This was shown in America in the early seventies on the short lived CBS Children's Film Festival, which of course was hosted by Kukla, Fran & Ollie, the trio in which Fran was a human being, but Kukla the clown and Ollie the dragon were hand puppets operated by Burr Tillstrom.
I had no idea this program was in color for starters, and now to see it nearly 30 years later, it really is an absolute escapist delight. Forget all your troubles in life and focus on two children wanting to see her majesty's coronation.
Peter Sellers (nearly unrecognizeable as that cop), Sidney James (whom I just discovered earlier this year in the Carry On movies), and above all others, Wilfred Hyde White, always sensational to listen to.
There is nothing I can say about the music. It carries the movie, enters at just the right moments.
The coronation as well was brilliant. For her majesty and Winston Churchill's brief appearances? Certainly, but the stars were the British subjects themselves, shown throughout the movie aiding John and Julie in their quest to get to London as well, now gathered along the procession to cheer for the queen. These were the stars, as the movie triumphantly noted at the very end.
And now to see it well half a century after the events, three decades after I was first exposed to the story, what more is there to say?
God save the queen.
