Tiger Bay

[billy bentley]

Just went to drop off some stuff at my local thrift (charity) shop and picked up a copy of this on DVD for $5 ? I haven't seen it in years, does it hold up ? ? It's J.Lee Thompson so it can't be bad can it ?

[batman]

It's great .... especially as I fell in love with Hayley after seeing it! It is a good thriller, not in the same class as Whistle Down The Wind but very entertaining.

[Chevyman]

Well spotted Billy. I'm sure you'll enjoy it and for $5........................

[darrenburnfan]

Yes, it's an excellent film, shot in late 1958 in Cardiff and more a less a remake of the 1951 Dirk Bogarde / Jon Whiteley drama Hunted, except that the little boy in Tiger Bay turned out eventually to be a little girl.



The story goes that in 1958, J. Lee Thompson was visiting John Mills at his country home and discussing his next picture, Tiger Bay. He told John that he was having great difficulty finding the right boy to play the orphan who witnesses a murder and is abducted by the killer, who takes the boy on the run with him as he attempts the flee the country and the hangman's rope.



As they were talking, J. Lee caught sight of John's eleven years old tomboyish daughter, Hayley, running around in the garden. He weighed her up and then turned to John and said: "You know, it doesn't have to be a boy" and the rest is film history.

[julian_craster]

Excellent main title music by LAURIE ['The Avengers'] JOHNSON for TIGER BAY.......

[darrenburnfan]

Yes, somewhat similar in parts (especially the sea scenes) to his also excellent score for The Moonraker, which he did a year or so earlier. I have both themes on old 45 rpm singles issued at the time of the films release. The Moonraker, by Laurie Johnson and his Orchestra on His Master's Voice POP 402 and Tiger Bay, played by Philip Green and The Pinewood Studios Orchestra on Top Rank JAR 112. I don't know if a single of the Tiger Bay theme by Laurie himself was issued at the time. If so, it would have been on the Pye label as he had switched from HMV to Pye by 1959.

[MB]

I enjoyed it, haven't seen it for years. Nobody makes a fuss about the film here and for some reason, it is never mentioned. ('Tiger Bay' is my local stomping ground - except it's called boring old 'Cardiff Bay' now...It's intention now is to be the 'chicest', most regenerated part of Cardiff - but it is just sort of quirky and a bit odd) I really think they should do something to acknowledge it. For some reason the film and the name did not fall in to the plan.



It's an area worth visiting though, really oddly preserved...and regenerated...

Some parts of the bay still have that dark, foreboding docks look about them..not exactly pretty to look at - but creating an unusual kind of atmosphere. The rest is a bit of a mixture of desolate land, ancient falling down buildings and then huge monoliths and futuristic looking buildings here and there. They have really tarted it up - but it's still a bit odd..I remember arriving here and thinking it would make a good sci fi set (for the bit where the earth has been vanquished and this is all that is left) and, of course, now they use bits of it for Torchwood.



Worth a visit - and you can nip in to the Norwegian church art gallery and tea shop (it was where Roald Dahl's mum used to go.)

[billy bentley]

MB was there 3/4 years ago with the family and visited the Roald Dahl church. We spent a weekend in Cardiff and really enjoyed it, my boys particularly liked the old shopping arcades. We stayed in a decent modern no frills hotel that had some association with John Malkovich. I even picked up a copy of the George Formby biography at the old indoor marker !

[MB]

'The Big sleep' named after The Big Sleep (1946)



There is lots to recommend the Cardiff area, although, I'm glad I live well outside of the city right now and I don't intend to die here. I may end it all in a blaze of gunfire given another ten years. (Joke!)

There is a massive regeneration program going on there at the moment - it isn't the best time to visit the centre as it is a building site. I work at nights in the city centre from time to time and it is like driving around a dead city. But we are getting a John Lewis so I will forgive them.



But, there are plenty of other areas to visit. Best to grab a local and get them to show you around. The bay area is outside of the centre and isn't affected. The arcades are a real treat, as is the castle, the museum of welsh life, Techniquest, the Millenium centre... and all close to the sea.

[julian_craster]

Tiger Bay, played by Philip Green and The Pinewood Studios Orchestra on Top Rank JAR 112



I once owned this !

With the SAPPHIRE theme on the other side (w. John Dankworth on sax)



I do wish somebody would issue this kind of stuff on CD (esp the TOP RANK catalogue......)

[darrenburnfan]

Yes, the Sapphire theme on the B side is also excellent. I often wonder what happened to the old Top Rank catalogue. They were taken over by EMI around 1960 / 1961 and they pressed their records until well into 1962, so maybe the tapes are still in the EMI vaults.



Top Rank used to release a lot of film themes on singles taken from the then latest Rank films.

[MB]

Some images from 'Tiger Bay':















I live not too far away. I took this from my bathroom window this morning:







Modern day, taken by a friend:

[MB]

Sorry, I meant to credit those photographs and printed them without it.



The Norwegian church was taken by John Briggs, the picture of the little boy is by Bert Hardy. The Shirley Bassey photo was originally printed in the Daily Mail, but I'm not sure who the photographer is. I had permission to post the panoramic view! Not sure what the norm is on a forum - but thought it was best!

[billy bentley]

Bert Hardy, one of Britain's greatest photographers for sure !

[MB]

Bert Hardy, one of Britain's greatest photographers for sure !

Absolutely. This is on my wishlist:



Bert Hardy. Down the Bay: Picture Post, Humanist Photography and Images of 1950s Cardiff (2003)



He also took a gorgeous photo of the Elephant and Castle which is worth looking up. Everyone here will probably recognise Bert Hardy photographs without, perhaps, knowing it was the same photographer taking them. Entirely distinctive - he had an incredible eye, although a fair amount of staging went on. He reminds me of Henri Cartier Bresson, who I also love.



Henri Cartier - Bresson