Gideon’s Day – 1958 | 91 mins | Crime, Drama | Colour

Plot Synopsis

Fast-moving and enjoyable Scotland Yard police drama based on the novel by John Crease.  Directed in Britain in glorious Technicolor by the great American Westerns king, John Ford, the portrayal of police procedure has understandably dated and many of the vignettes and sub-plots are desperately overwrought.Jack Hawkins is is excellent in the title role and there’s a strong supporting including Derek Bond, Michael Trubshawe, Jack Watling, Ronald Howard and Cyril mCusack.

A day in the life of hard-pressed Inspector Gideon (Jack Hawkins), who packs more into one day than most of us do in a lifetime. When Gideon hears word on the street from one of his snouts, Birdie (Cyril Cusack), that one of his officers, Det. Sgt. Eric Kirby (Derek Bond), has been on the take, he confronts the officer. Despite receiving a vigorous denial he from Kirby, Gideon declares that the tip-off merely confirms his own suspicions and suspends the officer.

Soon after, Kirby is killed in a suspicious hit-and-run car that piques Gideon’s curiosity, and he suspects it might be connected to a wages snatch racket. Gideon is distracted from this event by a sex killer who commits the murder of a teenage girl in Manchester and then heads to London to kill again. To add to his headaches, Gideon earns the wrath of his loving family by missing his daughter’s violin recital and bringing his wife haddock rather than a piece of salmon.