Children's Film Foundation Vol 4

With yet another bumper box release of BFI’s popular CHILDREN’S FOUNDATION series we are now at Vol 4 and once again take a trip back into a time which wasn’t dominated by woke-police… and freedom of speech reigned freely instead of every other word being monitored and censored, lest it offends! Well then, over the course of nine adventures we are treated to good old vintage kid’s entertainment – ranging from the squeaky clean 1950s right to more inventive adventures from the early 80s.

The box set contains three discs and if the aforementioned nine films aren’t enough to wet your appetite, we also get a plethora of Bonus Material (more on that later) plus some big names of the time.
Disc 1 starts with the b/w film THE DOG AND THE DIAMONDS from 1953 in which dastardly landlord Mr. Forbes (George Coulouris) isn’t at all keen on his various flat dwellers keeping pets – meaning they need to hide them whenever he knocks on the door on rent day. However, when a stray dog called Boffin (the actual star) is taken under the loving care of some of the kids from the block, little do they know that soon, they will be drawn into an unexpected adventure involving a smash and grab conducted by two spivvy thieves… Kathleen Harrison (sporting an old-fashioned Edwardian outfit and hairdo) plays the sympathetic Mrs. Fossett, owner of a quaint pet shop.
Next up is THE STOLEN AIRLINER from 1955, which was directed by Don Sharp (it was his debut as a director after he decided acting wasn’t for him). In this adventure, three ever so prim and proper, not to mention incredibly well-spoken kids who are air cadets get drawn into a drama played out in the sky when an international gang of revolutionaries hijack a plane guarded by the youngsters. Suffice to say they manage to overpower the hijackers mid-air and two of the kids even parachute to the ground so the RAF can be alerted!

Then it’s on to BLOW YOUR OWN TRUMPET (1958), set ‘oop north’. Here we encounter ambitious lad Jim Fenn (Michael Crawford in a riotous performance) who’d like nothing more than to join the local brass band – much to the chagrin of his long-suffering parents who by now are used to Jim having a go at various instruments. Alas, money is tight but Jim is adamant to get his hands on a cornet no matter what. Thanks to kind brass band conductor cum musical mentor Mr. Duff (Peter Butterworth in an outstanding performance) he eventually succeeds and even is invited to play at the local youth talent show though of course (in pre-Frank ’Some Mothers Do ‘Ave ‘Em’ Spencer tradition), Jim’s trousers keep falling down during his performance thanks to a broken belt. Giggles aplenty are provided in this heart-warming comedy.

It’s now 1961 and all’s set for fast-paced comedy caper THE MISSING NOTE on Disc 2, in which a widowed and single Mum has a hard time trying to make ends meet. When her three kids hint at wanting a piano, she’s almost heartbroken to inform them that she cannot grant them the wish as she has just bought a TV-set. As a result, the kids play piano in a local church due for demolition and everything had t go… However, purely by accident the kids get more than they bargained for when a not-so bright jewel thief hides the stolen gems inside a church-hall piano with a tell-tale missing note. Cue for all sorts of shenanigans and a wild chase (a classic CFF characteristic) stretching from Weybridge to Twickenham and other spots in between. Plus, let’s not forget the usual stock characters such as bumbling coppers and smart-ass kids and we have 54 minutes of hilarious entertainment!

In definite contrast stands the Scottish production THE BIG CATCH from 1968, which boasts some stunning scenery (depicting the jagged-edged west coast from Lochinver to Ullapool) but not exactly the most engaging of plots. When young Ewan Cameron (David Gallacher) and his mates go on an adventure trip in an old boat (which happens to be leaky) they are up against a right little posh so-and-so by the name of Lindsay (Ronald Sinclair) – the apple of eye of his rich dad Campbell Murray (Michael O’ Halloran) and someone who wields the confidence of his class (do I need to mention he has a show-off yacht?). This confidence, however, slowly but surely begins to crumble when it emerges that he’s pretty useless when it comes to catching fish by hand… and when it comes to his attempts at roping a wild horse (one feels sorry for young Mr. Sinclair getting dragged along the dunes for miles on end)…

Compared to ‘The Big Catch’ we must consider the truly bonkers tale of BLINKER’S SPY SPOTTER (1972) as simply weird yet wonderful, concerning a boy genius nick-named ‘Blinker’ (watch the film and you’ll find out why) sporting an almost girlie bob-hair cut and wearing thick-rimmed specs. His equally nutty and constantly absent-minded dad (Arthur Howard) is of course a professor and son Blinker (David Spooner) is hot on his father’s heels when it comes to seemingly crazy yet practical inventions. But when a secret formula for a crystal, which the professor had scribbled in a diary, gets stolen by two nifty crooks called South (Bernard Bresslaw in top form) and East (Bond-villain Milton Reid sporting bizarre shades) it’s down to Blinker and his friends to save the day… and his dad’s formula!

It gets weirder still in Disc 3 with THE FLYING SORCERER (1974) which sees young Kim Burfield (David Hawkins) transported back into medieval times thanks to an accident with his Uncle Charlie’s (John Bluthal) time-travel device when the dog accidentally activates a button. Back in the days of yore, Kim encounters quirky wizard Astrolabe (Tim Barrett), young Lady Eleanor (Debbie Russ) and above all, a fire-breathing dragon by the name of Dormantus. Now, this dragon might be belching flames but rest assured, compared with the dragons in GoT this one comes over as utterly harmless – even when he’s transported into Kim’s modern time… Bob Todd provides the laughs as Mr. Crabtree, the constantly complaining, miserable airfield caretaker.

By far the best film (then again, individual tastes will differ) is MR. SELKIE (1978) which sees a magnificent performance from stalwart actor Peter Bayliss as a magical seal who transform into a man (the Mr. Selkie of the title) to team up with local kids and one big mission on his mind: to make an impassionate plea against sea pollution (listen up, Thérèse Coffey!) and to prevent the consequent destruction of marine life (including seals, of course). Unfortunately, his complaints initially fall on deaf ears when local Mayor Mrs. Craine (Zara Nutley) and her horrible son not only ignore Mr. Selkie’s pleas but Mrs. Craine deeply upsets him by wearing a seal fur coat. This is as poignant today as it was then and really, very little has changed though here, the sober message is injected with the right amount of humour when, during a town hall meeting to discuss a new project that would transform the coastal stretch, the kids are emptying bags of rubbish over the council members – with desired results!

Finally, we are introduced to GABRIELLE AND THE DOODLEMAN (1984) in which young Gabrielle (Prudence Oliver), who is wheelchair-bound after a car accident during which she lost her mother, encounters strange Doodleman Ditzy (TV-host Matthew Kelly) who appears when the girl’s depressed father Mike draws a doodle on the (ancient looking) computer, not realising that Doodleman, who seems to have made it into his daughter’s much-loved computer game Space Invaders, is actually a person from ‘over the rainbow’ dispatched by various characters who reside there, including Windsor Davies (taking on multiple characters), a Genie (Eric Sykes) and Merlin (Bob Todd). The aim is to get withdrawn Gabrielle back into good spirits and re-connect with her dad. As reality and fantasy blend, we find ourselves transported into alternative worlds including medieval jousting games, a Panto and a circus ring.
Btw, Matthew Kelly also sings the title song, which in turn was composed and played by Lynsey de Paul (who also appears in a dual role).

Bonus Material (on each disc) includes equestrian capers in ‘Stable Rivals’ (1952) and young Terry in ‘Swift Waters’ who defies his uptight aunt during a holiday at the seaside by doing a bunk while she’s asleep and goes sailing with local kids, saving dog Roy in the process. All this is accompanied by composer and concertina impresario Alfred Edwards evocative soundtrack. We witness silly shenanigans in ‘The Chiffy Kids: Pot Luck’ (1976) which sees the young kids embark on an unsupervised (!) camping trip (unthinkable nowadays) and Alice the Chimp joining a local football team in ‘Chimp Mates: The Big Kick’ (also 1976). Finally, we are treated to a brand-new ‘CFF Production: London Locations’ feature presented by 12-year old Edward Molony who talks about, well, some of the locations used for various CFF adventures though oddly enough, none of these actually feature in this set! We round up with ‘Our Magazine No 4’ which is yet another episode of this rather twee children’s matinee cine-magazine from 1952 – how times have changed! Another great bonus is the illustrated info booklet!