Reply With QuoteIt is a long time since I have seen THE BLUE LAMP but the most widely used police car of this period was the Wolseley Series 111 18/85 saloon
Hugo
Can anyone tell me what type of cars the Met were using in the 1950 police film The Blue Lamp?
I'm talking about the ones used in the chase towards the end of the film.
They're black (could they be anything else!?), with a single piece windscreen, split rear window, long bonnet, vertical chrome grille, spot lamp and Winkworth bell on the front bumper, and a manufacturers logo on top of the grille - which I can't make out.
One car, HLC 909 appears the most, but seems to undergo changes of wing mirror in mid scene!
My best bet for a make and model is the Alvis 14, but I'm pretty sure this is way off. Anyway, I can't see the Met using pricey Alvis cars somehow, even then.
Hope someone can help.
With thanks,
Tim W.
It is a long time since I have seen THE BLUE LAMP but the most widely used police car of this period was the Wolseley Series 111 18/85 saloon
Hugo
The Wolseley 6/80 was a common Met car during the 50s.
According to the book 'Cars In Films' by Martin Buckley, the police cars in The Blue Lamp were Wolseley 18/85s and Humber Super Snipes.
Hi there, according to some resources I have used and seen the film. The film was made in hte summer of 1949. On the sad news of PC Dixon, the chief commissioner and his tenant arrive at the house in a wolseley 14/60 (not an 18/85! Most of the cars are indeed humber super snipes series 2 and only one series 1 used for the CID when they come to get Tom Riley at the racing stadium towards the end of the film. A notable change in the two cars the series one had slightly smaller headlamps than the series two.
A year later Ealing produced the Lavender Hill Mob and similar scenes were taken from the Blue Lamp and of course both Wolseley 18/85s as well as Humber Super snipes series 2 were used in the film.
However, it would appear the true registrations were covered and given other registrations instead. The film had the full support of the Metropolitan Police at the time.
Only on this site can the full info on a thread about "THE BLUE LAMP" come from Israel. I love it.
The cars in the Blue Lamp were Wolseley 6/80 Police Cars, manufactured from 1949 to 1954. I have a 1954 car complete with Winkworth Bell
I always liked the lit up Wolseley logo on the radiatorOriginally Posted by wolseleyman1
I suppose it's rather classier than todays lit-up Corsa driver!
I did once see a VW Golf GTi with an illuminated grille badge - not quite the same as the old 6/90.
Nick
My uncle had a Wolseley 18/85. Eventually traded it in 1964 for a Cortina...
Nowadays I'm nostalgic for BOTH!
For a couple of years my internet password was DXO 268 - the rego number of Dirk and Patric's getaway car in the film.
And surely the best bit of the chase is the absence of traffic and parked cars!
I doubt the Met today can cover that area that fast!!
I have just read some further comments on this film. I have checked my sources from Practical Classics Wolseley Briefing and Classic and Sportscar on the following details:
The Wolseley 6/80 made its debut at the 1948 Earls Court Motor Show. Production began in October 1948 and continued until October 1954 which then made way for the 6/90 saloon.
The Metropolitan Police first used it in 1950 as staff cars for senior officers and then, in 1951, as Traffic, Area, Flying Squad and Q-cars.
Which reinforces my opinion on my first posting. The Wolseley 6/80 police car did not appear as a police car in The Blue Lamp (1949).
Perhaps some people are thinking of slightly later films by Ealing, such as, The Ladykillers (1955), where both two 6/80 Wolseley police cars as well as a Humber Hawk police car make an appearance.
I hope my comment earlier and further comment has answered Tim Wingham's question and thank you Hackett for your compliment!
Wolseley fans should pop into "The Wolseley" on Piccadilly next to the Ritz Hotel in London for tea and cakes. Its the old Wolsley car showroom which has a restored deco interior with Wolseley motifs here and there and now houses a very large eating place ,and very nice it is too but check with your bank manager before going, a meal there is probably getting close to what a Wolseley motor car would cost to buy in the 40s/50s !!
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