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
The Blue Lamp suggesting George Dixon died in August 1898, the time-period given for the first two graphic novels, as well as "The War of the Worlds". However, no explanation of this claim is given. Here is one: the real George Dixon (1820–98) was the Victorian politician after whom Balcon's school was named. In 2010, the BBC Television drama "Ashes to Ashes" concluded with a short clip of George Dixon, referring to the similarity to Dixon's death in "The Blue Lamp" and subsequent resurrection for the television series and the underlying plot of the show. The Blue Lamp The Blue Lamp is a