The role of Tom Riley in The Blue Lamp (1950) was Bogarde’s ‘first experience’ at portraying a character with depth, unlike the cardboard ones he had been cast as up to that point. During the filming, he made an amazing discovery ‘that the camera actually photographed the mind process.’ That realization was an epiphany. It changed his approach to acting: ‘I became completely absorbed in trying to find those minds and offer them up to the camera.’ (Snakes and Ladders, 130) He now had his direction: ‘It’s what the cinema is all about ... you depend on the thought for the lens ... that is the thing that takes the back of your head right off; and if you’ve got nothing in there, sweetie, it’s going to show that you’ve got nothing in there. You can do anything you like with your face - turn it left, right, twitch, lift your eyebrow, but it’s not going to work because nothing’s really pulled it up. It’s not a question of technical tricks; something has to be happening inside.’ (Guerin, 57)