The Intruder ** (1953, Jack Hawkins, George Cole, Dennis Price, Michael Medwin, Hugh Williams, Susan Shaw) – Classic Movie Review 7314

Director Guy Hamilton’s desperately dated 1953 post-Second World War British noir angst drama The Intruder stars Jack Hawkins as wartime officer Colonel Wolf Merton, now a stockbroker, who catches one of his brave wartime tank regiment chaps burgling his house and investigates why Ginger (Michael Medwin) has become a burglar and a bounder after being mixed up with a floosie called Tina (Susan Shaw).

The Intruder presents an intriguing situation but it is full of complacent clichés and caricatures: bravery in war, difficulties in peace; cheerful, simple cockney folk, upright, responsible officer ranks. Interesting as a social document, embarrassing as drama, it is class ridden, patronising and simplistic.

However, The Intruder is helped by the well-honed performances by the mostly typecast actors, especially Hawkins and Medwin, who are both excellent. Edward Chapman is notable, cast against type as abusive stepfather Lowden. It is George Baker’s feature debut, as the Adjutant.

The screenplay by Robin Maugham (screenplay), John Hunter (screenplay) and Anthony Squire (additional scenes) is based on Robin Maugham’s novel Line on Ginger.

Also in the cast are George Cole, Dennis Price, Hugh Williams, Dora Bryan, Arthur Howard, Duncan Lamont, Nicholas Phipps, Campbell Singer, Patrick Barr, Harold Lang, Richard Wattis, George Baker, Michael Ripper, Marc Sheldon, Charles Lamb, Peter Martyn, Robert Adair, Elizabeth Digby-Smith, David Horne and Leonard Sharp.

Happy 95th birthday to Michael Medwin on 18 July 2018. This is the first of four films in which he plays a different character called Ginger: The Intruder (1953), Checkpoint (1956), Carry on Nurse (1959) and Rattle of a Simple Man (1964).

© Derek Winnert 2018 Classic Movie Review 7314

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