This film is part of Rentals

Hue and Cry
An army of schoolchildren fight crime on the bomb-torn streets of postwar London in this ripping Ealing classic.
Director: Charles Crichton
Overview
The bomb-torn streets of postwar London are the stage for a ripping boys'-own adventure in this buoyant classic, the first of the great 'Ealing comedies'. When schoolboy dreamer Joe discovers that robbers are planning their crimes using secret codes in a children's comic, the police are unconvinced. So Joe and his friends take matters into their own hands⦠With the great Alistair Sim as a twitchy comic writer and against-type villain Jack Warner, it's an ageless joy, and the East London and dockland locations are a revelation.
Writer T.E.B. 'Tibby' Clarke drew inspiration from the classic German children's novel Emil and the Detectives, filmed in Germany in 1931, and remade in Britain in 1935. Clarke would be one of the most productive wellsprings of Ealing comedy - he also gave us Passport to Pimlico, The Lavender Hill Mob and The Titfield Thunderbolt, as well as the classic police thriller The Blue Lamp. (Mark Duguid)
Related

The Summer with Carmen The Summer with Carmen
Comedy 2023 106 mins Director: Zacharias Mavroeidis
A seductive and smart gay comedy set on a cruisy Greek island.

Driving Mum Driving Mum
Comedy 2022 113 mins Director: Hilmar Oddsson
Jon drives his mums corpse across Iceland in Hilmar Oddssonβs darkly comic odyssey of self-discovery and acceptance, beautifully filmed in crisp black and white.

The Crime is Mine The Crime is Mine
Thriller 2022 103 mins Director: FranΓ§ois Ozon
FranΓ§ois Ozonβs witty 1930s farce about a penniless actress who finds fame while on trial for murder, featuring a riotous performance from Isabelle Huppert.

Special People Special People
Comedy 2008 74 mins Director: Justin Edgar
Justin Edgar's pioneering feature comedy about a neurotic filmmaker enlisted to make a film with a class of wheelchair-users.

Timestalker Timestalker
Fantasy 2024 89 mins Director: Alice Lowe
What if unrequited love spanned the centuries? Alice Lowe's time-jumping fantasy rom-com is a colourful, darkly funny treat.

Night Courier (Mandoob) Night Courier (Mandoob)
Comedy 2023 112 mins Director: Ali Kalthami
A desperate delivery driver gets caught up in the dark underworld of Riyadh in Ali Kalthamiβs gripping, pitch-black satire.

A Man Called Ove A Man Called Ove
Comedy 2015 116 mins Director: Hannes Holm
A curmudgeon turns over a new leaf in this Oscar-nominated comedy that became one of Swedish cinemaβs biggest hits.

Gone Too Far! Gone Too Far!
Comedy 2014 88 mins Director: Destiny Ekaragha
Riotous urban comedy adapted from the hit Royal Court play, about a Peckham teen affronted by the arrival of his long-lost Nigerian sibling.

Submarine Submarine
Comedy 2011 97 mins Director: Richard Ayoade
Richard Ayoadeβs sweet and quirky directorial debut about a Swansea teenβs travails with his distant girlfriend and warring parents.

Black Mountain Poets Black Mountain Poets
Comedy 2016 85 mins Director: Jamie Adams
Alice Lowe and Dolly Wells play criminal sisters who steal the identity of two poets, only to be charmed by the world of competition poetry.

Set the Thames on Fire Set the Thames on Fire
Comedy 2016 87 mins Director: Ben Charles Edwards
Two soul-mates steer a course through a decaying, semi-submerged London in this bizarre and blackly comic sci-fi with Noel Fielding and Sally Phillips.

All Consuming Love All Consuming Love
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2011 9 mins Director: Louis Hudson
Kevin Eldon voices this oddball, award-winning animated short about a tiny middle-aged man who lives inside a stray cat.

Waterloo Road Waterloo Road
War 1945 76 mins Director: Sidney Gilliat
John Mills is the soldier who goes AWOL upon hearing of his wifeβs affair, returning home to confront Stewart Grangerβs home-wrecking spiv.

Law and Disorder Law and Disorder
Legal and Courtroom drama 1940 74 mins Director: David MacDonald
Alastair Sim is in splendid form as a staid, slightly seedy solicitor in this cheerfully patriotic war-time espionage comedy.

The Blue Lamp The Blue Lamp
Police drama 1950 85 mins Director: Basil Dearden
Dirk Bogarde stars as a loose-cannon crook with Dixon of Dock Green (Jack Warner) on his tail, in the classic Ealing policier.

It Always Rains on Sunday It Always Rains on Sunday
Drama 1947 88 mins Director: Robert Hamer
Austerity noir: Ealing's downbeat but compelling East End thriller.

The Captive Heart The Captive Heart
War 1946 100 mins Director: Basil Dearden
A realistic recreation of life as a prisoner of war in Germany lends credence to this moving account of wartime survival against the odds.

Dead of Night Dead of Night
Horror 1945 99 mins Director: Alberto Cavalcanti, Charles Crichton, Basil Dearden and Robert Hamer
A group of guests assembled at a country house swap uncanny and supernatural stories in this classic Ealing chiller from 1945.

Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other Two Strangers Trying Not to Kill Each Other
Documentary 100 mins Director: Manon Ouimet and Jacob Perlmutter
A creative artist couple navigate love and ageing in this brave, fascinating documentary.

The Last Showgirl The Last Showgirl
Drama 2024 89 mins Director: Gia Coppola
Golden Globe-nominated Pamela Anderson is enchanting as the Las Vegas showgirl whose stage show is set to close.

Dust & Metal Dust & Metal
Documentary 2022 82 mins Director: Esther Johnson
Discover unfamiliar histories of Vietnam through Esther Johnsonβs poetic documentary on the countryβs love affair with the motorbike.

Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound Mogwai: If the Stars Had a Sound
Documentary 2024 91 mins Director: Antony Crook
Celestial sonic odyssey charting the cult Scottish bandβs expansive career from the mid-90s to their tenth studio album written during lockdown.

Flow Flow
Animation & Artists Moving Image 2024 85 mins Director: Gints Zilbalodis
Oscar-winning animated adventure about an unlikely group of animals who must work together to survive a natural disaster.

Invasion Invasion
Science Fiction 1966 79 mins Director: Alan Bridges
An alien fugitive, injured in a road accident, pitches up at a rural hospital. But when two intergallactic pursuers arrive, things start to heat up...