she saw. Korchinsky follows her to a wedding at her church, where she shows the gun to a boy who sings with her in the choir, and afterwards he chases her into the attic. After he takes the gun from her, they make friends and he agrees to take her to sea with him as he flees the country. He learns that a Venezuelan merchant ship, the Poloma, will leave port the next day, and Gillie leads him to a hiding place in the countryside, where he entertains her by re-enacting his overseas adventures. When the Poloma is due to sail, and the scene of the vessel locking out is actually filmed at Avonmouth, he persuades Gillie to let him go alone, retrieves his identification papers from Christine, and signs on to the ship.
Meanwhile, the police investigate the murder. The mother of Gillie's choir friend finds the bullet Gillie gave him, the boy tells Graham about the gun, Christine brings a photograph of Korchinsky to the police, and Barkley admits to owning the gun and seeing Anya after she was shot. Some men find Gillie at the hideout and take her to the police, where she continues to lie, identifying Barkley as the murderer. With Barkley as a suspect, she admits to having seen the crime and re-enacts it for Graham at the apartment, but she accidentally reveals that she knows the killer is Polish. She still denies knowing Korchinksy, but Graham drives her to the pilot Station at Barry Docks and takes her on a Pilot Boat to the Poloma as it approaches the boundary of territorial waters three miles from shore.
At this point Gillie is obviously trying to obstruct Graham's progress. When he confronts her and Korchinsky aboard the Poloma, they deny knowing each other, and the captain stops him when he arrests Korchinsky because the ships navigating officer plots Poloma's position just outside the three mile limit which is beyond the jurisdiction of the British police
Finally, Gillie falls overboard while trying to stow away on the ship so she can remain with Korchinksy. Being the only person to see her fall, Korchinsky ignores the risk of arrest and dives into the water to save her and they are both rescued by the police boat. Korchinsky admits his guilt after Gillie hugs him, and Graham commends him for his bravery in saving her.
1959 in film
The year 1959 in film involved some significant events, with Ben-Hur winning a record 11 Academy Awards.-Events:* The Three Stooges make their 190th and last short film, Sappy Bull Fighters....
British crime drama film directed by J. Lee Thompson
J. Lee Thompson
John Lee Thompson , better known as J. Lee Thompson, was an English film director, active in England and Hollywood.- Early years :...
and produced and co-written by John Hawkesworth
John Hawkesworth (producer)
John Hawkesworth was an English television and film producer and writer best known for his work on the period drama Upstairs, Downstairs.-Early life:...
. It stars John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
as a police superintendent who investigates a murder, his daughter Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
, in her first major film role, as a girl who witnesses the murder, and Horst Buchholz
Horst Buchholz
Horst Werner Buchholz was a German actor, remembered for his part in The Magnificent Seven and Nine Hours to Rama. He appeared in over sixty films during his acting career from 1952–2002.-Life and work:...
as a young sailor who commits the murder in a moment of passion.
The film was shot mostly on location in the Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay
Tiger Bay was the local name for an area of Cardiff which covered Butetown and Cardiff Docks. It was re-branded as Cardiff Bay following the building of the Cardiff Barrage which dams the tidal rivers Ely and Taff to create a body of water.-History:...
district of Cardiff
Cardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, at Newport Transporter Bridge
Newport Transporter Bridge
The Newport Transporter Bridge is a transporter bridge that crosses the River Usk in Newport, South Wales. It is a Grade I listed structure. Designed by French engineer Ferdinand Arnodin, it was built in 1906 and opened by Godfrey Charles Morgan, 1st Viscount Tredegar on 12 September 1906...
in Newport
Newport
Newport is a city and unitary authority area in Wales. Standing on the banks of the River Usk, it is located about east of Cardiff and is the largest urban area within the historic county boundaries of Monmouthshire and the preserved county of Gwent...
(12 miles from Cardiff) and at Avonmouth Docks
Avonmouth Docks
The Avonmouth Docks are part of the Port of Bristol, in England. They are situated on the northern side of the mouth of the River Avon, opposite the Royal Portbury Dock on the southern side, where the river joins the Severn estuary, within Avonmouth....
in Bristol
Bristol
Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...
. It features many authentic scenes of the children's street culture
Children's street culture
Children's street culture refers to the cumulative culture created by young children. Collectively, this body of knowledge is passed down from one generation of urban children to the next, and can also be passed between different groups of children . It is most common in children between the ages...
and the black
Black British
Black British is a term used to describe British people of Black African descent, especially those of Afro-Caribbean background. The term has been used from the 1950s to refer to Black people from former British colonies in the West Indies and Africa, who are residents of the United Kingdom and...
street culture of the time, along with many dockside shots and scenes in real pubs and the surrounding countryside. It marks a vital transitional moment in the move towards the British New Wave
British New Wave
The British New Wave is the name given to a trend in filmmaking among directors in Britain in the late 1950s and early 1960s. The label is a translation of Nouvelle Vague, the French term first applied to the films of François Truffaut, and Jean-Luc Godard among others.There is considerable overlap...
cinema exemplified a few years later by A Taste of Honey
A Taste of Honey (film)
A Taste of Honey is a 1961 British film adaptation of the play of the same name by Shelagh Delaney. Delaney adapted the screenplay herself, aided by director Tony Richardson, who had previously directed the first production of the play...
.
Plot summary
In CardiffCardiff
Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...
, Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
, a young Polish seaman
Sailor
A sailor, mariner, or seaman is a person who navigates water-borne vessels or assists in their operation, maintenance, or service. The term can apply to professional mariners, military personnel, and recreational sailors as well as a plethora of other uses...
named Bronislav Korchinsky (Horst Buchholz
Horst Buchholz
Horst Werner Buchholz was a German actor, remembered for his part in The Magnificent Seven and Nine Hours to Rama. He appeared in over sixty films during his acting career from 1952–2002.-Life and work:...
) returns from his latest voyage to visit his girlfriend Anya (Yvonne Mitchell
Yvonne Mitchell
Yvonne Mitchell was an English stage, television and film actor. She was born Yvonne Frances Joseph, but in 1946 changed her name by deed poll to Yvonne Mitchell . Her mother's maiden name was Mitchell. After beginning her acting career in theatre, Mitchell progressed to films in the late 1940s...
). When he finds a woman named Christine (Shari) living in her apartment, the landlord tells him that he evicted Anya and gives him her new address, which is also the home of a young girl named Gillie Evans (Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills
Hayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
), an orphaned tomboy
Tomboy
A tomboy is a girl who exhibits characteristics or behaviors considered typical of the gender role of a boy, including the wearing of typically masculine-oriented clothes and engaging in games and activities that are often physical in nature, and which are considered in many cultures to be the...
who lives with her Aunt. Gillie's angelic face hides the fact that she is a habitual liar, and she dearly wants a cap gun so she can play "Cowboys and Indians" with the boys in her neighbourhood. Korchinsky arrives shortly after she gets into a fight, and she begins to like him as she leads him to her apartment building.
Korchinsky finds Anya in her new apartment, but she wants nothing to do with him. Dissatisfied with waiting while he is at sea, she has been seeing another man, a sportscaster named Barkley (Anthony Dawson
Anthony Dawson
Anthony Dawson was a Scottish-born actor, best known for his supporting roles in British films.Born in Edinburgh, he made his film debut in 1943's They Met in the Dark, going on to appear in such classic British films as The Way to the Stars , The Queen of Spades , and The Wooden Horse , before...
). When Korchinsky assaults her, she defends herself with a gun, but he takes the gun from her, becomes furious with jealousy, and shoots her dead. Gillie witnesses the incident through the mail slot in the apartment door. When the landlord investigates the noise, Gillie hides in a closet, and when Korchinsky hides the gun near her, she takes it and runs into her apartment.
Wanting to keep the gun, Gillie lies to police superintendent Graham (John Mills
John Mills
Sir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
) about what she saw. Korchinsky follows her to a wedding at her church, where she shows the gun to a boy who sings with her in the choir, and afterwards he chases her into the attic. After he takes the gun from her, they make friends and he agrees to take her to sea with him as he flees the country. He learns that a Venezuelan merchant ship, the Poloma, will leave port the next day, and Gillie leads him to a hiding place in the countryside, where he entertains her by re-enacting his overseas adventures. When the Poloma is due to sail, and the scene of the vessel locking out is actually filmed at Avonmouth, he persuades Gillie to let him go alone, retrieves his identification papers from Christine, and signs on to the ship.
Meanwhile, the police investigate the murder. The mother of Gillie's choir friend finds the bullet Gillie gave him, the boy tells Graham about the gun, Christine brings a photograph of Korchinsky to the police, and Barkley admits to owning the gun and seeing Anya after she was shot. Some men find Gillie at the hideout and take her to the police, where she continues to lie, identifying Barkley as the murderer. With Barkley as a suspect, she admits to having seen the crime and re-enacts it for Graham at the apartment, but she accidentally reveals that she knows the killer is Polish. She still denies knowing Korchinksy, but Graham drives her to the pilot Station at Barry Docks and takes her on a Pilot Boat to the Poloma as it approaches the boundary of territorial waters three miles from shore.
At this point Gillie is obviously trying to obstruct Graham's progress. When he confronts her and Korchinsky aboard the Poloma, they deny knowing each other, and the captain stops him when he arrests Korchinsky because the ships navigating officer plots Poloma's position just outside the three mile limit which is beyond the jurisdiction of the British police
Finally, Gillie falls overboard while trying to stow away on the ship so she can remain with Korchinksy. Being the only person to see her fall, Korchinsky ignores the risk of arrest and dives into the water to save her and they are both rescued by the police boat. Korchinsky admits his guilt after Gillie hugs him, and Graham commends him for his bravery in saving her.
Cast
- John MillsJohn MillsSir John Mills CBE , born Lewis Ernest Watts Mills, was an English actor who made more than 120 films in a career spanning seven decades.-Life and career:...
as Police Superintendent Graham - Horst BuchholzHorst BuchholzHorst Werner Buchholz was a German actor, remembered for his part in The Magnificent Seven and Nine Hours to Rama. He appeared in over sixty films during his acting career from 1952–2002.-Life and work:...
as Bronislav Korchinsky, a professional Polish seaman - Hayley MillsHayley MillsHayley Mills is an English actress. The daughter of John Mills and Mary Hayley Bell, and sister of actress Juliet Mills, Mills began her acting career as a child and was hailed as a promising newcomer, winning the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer for Tiger Bay , the Academy Juvenile Award...
as Gillie Evans, a wayward young girl - Yvonne MitchellYvonne MitchellYvonne Mitchell was an English stage, television and film actor. She was born Yvonne Frances Joseph, but in 1946 changed her name by deed poll to Yvonne Mitchell . Her mother's maiden name was Mitchell. After beginning her acting career in theatre, Mitchell progressed to films in the late 1940s...
as Anya Haluba, Korchinksy's long-time girlfriend - Megs JenkinsMegs JenkinsMuguette Mary "Megs" Jenkins was an English character actress who appeared in British films and television programmes.-Life and career:...
as Mrs Phillips - Anthony DawsonAnthony DawsonAnthony Dawson was a Scottish-born actor, best known for his supporting roles in British films.Born in Edinburgh, he made his film debut in 1943's They Met in the Dark, going on to appear in such classic British films as The Way to the Stars , The Queen of Spades , and The Wooden Horse , before...
as Barclay, Anya's new boyfriend - George SelwayGeorge SelwayGeorge Selway was a British actor who had a lengthy career in film and television.Coincidentally, he played a police sergeant in two films starring Hayley Mills: Tiger Bay and Sky West and Crooked ....
as Detective Sergeant Harvey - Shari as Christine
- George PastellGeorge PastellGeorge Pastell was a Cypriot character actor in British films and television programmes. His real name was George Pastellides....
as Poloma Captain - Paul StassinoPaul StassinoPhaedros Stassinos is a Greek-Cypriot actor whose international stage name is Paul Stassino.He was born in Cyprus but spent most of his acting career in Britain....
as Poloma First Officer - Marne MaitlandMarne MaitlandJames Marne Maitland was an Anglo-Indian character actor in British films and television programmes.He made his film debut in Cairo Road , and went onto be type cast as villains from the Far East, particularly for Hammer Film Productions...
as Dr. Das - Meredith EdwardsMeredith Edwards (actor)Gwilym Meredith Edwards was a Welsh character actor and writer.He was born in Rhosllannerchrugog, Denbighshire, Wales, the son of a collier. He became an actor in 1938, first with the Welsh National Theatre Company, then the Liverpool Playhouse...
as PC Williams - Marianne StoneMarianne StoneMarianne Stone was a British character actress. She appeared in many films from the early 1940s to the late 1980s...
as Mrs Williams - Rachel ThomasRachel ThomasRachel Thomas OBE , was a Welsh character actress, well known to film and television audiences.Born in the village of Alltwen, near Pontardawe, Wales, she appeared in such classic films as The Proud Valley with Paul Robeson, Blue Scar and Tiger Bay...
as Mrs Parry - Brian Hammond as Dai Parry
- Kenneth GriffithKenneth GriffithKenneth Griffith was a Welsh actor and documentary filmmaker.-Early life:He was born Kenneth Reginald Griffiths in Tenby, Pembrokeshire, Wales. Six months after his birth his parents split up and left Tenby, leaving Kenneth with his paternal grandparents, Emily and Ernest, who immediately adopted...
as Choirmaster - Eynon EvansEynon EvansEynon Evans also known as E. Eynon Rees was a Welsh writer and film actor of the 1950s, mainly known for his radio and television work. During the 1940s he appeared on the BBC radio variety show Welsh Rarebit as the comedic character Tommy Troubles, reaching an audience of 12 million.-Career...
as Mr. Morgan - Christopher RhodesChristopher RhodesSir Christopher George Rhodes, 3rd Baronet was an English film and television actor.-Early life:Rhodes was the only son of Sir John Rhodes, 2nd Baronet, and was educated at Eton College and Magdalen College, Oxford. During the Second World War he served with the Essex Regiment, reaching the rank...
as Inspector Bridges - Edward CastEdward Cast-Selected filmography:* The Dam Busters * Private's Progress * The One That Got Away * Tiger Bay * Deadly Record * Linda * Payroll * It's All Happening...
as Detective Constable Thomas
Awards
- 1960 Won BAFTA Film Award - Most Promising Newcomer to Film, Hayley Mills
- 1960 Nominated BAFTA Film Award - Best British Film, J. Lee Thompson
- 1960 Nominated BAFTA Film Award - Best British Screenplay, John Hawkesworth and Shelley Smith
- 1960 Nominated BAFTA Film Award - Best Film from any Source, J. Lee Thompson
- 1959 Won Silver Bear, 9th Berlin International Film Festival9th Berlin International Film FestivalThe 9th annual Berlin International Film Festival was held from June 26 to July 7, 1959.-Jury:* Robert Aldrich * Johan Jacobsen* Charles Ford* John Bryan* Ignazio Tranquilli* Shigueo Miyata* Wali Eddine Sameh* O. E...
Special Prize , Hayley Mills - 1959 Nominated Golden Berlin Bear , J. Lee Thompson