The Black and Blue Lamp

The Black and Blue Lamp (1988) is a drama, comedy film directed by Guy Slater.

Satirical and surreal play by Arthur Ellis, dealing with the manner in which the British police force has been represented on TV for four decades. In 1949 Tom Riley is arrested for the murder of PC George Dixon. As he awaits interrogation at the station he is mysteriously transported into an episode of The Filth - a 1988 police series where the hard men rule, where he is told by the local CID that he'll be confessing to the murder or else his genitals are getting cut off ! This black comedy questions whether the police have changed or is it the way film and television present them.

Cast

Kenneth Cranham

Supt. Cherry

Karl Johnson

PC "Taffy" Hughes

Sean Chapman

Tom Riley

John Woodvine

Supt. Hammond

Ralph Brown

Insp. Drury

Nick Stringer

Sgt. Brooks

Ian Brimble

PC Totley

Peter Lovstrom

PC Sneed

Barry Woolgar

Insp. Rogers

Garrick Hagon

Police Surgeon

Anthony Smee

Mr Bromley Junior

Paddy Ryan

Mr Bromley Senior