Children’s Film Foundation Bumper Box V — Children’s Film Foundation Bumper Box Vol 4( DVD
Here from the BFI is a rather wonderful collection of British children's films from between the 50s and the 70s, which were produced by The Children's Film Foundation (CFF). The CFF where a non-profit organization, who between the early 1950s & 1980's made one hundred and seventy-plus films, each running just under the hour mark. The three-DVD set, takes in nine films & six shorts- and really it's a lot of entertainment & fun from beginning to end.
The first film on disc one is The Dog and the Diamonds. This is from 1953, and was directed by Hull-born Ralph Thomas, whose brother Gerald with Peter Rogers helmed the Carry On series of films. In all Ralph helmed forty-two films- these went from comedy romance Once Upon A Dream (1949), onto WWII drama comedy featuring David Niven Island Rescue (1951), a few of the 50’s to 70’s Doctor comedy series Doctor In The House- Doctor At Sea, Doctor At Large, Doctor In Love, Doctor In Distress, and Doctor In Love. As well as the heist race car film Checkpoint (1956), and the crime comedy A Nightingale Sang In Berkeley Square (1980).
The film centres around a group of children who live in a tower block, which is managed by pet hating & by-the-rules caretaker Forbes(George Coulouris). One Saturday while collecting the rent, Forbes finds a hamster, and the kids panic thinking he’ll find the other pets they have hidden in their flats. They first take all the pets along to scatty pet shop owner Mrs Fossett(Kathleen Harrison)- but she has no room. So they decide to set up a zoo in the large abandoned mansion just across from their tower block. Unfortunately, three crooks, who have just stolen a diamond necklace- are held up in the mansion.
Added into the mix we have a stray dog named Boffin. A pair of bumbling council officials who go to look at the house with the idea of turning it into a children’s centre. And a pigeon that saves the day. There is a group of three central boy characters, with Ginger (Robert Scroggings) getting the most screentime/script-wise, as he’s the owner of the previous mention pigeon. On the whole, The Dog and the Diamonds is an entertaining ride- with lots of rushing around & plotting children, bumbling to up to no good adults, and a very well-trained dog.
Next, we have The Stolen Airliner, which is from the year 1955. It was directed by Tasmania-born Don Shape- this was his first film. In all he helmed thirty feature lengths- these went from crime drama The Professionals (1960), euro gothic horror The Kiss Of The Vampire(1963), a few 60’s Fu Manchu films The Face Of Fu Manchu & The Brides of Fu Manchu, and a few hammer films Rasputin: The Mad Monk (1966), and To The Devil A Daughter (1976).
The film focuses on three plucky air cadets who foil the stealing of an aircraft, by a group of fake flagdteerens( a made-up South American country). We have lots of sneaking & listening into secret information by bamboo cigarette holder smoking goons. Tumbling around fights either on the airfield, or in the meant to up in the air aeroplane. We have an impressive blub-flashing HQ room, which is managed by a John Le Mesurier sound/ look alike. The cadets themselves are very Famous Five like- made up of two boys, and one girl- and as you expect from this time/ type of thing they are very well-spoken, with lots of “my word” and “gosh’s”. The crooks themselves are fairly standard bad guys, but on the whole, it’s an entertaining romp. If you are interested in aircraft, you get some rather neat shots of inside aircraft hangers and in-flight plane shots. As well as some less impressive/dodgy-looking stock footage of stunt planes, and parachute drops appearing later on in the proceedings.
The final film on the first disc is 1958’s Blow Your Own Trumpet. It’s the first film here to feature some instantly recognisable faces- both from the comedy/ light entertainment side of things, we have a very young Michael Crawford- Some Mothers Do ‘Ave’ Em- and Peter Butterworth- who will be known mostly for his work with the Carry On film series, though he had an impressive career that took in one hundred and twenty-eight credits. Blow Your Own Trumpet was helmed by London-born Cecil Musk- who had seven credits to his name, and this was his final film. His other credits took in family drama Circus Boy(1947) and French Revolution set prison drama Trapped by the Terror (1949).
The film is set in a northern Colliery town and focuses on the Colliery brass band. As the film opens we see twelve-year-old Jim Fenn( Crawford) sneaking into the back door of band practice to have a play on a cornet. He makes a terrible noise & the band comes out to mock/ belittle him, the only person who doesn’t is the floppy-moustached Bob Duff(Butterworth).
As the film unfolds young Jim is focused on becoming a cornet player- but he hasn’t got his own horn, as his parents are getting fed up with him trying first one instrument than another. He is also constantly being belittled by Tony(Martyn Shields) the pre-teen son of one of the more arrogate/ outspoken members of the brass band. But Jim remains firm and focused on his dream of playing the cornet, and getting in the band.
From the off you can recognise the young Crawford as a talent, and towards the end, he gets a chance to display his more bumbling/ comic tropes. Butterworth is great as the almost sage-like conductor, and we see hints at the more tragic side of the conductor/ junk shop owner's life. Shields is good as the bully/ know it all, and the rest of the cast is well-picked/ placed too. You really are kept held throughout the film, which seems to speed by as young Jim faces one issue/ obstacle after another.
On this disc, we get two shorts- Stable Mates(15.03) which is from 1952, and sees a group of posh kids in horse riding-related adventures. Swift Water( 15.05) also from 1952, and finds a London child on holiday in Devon pinging to go sailing.
Opening up disc number two we have 1961’s The Missing Note, and this is a wonderful charming-if-towards-it's-end rather crazed & manic tale following a group of children chasing a piano around London. The film was directed by Hampstead, London-born Michael Brandt, he had just this and one other short to his name A Year To Remember (1971).
The film opens in a dusty/ unused church hall. Where we see siblings teenaged Joan(Heather Bennet), her slightly younger brother Tom(Hennie Scott), and their cheeky six-year-old brother Willie(John Moulder-Brown) playing on an old piano with one broken note, and a family of white mice living in it. The group scraper as the caretaker appears in the church, with Willie leaving his lollipop on its top.
Next, we see the caretaker talking to the local balding layabout Mr Parker(Toke Townley) outside the church. We find out the church is finally going to be done up, and fairly soon the piano is sold to a local house clearance/ junk shop man Sam (Tommy Godfrey). In the meantime, the rather shifty Mr Parker decides he’s going to hold up the local jewellers, stealing handfuls of loot. The police appear & in a panic he hides the loot in the piano, as it’s sitting outside the local pub while Sam sups a pint.
And from here on we get a chase through London from both the three children, and Mr Parker. Going through a musical instrument shop, following moving vans, and chasing down the suburban streets.
The film is a awful lot of fun- with all of the cast doing jolly well all round. It features a great playful & clunky trad jazz piano score, which adds more joy to the proceedings. All in all, making The Missing Note, a great family film.
The second film on disc two is 1967’s The Big Catch, which is set in and around a Scottish coastal village focusing on a group of friends who plan to catch a pony on a deserted island. This is the first film on this set in colour. It was helmed by Laurence Henson- he had sixteen other credits to his name, taking in mainly shorts- with one other longer film to his name Flash The Sheepdog(1968) which told of a city boy getting used to living in the Scottish countryside.
The film starts off by focusing on eleven-year-old Ewan Cameron(David Gallacher), and his three friends. They are working on their small boat harbour side, with a plan to go nearby deserted island to capture a wild pony, so they can sell it to do up their boat. His fisherman father calls the boy, to meet one of his bosses Campbell-Murry(Michael O'Halloran) who is clearly very well-to-do. Along with him is his decidedly smug & boastful son Lindsay(Ron Sinclair)- and the boys get pushed together by the adults- which neither is keen on, and it puts issues between Ewan & his village friends.
As the film unfolds we get river trout hand fishing, a cliffside rescue, a water fight, boat knapping, and pony high jinks. All of the cast are seemingly local with Scottish accents and are large very natural and believable in their roles. The Big Catch is another well-made, and entertaining children’s foundation film with some of the more water & island set scenes are quite tense/edge-of-the-seat stuff.
Finally, on disc number two we have the wonderfully entitled Blinker's Spy-Spotter, which is fitting of its quirky title. It’s from 1972, with recognisable faces in the form of Bernard Bresslaw( Carry On Films), and Michael Robinson( On The Buses)- the former having a rather main role, while the latter turns up briefly as a PC.
The film was directed/co-written by Jack Stephens- this was his only director's credit. Though he had twenty-three credits in film art departments- for quite varied fare like Chitty Chitty Bang Bang(1968), The Medusa Touch(1978), and The Mission(1986). And Blinker's Spy-Spotter is a jaunting and enjoyable family fantasy.
Things open up by introducing us to Blinker(David Spooner) a bespeckled pre-teen inventor, who has set up all manner of useful gadgets in his bedroom- like an alarm clock come bed tipped, clothes suck upper, and shirt placing hanging. He heads down for breakfast, and we meet his dithering/ confused mad prof father and his surprising plan Jane-in-her-house coat mother.
Seemingly the family were due to move in a week's time nearer to Blinkers dad’s work in a secret lab, but the mad prof has booked the removal van a week early. So they move, which throws out the plans of baddie Sam(Bresslaw) and his bumbling, bald, and shade-wearing henchman East( Milton Reid) who were hiding out at the house they were moving into.
As things unfold Blinker befriends a local gang/ football team, and creates a gadget to defect balls from going in the goal, which foils the running streak of the rival gang. We have pre-teens going through a series of wacky traps, Blinker invents CCTV to watch on the other gang, and Bresslaw/ his gang try to steal his dad’s new invention hidden inside a football.
The film features a great grooving ‘n’ playful soundtrack- featuring buoyant organ lines, low-key playful electronics, and some strutting guitar/ percussive work. All in Blinker's Spy-Spotter is a lot of fun, and it’s a real pity that Blinker didn’t go on to have his own series.
On this disc, we get the following shorts- The Chiffy Kids- Pot Luck (19.02) which is from the 70s at some point, and finds a gang of mischievous kids going on a camping trip, with Harry H Corbett( Steptoe And Son) turning up in the cast. Next, there’s Chimpmates( 16.31) which is seemingly an episode from a 70’s series where a family adopted a chimp!- and for this episode, the chimp causes chaos at a football match.
Going onto the third and final disc in the set. And first off, we have The Flying Sorcerer- this is from the year 1974, and runs forty-nine minutes. And what we have here is time-travelling adventure shenanigans. This was directed/ co-written by London-born Harry Booth, between 1960 and mid-1970 he helmed thirty productions- taking in TV series episodes, shorts, and feature lengths. These went from a few documentaries WWII based Blitz on Britain(1960), and A King's Story(1965) which told the life story of King Edward VIII. Onto a few late 60’s Kids gang camper shorts like
The Magnificent Six and ½: Ghosts and Ghoulies, The Magnificent Six and ½: Bob-a-Job, and The Magnificent Six and ½: When Knights Were Bold. Through to feature lengths like big screen take on sitcom comedy On The Buses(1971), its sequel Mutiny on the Buses( 1972), and Double Take which was another comedy that featured On The Buses Reg Varney, and seemingly told as a gang of crooks hiding out on film studio.
The Flying Sorcerer begins on a small airfield in the then-present day- where early teens David(Kim Burfield) has come to see his uncle Charlie(John Bluthal) flying his biplane. The only other person on the airfield is grumpy caretaker Crabtree- played by Bob Todd, who is most known for his appearance on The Benny Hill Show. When Charlie lands, he and David head down to his underground lab- and here we see his latest invention- a time machine. One thing leads to another, and David gets sent back to the middle ages where he meets Astrolabe(Tim Barrett) who is the bumbling wizard to a lord. The pair chat, but David gets pulled back to the present once again. He insists he must go back, so he & David do just that with a batch of peanut butter sandwiches, and land up getting into an encounter with a dragon- hence the film's title ( though it doesn’t fly!).
The film features a nice swirling & spacey electronic soundtrack- with all concerned playing their parts well enough. On the whole, it’s entertaining, at times bumbling amusing time travelling fantasy. And the dragon has got to be seen to believe- as it’s seemingly a dragon body set on some form of vehicle, with flickering eyelids, long licking red tongue, and spurts of fire breathing
Next, we have 1979’s Mr. Selkie, which features prolific TV and film actor Peter Bayliss( From Russia With Love, Please Sir, Merlin, and 80 or so roles) as a seal who morphs into a human form- who with the help of two children try & convince the local mayor not to stop littering the sea. It was directed by London-born Anthony Squire. He was the second unit director on two James Bond films Casino Royal (1967) & On Her Majesty Secret Service(1969), as well as having sixteen director credits, many of which were UK TV efforts.
The film opens on a rainy & thunder striking night in a British coastal town. Where we see pre-teen Eileen ( Samantha Weysom) and her younger brother Jimmy(Clark Flanagan) staying with their granparents, their Scottish granny hears a horn-like sound coming through the night. And she says it’s a Selkie, a seal who takes on human form- Granddad & the kids chuckle at her story, but she says wait & see.
The next morning Granddad asks the two children to deliver the town's Civic regalia back to the mayoress Mrs Carine(Zara Nutley). On the way, they come across her spoilt & obnoxious son Roger(Michael Mannion), who is throwing rubbish at a seal. He snatches the Civic regalia from the pair- and it drops into the sea, Roger drives in get the box, but not the chain. As he runs off with the empty box shouting abuse at the two children- from out of the sea comes Mr Selkie(Peter Bayliss), a decidedly quirky fellow with a black woollen bobble hat, stripy black & white jumper, and umbrella.
The three walk down to the harbour where Mr Selkie eats fresh fish whole, paying for his eats with a pearl. They make their way to the town hall, where Mr Selkie tries to convince the mayor to clean up the coastline- as well as stop the planned restaurant/ complex by the sea. As the film unfolds the three get up on a few adventures- sneaking abouts, folks falling in the pool, cake in faces, etc. With the whole thing moving towards a quite visually overloaded final.
Bayliss is wonderful as the seal in human form, with a real twinkle in his eye & a sense of mischief. Both the two children leads do well enough. Though most memorable( aside from Bayliss) are Nutley as the bossy/ snobbish mayoress, and Mannion as her deceitful & smug son. All in all Mr. Selkie is a great little kids fantasy film, with an ecological tint- which of course is very 1970s
Finally, we have Gabrielle and the Doodleman it's from 1984, and finds a magical wish giver coming down to earth to help a wheelchaired girl reconnect with her emotionally distant father. And for me, this was the most personally nostalgic as this was the decade I grew up in.
It was written/ directed by Brentwood Essex born Francis Essex. He had nine directors' credits to his name, and Gabrielle and the Doodleman was his last. His other credits took in TV credits- going from one early episode of Sooty, one episode of Sunday- Night Theatre, and a few live with-the-stars shows. Though also had thirty-four producer credits to his name, which again were for TV.
In the film's opening credits, we see the around eleven years old, platted-haired, & wheelchair-bound Gabrielle(Prudence Oliver) out & about on the UK high street- stopping briefly outside a video shop. Then we see her back at home, doing her favourite thing- playing Space Invaders on a computer. Though she is somewhat down/ grumpy, as her animator father seems to be rather emotionally disconnected from her. We then flip off to a magic place up in the clouds- where we meet our hooded track-suited agent 707- played by Mattew Kelly, who first came into the spotlight as a UK TV presenter- appearing in Stars In Their Eyes, Game For A Laugh, and You Bet. In charge of agent 707, and the other wish givers -Geine( Eric Sykes), Fairy Godmother (Josephine Tewson), Merlin(Bob Todd) -we have good old Windsor Davis( It Ain't Half Hot Mum)- who sends agent 707 down to earth to help Gabrielle.
At first, he drops into the computer, in a very lo-fi Tron manner to be shot at. Then he goes on to be a clown in a circus, becomes a bumbling knight, and lands up in a roller skate bond pantomime. The whole thing is wonderfully cheesy, if at points heart-warming film. And Kelly even sings a very cringe-inducing song over the credits about everyone being the same- no matter their issues/ disabilities…think Grange Hill's “Just Say No” level.
We have two shorts on this disc- CFF film locations( 13.57) which shows shooting locations of various films around London. And Our Magazine 4 ( 9.49) which looks like an early 50’s road safety short for kids.
In finishing this truly is a wonderful and varied collection of British children’s films from the ’50s, 60s and 70s. With great clean & clear scans throughout, and a good selection of bonus shorts too. Here’s looking forward to Vol 5, and I most certainly have to track down the early Vol in this series.