Tiger Bay (1959)

Scene Through A Letter Box

A woman is murdered, shot, A young child, Gillie, witnesses the killing through the letterbox.The neighbours ignore the shots, thinking the sounds are those of Gillie's toy cap pistol. Gillie takes the murder weapon, but is seen by the murderer, but he can do nothing, because there are too many people about.

However one of the neighbours discovers the body, after the murderer has fled, and the police are called.When the police arrive, one of them,Superintendent Graham questions Gillie and her aunt, Mrs Phillips.Gillie gives a false description of Bronik, the murderer. The police allow Gillie to leave to sing at a local wedding, but Bronik tracks her down at the church. After the wedding service, he chases Gillie and wrestles the gun from her.

This is a film worth tracking down, it is available on both VHS and DVD, and watching. Tiger Bay was Hayley Mills' first film, but you'd never know it, she gives an outstanding performance as Gillie Evans, a little girl caught in her own lies and not understanding that they can have far reaching consequences. The role of Superintendent Graham is handled deftly by John Mills, Hayley's father, the teaming of the two was an inspired piece of casting. Their scenes together are compulsive viewing. A quote that perfectly sums up the look of this film comes from Ewan Davidson's review of Tiger Bay, which can be found on the screenonline at the British Film Institute's website, and it reads,

Tiger Bay is representative of the pinnacle of traditional black and white cinematography, with every scene and shot beautifully lit and composed.

And that says it all, about this stunning little film.

Cast:

Horst Buchholz (Bronik Korchinsky);

John Mills (Superintendent Graham);

Hayley Mills (Gillie Evans);

Megs Jenkins (Mrs Phillips);

Anthony Dawson (Barclay)

Directed by	J.Lee Thompson
Production Company	Independent Artists
Produced by	John Hawkesworth
Screenplay by	John Hawkesworth
	Shelley Smith
Based on a short story by	Noel Calef
Director of Photography	Eric Cross
Music by	Laurie Johnson

full cast and credits

1968
The end of Tiger Bay, Cardiff's dockland district
Tiger Bay was notorious. A slice of red-light district and gambling dens between Cardiff's city centre and its docks, and home to a rich mix of multi-racial communities, it had a powerful character of its own. Its rundown terraces, pubs and shops were demolished in the late 1960s, and now restaurants and sought-after executive flats stand in its place.