Children's Film Foundation (CFF) Bumper — Bumper Box Vol 5( DVD)
Here from the BFI is the fifth in the CFF bumper boxset series, which collects together British children's films from between the 40s and the 70s. All the films here were produced by The Children's Film Foundation (CFF)- a non-profit organisation- that between the late 1940s & 1980s made one hundred and seventy-plus films, each running just under the hour mark. This three-DVD set brings together nine films & six shorts, and once again it’s an entertaining, fun, and varied set.
First out of the gate on disc number one we have 1948’s The Secret Tunnel- this is a mystery/ crime caper foiled by two pre-teen smartly suited boys- all largely set in a grand country house- Flixton Hall, Bungay, Suffolk.
It was directed by London-born William C. Hammond- in total, he had seven credits to his name, and this was his credit. These move from a flash-back based romantic drama The Fool And The Princess (1949), to family comedy The Flying Eye (1955) which regards an inventor who models an aeroplane with a TV camera attached to it. Onto rather Famous Five sounding mystery The Carringford School Mystery( 1958) which regards a theft at a museum, and family beach-based drama based in Devon Rockets In The Dunes (1960).
The film starts off with pre-teen Roger (Tony Wager) returning to his family estate with his antique-collecting father. In the basement of the house, he has a vault- full of a host of treasures- including a Rembrandt. They find out the crate that housed the painting is pulled open, with the painting gone…so the mystery begins, as the vault was locked/ seemingly impenetrable.
Roger's father is called away to London- so Roger, and the shorter/ smaller teen/ son of the family’s butler John (Ivor Bowyer) team up together to figure out what’s happened to the painting, before more things are stolen from the vault.
This film is a lot of fun- with lots of rushing about, hiding & sneaking- into secret tunnels with only a few matches, down coal cellars and up chimneys. We have a fairly typical selection of baddies, though they do get surprisingly nasty- at one point the boys have their arms pulled behind their backs & hog-tied.
The Secret Tunnel is a great opening to this fifth collection, and for its date the scan doesn’t look too bad at tall.
Up next, we have 1956’s Cirus Friends- this as its title suggests regards a circus, it rolls up to a small rural town with money still owed to the local farmer from their last visit. The film is a mix of drama & comedy. It was helmed by the director/ writing team of Gerald Thomas & Peter Rogers- who are best known for creating the saucy humour-tinged British comedy series Carry On- which in total took in thirty-one films. And you can certainly see traces of the series more bumbling/accident-prone humour,as well as bright/ cheeky scoring of those films- though of course with a more serious drama edge too.
The film opens with rather accident-prone farm worker George (Sam Kydd) rushing back to his mean temptered and moustache boss Farmer Beasly (Meredith Edwards) to let him know that Marlow's Circus are on their way to the field they used last year. It turns out that business didn’t go well last year, & they didn’t pay for the rent of the field- so Beasly says they can’t set up. Bert (John Horsley) the circus owner promises he’ll do better this year, and if not, the farmer can take a vehicle or similar for payment- this is agreed, and they set up. Working in the circus are Bert’s pre-teen niece Nan (Carol White) & nephew Nicky (Alan Coleshill). They handle a ride on the pony part of the circus with Pinto, who they have trained to do tricks.
The first big top show plays, and the all children-based audience are less than impressed- with one or two even leaving. A rather posh-sounding brother & sister talking to/ quickly befriending Nan, Nicky, and Pinto. Farmer Beasly comes for his rent- but there aren’t enough takings to pay him- so he says he’s going to take Pinto, and from here the drama & comedy unfolds- with a rather talented performing Alsatian helping out the kids.
Both the children and adult actors are good here- with the one hour and three minutes of Cirus Friends unfolding in an entertaining/ amusing manner. I’ve always had a soft spot for the Carry-On films- so it’s certainly most interesting to see Thomas & Rogers other work.
The final film on disc one is 1962’s The Piper’s Tune. This is a period set drama adventure- set in France during the time of the Napoleonic war, so a rather unusual choice for a CFF film.
The film was directed Kingston upon Thames born Muriel Box. She had thirteen credits to her name- these went from the Festival Of Britain set comedy Mr Lord Says No (1952). Onto noir Eyewitness (1956), though to courtroom drama regarding an affair between a forty-seven-year-old man & a fifteen-year-old girl Too Young to Love (1960).
The film regards an escape route over the Alps for those who don’t agree with what Napoleon is doing. It’s largely set at a small farmhouse, which is the first of a series of stops on an escape route which leads over the mountains. At the beginning of the film a new family rolls up at the farm and starts settling in for the evening.
Meanwhile, out in the countryside, a troop of Napoleonic soldiers led up by the bearded Captain (Christopher Rhodes) are moving along with a group of peasant traitors. One of the pre-teen girls escapes after hearing the captain saying he & his men have found the first stop on the route- so she rushes to the farmhouse, with all the adults leaving save for the ageing farmer & his wife.
The children are a good selection of characters- including two twins who are constantly swapping places. Among their number is Roberta Tovey, who played the character of Susan on the two 60’s Dr Who films with Peter Cushing.
The whole thing unfolds with the captain & his men trying to trick the children into telling them about the next stop on the route. We get introduced to these later on taking in: a woodman’s forest set shack, a roaming straggly bearded shepherd, and a lakeside tracker. Surprisingly for a children’s film, we get a few people shot/gunned down in the film with flint locks- though of course no blood is shown.
The Piper’s Tune is certainly an engaging and eventful family adventure/ drama- with some beautiful and grand countryside shown along the way- though I’d imagine it was all filmed in the UK and not in France.
On the extras side on this first disc, we have two short films from 1953: Bouncer Breaks Up (8.27) which finds two children cleaning out an attic. They come across an animal book, from which a cartoon dog appears & starts rushing around the house. A Good Pull-Up (16.30) which finds Carry-On’s Peter Butterworth & young assistant getting involved in slapstick chaos in a café.
Moving onto disc number two, and first up we have 1963’s The Rescue Squad. This regards a group of six children & teens who lose their toy plane in a stone folly/ tower on the moor- and use all manner of wacky ways to try & get the plane back
This was directed by Colin Bell- who only had this and one other director’s credit to his name, How Television Works (1951) which was a short detailing how TV works. Though he had two other second-unit credits, and one writer credit for How Television Works. It’s a real pity he didn’t do any more directing- as the film to hand wizzes by its fifty-minute runtime- been well short & realized, with some neat stunts.
The plot of the film is fairly simple- basically while playing out on the moor one day a group of friends throw their model aeroplane into a towering stone folly. And seemingly there is no way in. So, they go from one item to another to try & get up into the folly- going from a rope, long poles, bows & arrows, large balloons, and several different ladders.
As the film rolls along the group causes all manner of chaos & calamity- knocking over market stalls, wrapping rope around a bubble car, breaking up a wedding, getting stuck in the river, etc. There are some great & amusing wacky moments along the way.
All the young cast are good enough in their roles- a few of them sound like they may be cockney. The only notable/ known face here is Carry On’s Peter Butterworth. Some of the stunts do look a little dangerous too- with kids hanging off a ladder on wheels as been toed along, horses jumping over a ladder the kids are holding, and general precarious balancing- so most certainly not something that could be filmed today!. All in all, The Rescue Squad is a lot of fun, with the runtime speeding by which is quite surprising considering the simple premise.
Next, we have 1964’s Daylight Robbery, and as its title suggests it finds a group of kids getting inadvertently involved in a robbery. And like the last film, it puts its young cast in some fairly hairy/ dangerous situation.
It was directed by Michael Truman- who started his career making wartime training films- he had a total of eight credits- six were TV credits & two were features. His full-lengths go from Earling Comedy Touch & Go (1955), and caper comedy Go To Blazers (1962).
The film opens with three friends larking about with a homemade Morse code maker by the side of a canal- there are two siblings (I think) an older boy & a young girl dressed in striped tops, and a boy in his school uniform. Watching the three is in party dress Trudy (Trudy Moors) who gets teased by the three/ isn’t allowed to play with them, as she is seen as a telltale.
The three look at their watches, realizing they need to buy one of their parents a birthday present- but with their rushing the battery they were using drops in the water. They get to their local British Home Stores- debating what to buy, while larking around- getting told off by a man going into a backroom. Trudy turns up, and the three say they are going to steal a battery- she rushes out upset. Just as the store is closing the three go back in to put the battery back- to get promptly locked in, and the shop is closed for the next three days.
So, the setup is basic- the three friends are stuck inside, while Trudy is outside. And while trying to get out the three friends come across an attempted robbery in the basement- where they are trying to drill through from the shop basement to the bank vault.
As things unfold, we get children going up and down the building site ladders, getting locked in tool sheds, and all manner of shenanigans with a building site lift. The whole thing is rather thrilling, at points quite tense with some nice touches of humour here & there.
The child actors are all good, and as I mentioned they get to do some fairly hairy & high-up film, being battered by the wind in the process of being built tower block. We get a few recognisable faces turning up in small parts- like James Villiers (Repulsion, For Your Eyes Only) as a city gent waiting for his date, and Gordon Jackson (The Great Escape, Upstairs, Downstairs) as a police surgent. All in all, Daylight Robbery is entertaining, at points fairly thrilling- to lightly amusing ride.
The final film on disc number two is 1969 All At Sea- it follows a group of schoolchildren on a cruise, with the mystery of a parcel and a missing painting. This is the first film on this set in full colour.
This was directed by Ken Fairbairn- he had thirty-one other credits, which are all shorts/ TV films. These go from Snowdrift At Bleath Gill (1955) regarding a freight train caught in a snowdrift, onto The Third Sam (1963) focusing on train driver. Onto Down To Sussex (1964) a guide to the English Country, and A Horse Called Jasper (1979) which regards a horse helping a group of kids to solve a robbery.
The film opens with a school bus unloading at Southampton docks, and we focus on a group of around eleven-year-olds- there’s Steve (Gary Smith) who fancies himself as a detective, long bowl hair cut Douglas (Stephen Childers), and another boy & girl.
Just before getting on the cruise ship Douglas is approached by two Arabic men- they ask him to take a brown paper & string tie parcel to their nephew in Tangier, who is the boy's pen pal. Stephen thinks this all seems a bit dodgy and tries to convince Douglas to open it.
As the film unfolds, we meet their tall & balding teacher Mr Gordon (Peter Copley), a bumbling-if-charming artist Mr Danvers (Norman Bird), and slightly potty ex-dance teacher Miss Fisby (Joan Sterndale-Bennet).
It’s a real cruise & it stops off in a few locations in a few European locations, and the whole thing unfolds entertaining enough- with the mysteries & their solving by the kids keeping one held. We get a great score by Edwin Astley (The Mouse That Roared, Danger Man, The Saint) which moves between spy-like cues, to more Arabic-flavoured mystery & dramatics.
The acting of the children is decidedly mixed- with some of it been plain bad (I’m sure some of them were just school kids). And towards the end we get a little bit of slapstick comedy added to the mix, with a neat caughting- the-baddie on the ship deck resolve.
For this disc’s extras, we have two things from the late ’60s/ early ’70s: The Magnificent Six and ½- Ghosts and Ghoulies( 19.46) which finds the gang rescuing the scrapyard owner's dog from a pound, and then two new initiates Whizz & Peewee have to spend an hour in a creepy house. The Chiffy Kids- Decorator Limited (16.18) which finds the gang setting up as decorators- doing out the flat of two old ladies.
Onto the third and final disc in the set. This opens up with The Hostages- it’s from 1975 and is a rural set thriller regarding a trio of children who get held on their own farm by two escaped prisoners.
It was directed by London-born David Eady. He had five feature-lengths to his name, as well thirty-four TV shorts/ episodes including a fair few CFF titles too- like Deep Waters (1978) and Danger On Dartmoor (1980). His features took in racial drama meets procedural mystery The Heart Within (1957), a comedy featuring Leslie Philps The Man Who Liked Funerals (1959), and psychological drama Face In The Dark (1960).
The film opens with a group of men escaping over a wall on a misty countryside morning- most of them manage to get inside a van waiting for them- but two don’t, so they make their way to a nearby farm- where we see two parents & their older daughter setting off to nearby town for most of the day- leaving early teen boy Peter(Stephen Garlick), and younger male & female siblings behind.
The criminals are Terry (Robin Askwith) and Joe (Ray Barret)- the first is a twenty-some pickpocket, and the second is an older pox scar-faced bank robber. They manage to get into the farmhouse- getting the children’s father shotgun- through initially with no ammo. The whole thing unfolds in a decidedly thrilling & tense manner- with some decent enough plot twists & turns along the way.
Acting wise most of the children cast are good/ fine. On the adult side, Askwith plays a rather nasty piece of work, manhandling the kids/being very unpredictable. Barret damaged his leg in the escape- so is largely chair-bound- he’s kinder to the children, though you do wonder if might snap at a point.
The film largely takes place in the farmhouse- though we do from time to time move out into the autumn countryside, and the nearby town. It’s great to see CFF take on a hostage thriller genre, and The Hostages is engaging, at points quite a tense little film.
Next, we have 1975’s Robin Hood Junior- which as its title suggests is a family period adventure- with none other than Keith Chegwin playing the lead, and it’s pretty much what you expect- not the most original/distinctive film on the set, but never the lesser it’s entertaining enough.
This was co-directed by John Black & Matt McCarthy- their joint first credit was CFF's The Zoo Robbery (1973) which sees a group of children rescuing the world's only yeti from London Zoo. Their other credits take in episodes of Coronation Street, Dr Who, The Bill, and The Twelve Tasks of Asterix (1976).
The film Robin- is not the Robin Hood, but instead, a teen who admires the real one- though confusingly he helps a teen Maid Marion to escape her evil uncle- who is trying to take over the castle- as her father hasn’t come back from the crusades.
We have Andrew Sachs turning up as a bumbling Frair, and the rest of the cast is fine. As I mentioned early, Robin Hood Junior is ok, for what it is-but it doesn’t really add anything different to the normal Robin Hood story.
Finally, we have The Boy Who Never Was- this is from the year 1980, and is a political thriller- for want of a better short description. It was directed/ co-written by Frank Godwin- he has three other directorial credits, all in the family bracket. There’s Electric Eskimo (1979) which regards an Inuit boy, who accidentally gets hit by a mysterious ray during a secret British experiment. Onto Breakout (1984) which regards two boys who witness an escaping prisoner, while birdwatching. And Terry On The Fence (1986) following a runaway teen who gets tangled up with a street gang.
The film regards Salu (Gordon Haugan) the around ten-year-old son of an African diplomat. When we first meet him he is being picked up from an airport, by two black African men who claim to know his father- they say they are going to take him to the embassy, but instead of making their way into London- they go into the countryside, and a large house.
On the way to the house, there is an incident with two cockney boys- Charlie (Paul Alantis) and Nobby (Christian Bullock)- who get pushed off their bikes by the car. During the incident, Salu grabs a badge one of the boys drops.
When getting to the house it’s clear something is very amiss, as Salu is drugged, and when he wakes up, he finds his father tied up in another room. He escapes the house- collapsing on the road outside to be taken to a local hospital. He’s fairly soon visited by police inspected- played by prolific TV actor Derek Benfield, who had one hundred thirty-five- most notable as the husband in OAP Private eye comedy/ drama Hetty Wainthropp Investigates.
As things unfold, we see if Salu can reconnect with the two cockney boys, find his dad & the bad guys, and foil the bombing plot. The whole thing whizzes by in an entertaining & at points quite thrilling/ tense manner.
All the children's actors are good, as are the adults. The film features an electronically touched 80’s score- with some great dramatic cues, as well as slight forays into lightly touched African moments. All in all, The Boy Who Never Was is a rather unique thriller, and a wonderful end to the set.
On this final disc extra wise, we have Danger At The CFF (15.39) which is a compilation of dangerous stunts, with a short interview with one of the film's directors. Our Magazine No 11(9.22) it looks like it’s from the 50’s, taking in three separate short films- Children Of The Black Forest, What’s Wrong (road safety), and a look at a Toy museum.
This 5th volume in the CFF bumper series takes in another great selection of children's films from between the 1940s and 1980s. The scans of each film go from good/ passable, to very good. With once again a good selection of extras on board…here’s very much looking forward to Vol 6!