The Rainbow Jacket ** (1954, Robert Morley, Kay Walsh, Bill Owen, Edward Underdown) – Classic Movie Review 8663

Director Basil Dearden’s 1954 Ealing Studios Technicolor sports drama The Rainbow Jacket stars Bill Owen as Sam, an experienced (but not entirely straight) champion jockey, banned from the races, who shows a youngster called Georgie (Fella Edmonds) how to ride winners. But the lad becomes the victim of an extortion gang when he is forced to ride a crooked race and lose to help out Sam (Owen).

Turf thrills are promised. The Rainbow Jacket is a reasonably engrossing and flavourful horse-racing melodrama, with moments of tension and plenty of value from the agreeable cast of a lot of likeable actors.

The film is pleasant enough and decently written by the expert T E B Clarke in an original screenplay, well acted and capably handled, but, with obvious back projection and a cost-paring production, it is well below the standard of the Ealing Studio’s finest.

Also in the cast are Edward Underdown, Robert Morley, Wilfrid Hyde White, Fella Edmonds, Charles Victor, Honor Blackman, Sidney James, Ronald Ward, Howard Marion Crawford, Michael Trubshawe, Frederick Piper, Brian Roper, Eilot Makeham, George Thorpe, Michael Ripper, Sam Kydd, Katie Johnson, David Hemmings and Glyn Houston.

The Rainbow Jacket is written by Basil Dearden, runs 99 minutes, is made by Ealing Studios, and Michael Balcon Productions, is released by General Film Distributors, is written by T E B Clarke (original screenplay), is shot in Technicolor by Otto Heller, is produced by Michael Relph and is scored by William Alwyn.

Child star Fella Edmonds (born on October 25, 1940) made only a couple more films: Supersonic Saucer (1956) and The Stolen Airliner (1955). It was another child star’s film debut too – David Hemmings – who fared a lot better in the movies.

© Derek Winnert 2019 Classic Movie Review 8663

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