''River Patrol'' is a 1948 British

crime film Crime films, in the broadest sense, is a film genre inspired by and analogous to the crime fiction literary genre. Films of this genre generally involve various aspects of crime and its detection. Stylistically, the genre may overlap and combine ...

directed by Ben R. Hart and starring John Blythe, Lorna Dean, and

Wally Patch Walter Sydney Vinnicombe (26 September 1888 – 27 October 1970) was an English actor and comedian. He worked in film, television and theatre. Biography Vinnicombe was born in Willesden, Middlesex and began working on the music hall stages in ...

. The screenplay concerns a group of undercover British

customs officer A customs officer is a law enforcement agent who enforces customs laws, on behalf of a government. Canada Canadian customs officers are members of the Canada Border Services Agency. It was created in 2003 and preceded by the Canada Customs and ...

who investigate a gang of

nylon Nylon is a generic designation for a family of synthetic polymers composed of polyamides ( repeating units linked by amide links).The polyamides may be aliphatic or semi-aromatic. Nylon is a silk-like thermoplastic, generally made from petro ...

smugglers Smuggling is the illegal transportation of objects, substances, information or people, such as out of a house or buildings, into a prison, or across an international border, in violation of applicable laws or other regulations. There are various ...

. It was made by

Hammer Film Productions Hammer Film Productions Ltd. is a British film production company based in London. Founded in 1934, the company is best known for a series of Gothic horror and fantasy films made from the mid-1950s until the 1970s. Many of these involve clas ...

as a supporting feature. It was made at

Marylebone Studios Marylebone Studios was a British film studio in London. Established in the late 1930s, it had two stages in a converted church hall near the Edgware Road. The studio worked with Hammer Films on films, including the adaptations of the Dick Barton ra ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. It is notable for being one of the earliest films made by Hammer following its relaunch after the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Plot summary

Two British police officers, Robby and Jean, go undercover, pretending to be husband and wife in order to smash a ring of smugglers along the Thames. During the investigation they visit the most shady places of London, including a night club with the worst imaginable reputation in the city. The fake spouses befriend and dupe the night club owner and find evidence leading to the top of the smuggler ring. However, their identities are revealed by the criminals before they can report back to their superiors, and they have to fight alone against the thugs until they finally manage to get them all arrested.http://www.snagfilms.com/films/title/river_patrol_1948?autoplay=true&beta=jqwjzkjoJNKN98

Cast

* John Blythe as Robby * Lorna Dean as Jean *

as The Guy * Stan Paskin * Cyril Collins * George Crowther * Andrew Sterne * Wilton West * Tony Merrett * George Kane * Johnny Doherty * Iris Keen * Dolly Gwynne

References

Bibliography

* Meikle, Denis. ''A History of Horrors: The Rise and Fall of the House of Hammer''. Scarecrow Press, 2010. * Chibnall, Steve & McFarlane, Brian. ''The British 'B' Film''. Palgrave MacMillan, 2009.

External links

* 1948 films 1948 crime films British crime films Seafaring films Films set in England Hammer Film Productions films Films shot at Marylebone Studios British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-crime-film-stub