The Flying Squad ** (1940, Sebastian Shaw, Phyllis Brooks, Jack Hawkins, Basil Radford, Kathleen Harrison, Henry Oscar) – Classic Movie Review 13,398

The 1940 British crime thriller film The Flying Squad is based on a 1928 novel by Edgar Wallace, and stars Sebastian Shaw, Phyllis Brooks, Jack Hawkins and Basil Radford.

Director Herbert Brenon’s 1940 British Edgar Wallace crime drama film The Flying Squad stars Sebastian Shaw, Phyllis Brooks, Jack Hawkins, Basil Radford, Kathleen Harrison, and Henry Oscar. It is based on a 1928 novel by Edgar Wallace, previously filmed in 1929 as a silent and in 1932.

Sebastian Shaw stars as Inspector Bradley, of the London Scotland Yard Flying Squad, who try to tackle Mark McGill (Jack Hawkins)’s drug-smuggling organisation. Phyllis Brooks also stars as young Ann Perryman investigating her brother Ronnie (Manning Whiley)’s disappearance.

The Flying Squad is a weak, fairly poor Edgar Wallace’ crime thriller, with some pretty bad performances, notably those of the two stars, stage  Sebastian Shaw and American actress Phyllis Brooks, who are quite terrible, leaving the young Jack Hawkins to carry the film as the smooth villain, which he does capably enough. Shaw is plummy and actory, while Brooks is like a duck out of water, trying vainly to conceal her American accent, both of them giving silent movie performances. Hawkins, on the other hand, seems ‘modern’, in a natural, credible performance, even while playing a murderous drug smuggler. It’s nice to see Hawkins both as young and evil as this.

Basil Radford (as a drunken ham actor) and Kathleen Harrison (as a cockney landlady) are ripe and rotten as the comedy relief, in a film where comedy relief is both unnecessary, unwelcome and wrong. Cyril Smith as Tiser and Allan Jeayes as Johnson give slack sidekick turns. In tiny roles, Henry Oscar as the London Police Commissioner Sir Edward and Kynaston Reeves as the court Magistrate are both good, actually taking it properly seriously, so they succeed.

The production occasionally shows signs of imagination and style, with some good, almost impressive even, sets and imaginative noir photography (by Claude Friese-Greene and Walter J Harvey). The unimpressive story as unravelling here is not much to hold the attention and the dialogue is mediocre. Doreen Montgomery’s screenplay is largely to blame. It is frustrating because it could easily be so much better with some tweaking and rewriting.

Release date: 14 October 1940.

Running time: 64 minutes.

The cast

The cast are Sebastian Shaw as Inspector Bradley, Phyllis Brooks as Ann Perryman, Jack Hawkins as Mark McGill Basil Radford as Sederman, Ludwig Stössel as Li Yoseph, Manning Whiley as Ronnie Perryman, Kathleen Harrison as Mrs Schifan, Cyril Smith as Tiser, Henry Oscar as Police Commissioner Sir Edward, Kynaston Reeves as Magistrate, and Allan Jeayes as Johnson.

© Derek Winnert 2025 – Classic Movie Review 13,398

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