Someone here mentions the title is from the English hunting song "do you ken (know) John Peel",this may be so but I remember a review on the films release saying that a BELLMAN was British criminal slang for an alarm expert employed to disable alarm systems?
I liked the film, I think I saw it on DVD once but never saw it again.
The John Peel lyrics are here http://home.mweb.co.za/sa/salbu/JohnPeel.html. The chorus mentions John's dogs:
Yes I ken John Peel and Ruby too
Ranter and Ringwood and Bellman and True
A modern version of the song by Lonnie Donegan is sung over the credits. Donegan played with a skiffle band that had a hit version of "Rock Island Line" in 1956. John Lennon heard it and was inspired to start his first group, the Quarreymen. Donegan didn't make a nickel off the hit. In the late 70s, after he had his first heart attack, a bunch of Brit rock stars got together and recorded an album with Donegan. Later, he did one with Van Morrison. Probably the theme for this movie made him more money than everything else he recorded all together, except those two albums. Mark Knopfler wrote a tribute song about him and called him a great influence. Pete Townshend and Paul McCartney also cite him as a major inspiration.