I Believe in You ** (1952, Cecil Parker, Celia Johnson, Godfrey Tearle, Harry Fowler, Joan Collins, Laurence Harvey, George Relph) – Classic Movie Review 9,327

Joan Collins (as good-time girl Norma), Laurence Harvey (as spiv Jordie) and Harry Fowler (as decent young lad Hooker) play a trio of young offenders in Ealing Studios’ 1952 British drama film I Believe in You. 

Director Basil Dearden’s 1952 Ealing Studios black and white British drama I Believe in You tells the glumly serious slice-of-life tale of the training of a retired British colonial civil servant Henry Phipps (Cecil Parker) as a probation officer, who then involves himself in the cases of delinquent teenagers.

Joan Collins (as good-time girl Norma Hart), Laurence Harvey (as spiv Jordie Bennett) and Harry Fowler (as decent young lad Charlie Hooker) play a trio of young offenders, Sidney James is a bobby, Sergeant Body, while Celia Johnson (as Matty Matheson) and George Relph (as Mr Dove) are Parker’s colleagues. There is fine playing from all of them, and a long list of attractive performers, but an uninspired story holds the film back.

I Believe in You is a well-meaning movie, with good Fifties detail that provides a clear picture of what British life was like back then, but it is not the best of Ealing Studios.

This is certainly the one for all those who want to know what Joan Collins looked like, aged 19, in her fourth picture. She debuted in Lady Godiva Rides Again [Bikini Baby] as Beauty Queen Contestant (uncredited) in 1951, followed by The Woman’s Angle and Judgment Deferred (both 1952).

Joan Collins, Laurence Harvey in I Believe in You (1952).

The screenplay by Michael Relph, Basil Dearden, Jack Whittingham and Nicholas Phipps is based on the autobiographical novel Court Circular by Sewell Stokes.

Also in the cast are Godfrey Tearle, Ernest Jay, Ursula Howells, Katie Johnson, Ada Reeve, Brenda de Banzie, Alex McCrindle, Laurence Naismith, Gladys Henson, Stanley Escane, Fred Griffiths, Richard Hart, Judith Furse, Neil Wilson, Herbert Walton, Cyril Waites, John Orchard, Edward Evans, Glyn Houston, David Hannaford, Peggy Ann Clifford and Gwynne Whitby.

It runs 95 minutes.

It was released on 5 March 1952.

I Believe in You is directed by Basil Dearden, runs 95 minutes, is made by Ealing Studios, is distributed by General Film Distributors, is written by Michael Relph, Basil Dearden, Jack Whittingham and Nicholas Phipps, based on the autobiographical novel Court Circular by Sewell Stokes, is produced by Michael Relph and Basil Dearden, is shot by  Gordon Dines, and is scored by Ernest Irving.

The cast are Celia Johnson as Matty Matheson, Cecil Parker as Henry Phipps, Godfrey Tearle as Judge Pyke, Harry Fowler as Charlie Hooker, George Relph as Mr Dove, Joan Collins as Norma Hart, Laurence Harvey as Jordie Bennett, Ernest Jay as Judge Quayle, Ursula Howells as Hon Ursula, Sid James as Sergeant Body, Katie Johnson as Miss Mackline, Ada Reeve as Mrs Crockett, Brenda De Banzie as Mrs Hooker, Alex McCrindle as Tom Haines, Laurence Naismith as Sergeant Braxton, Gladys Henson as Mrs Stevens, Richard Hart as Eric Stevens, Stanley Escane as Buck Wilson, Fred Griffiths as Fred Crump, David Hannaford as Braxton Child, Judith Furse as Policewoman Jones Mandy Miller as Child, Glyn Houston as Man giving directions, Neil Wilson, Herbert Walton, Cyril Waites, John Orchard, Edward Evans, Peggy Ann Clifford and Gwynne Whitby.

© Derek Winnert 2020 Classic Movie Review 9,327

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