L'aimant

A lot of the film was shot in New Brighton, and I have added this to the database as a location. The pier and ferry are no longer there but the Floral Pavilion and Wilkie's fairground (where they try to influence the pinball machine with the magnet) are. The swimming baths where the Miss New Brighton Competition takes place has gone as well. The bike shop was Longworths in Rowson St. You went and chose your bike and Mr Longworth told you to come and collect it next week so he had time to put the seat at the right height, check the brakes,oil it for you and check the tyres.

What a refreshing sight this film was to be enjoyed with my ten year old son, who by coincidence, was the same age as the protagonist in this film. I shuddered to think that Joseph might be able to act in a similar fashion on several occasions when I was not present, but I trust he will not. The film is funny, sharp-witted, and intelligent in its satire. The British have an understated way of delivering these kind of gems to the screen; whereas Hollywood always goes for the big production values and star power most of the time. Only the small independent filmmakers in America have a chance at making a film like this. See it and enjoy. And be careful buying your son or daughter a large magnet.

This is a delightful film about a young boy growing up in a small riverside town,just across from Liverpool, in 1950.He experiences guilt after conning a younger boy out of a magnet and wrongly believing that this has lead to the other boy's death.Humour is provided by the boy's father a psychiatrist/psychologist who has a theory and an answer for everything, unfortunately these are usually wrong. Lots of nostalgia for those of us brought up at that time and place:New Brighton Pier and Lido;Mersey Ferry and Dockland Overhead Railway;Blitzed Area of Liverpool below Anglican Cathedral;Biscuits being delivered in large tin boxes.

Most memorable scene:Liverpool/Chinese boy(played by Geoffrey Yin)- When his mother shouts at him in Chinese from a window,he turns to his friends and says "Me mam sez I've gotta ave mi tea" ...in a strong Liverpool accent.

Though The Magnet oozes middle-class wholesome 1950's family values, which can be seen these days as starchy and very straight-laced, this unusual offering from the Ealing Studios works well on many levels.

With his father a child psychologist, ten year old Johnny Brent (James Fox) has a very colourful imagination and loves inventing things and questioning everything. Johnny keeps getting under his mother's feet and so he is sent off out to play at the local beach to explore.

There, he trades rather dishonestly a magic (non-existent) watch for a giant magnet from a younger lad. The lad's nanny tells him off and so Johnny scarpers and starts imagining that he's in trouble with the police. Then, through completely contrived, but affectionately drawn events, the giant magnet comes up for auction and raises money for a hospital appeal. Johnny becomes hero.

Yes, this is whimsical nonsense and is rather Disney, before Disney did such things. But it's also the locations and snapshot of British life back then. It'll certainly appeal to the older generation and undoubtedly, to us boys of all ages, more, as it harks back to our own childhoods.

Generally, the acting is quite average and the direction from Ealing regular Charles Friend is about passable, though there are some fantasy sequences which are OK. However, the young James is a tonic, eschewing youthful zest and intrigue. He's completely natural and believable, little wonder that he went on to become the mega star he did.

The DVD transfer is OK but is a bit soft.

All in all, if you're expecting a comedy caper, as in the best Ealing tradition, you may be disappointed. But if you love your Ealing's and want to explore beyond the box-set classics, then this does quite nicely.

English films from right after the war — particularly those from Ealing or Archers — are a pretty interesting pocket to mine. Its a strange mix of experiments of all types. There's no predictability, no massive copying. Its as if everything is reset in a cultural medium and tastes need to be rediscovered or even reinvented.

This story as two elements. One is a story about a boy in a boy's clever world of invention and exploration. That's the bits you are meant to see. The other is overtly symbolic: his father is a clinical psychologist who has a need to "explain things." The story is about the hunger of certain stories, one would almost say the attraction or magnetism of stories, and that can be the only reason why the possession that triggers the story-story is a magnet.

What happens here is an ordinary episode triggers several fantastic stories, all of them with lives of their own as they adapt to live and propagate. There's extreme attention to symbols as if it were written by the psychologist: iron lungs, remote alarms, "secret" sign language, an invisible watch.

The story itself has minor charms. Its the loading of the overt symbols that is the fun part, especially since the writer seems to be poking fun at the notion of symbols the whole time.

Ted's Evaluation -- 2 of 3: Has some interesting elements.