The Blue Lamp The Blue Lamp The Blue Lamp is a 1950 British police drama, directed by Basil Dearden and starring Jack Warner as veteran PC Dixon, Jimmy Hanley as newcomer PC Mitchell, and Dirk Bogarde as hardened criminal Tom Riley. The title refers to the blue lamps that traditionally hung outside British police stations (and often still do). The film became the inspiration for the 1955–1976 TV series "Dixon of Dock Green", where Jack Warner continued to play PC Dixon until he was 80 years old (even though Dixon's murder is the central plot of the original film). The screenplay was written
Dixon of Dock Green more aggressive policing culture. It retained a faithful following throughout its run and was voted second most popular programme on British TV in 1961. The actor Jack Warner was already well known to the public. Born Horace John Waters in London in 1895, he had been a comedian in radio and in his early film career. Starting in the early 1940s, he broadened his range to include dramatic roles, becoming a warmly human character actor in the process. But as well as playing in films with dramatic themes (such as "The Blue Lamp" (1950), in which the character George Dixon