Startlingly realistic, visually stunning, beautifully photographed, this must have given birth to Geoff McQueen's 'Woodentop' before that classic look at coppers on the beat led to the birth of 'The Bill'. It's an uncompromising story of the experienced man puppy-walking the new recruit on his beat and getting involved in a robbery gone wrong. No other police-procedural movie has ever equaled the visual power of the chase following the shooting of the main character. Use of the wide angle lens in such chases seems to have disappeared from the screen this century. I watch this movie at least once a year for inspiration.
Review of The Blue Lamp
