It's Great to Be Young!

I saw this when I was a kid of maybe 10 or 11. It was my favourite film for many years after. It is, of course, very dated now but the performances are still great. Particularly memorable in this fifties curiosity is Richard O'Sullivan whose comic timing, even as a child was terrific - he made the movie for me. Carol Shelley whom I saw in The Odd Couple many years later was a particular crush of mine. John Mills is the central figure in this movie as a teacher obsessed with music who comes up against the authoritarian figure of Cecil Parker, the newly-appointed head of Angel Hill school. It is a snapshot of fifties school life in a typical middle-class organisation and it was quite like the grammar school which I attended (though it was not quite as much fun where I was).

I am 40 and first saw this film about 2 years ago. It is full of fun, wit and charm. A true classic of English film making. As usual, Cecil Parker and John Mills are amazing together. Their performance and that of all the supporting cast, is true chemistry.

If you want fun, laughs, music and nostalgia, this is certainly a film to watch. I just wish I could obtain a full version on video or DVD, but unfortunately, it has never been released in the UK.

I saw this film about 55 years ago. And it is still in my mind fresh and clear. It brought me more emotions than any other film by John Ford, Ingmar Bergman o Woody Allen. Some one told me that the incredible, fantastic, young girl (five or six years old, white boots) dancing "claqué" (I think some English speakers name it Tap dance or something like that...), when the film is near its end, was the daughter of Sir John Mills, the well know Sarah Mills, a lot of years before Ryan's Daughter, and so on... Is it true? Some one knows? Just speaking about all that things make me feel 55 years younger... And, by the way, I have a light notion about the musicians. They were the Ray Martin Orchestra, is not it? The same people that in other memorable french film, "A la mi-Aôut"...

A brilliant evocation of 1950s Britain; anyone who went to school there, then, will love this. It is lighthearted, with a serious moral message, good performances, continuous action, and skillfully used musical intervals. I remember seeing it as a kid at the local small-town cinema, when it came around the first time; coming across it again, on BBC2 in an obscure afternoon slot, was a real treat. The leads are major stars, especially John Mills and Cecil Parker, and their performances are faultless, but it is the young people who carry the movie and make it so special. The music is great fun, too. Why has this not been reissued on DVD? Apart from its merits, the fact that it is a John Mills vehicle should have been enough to see it out by now, I would have thought. It seems from the other comments on this page that everyone who has seen it likes it, it is just not that easy for new people to see it if there is no DVD in the shops.

This film is a lighthearted and lovely British romp into comic book musical comedy. It reflects perfectly the attitude and behaviour of English children of the post war 50's. John Mills plays the main character, Mr. Dingle, a history and music teacher at Angel Hill School, whose ambition is for children to love and understand music. This is his best ever acting role; the passion and feeling that he puts into it makes Dingle appear as a normal yet special human being. He is ably supported by Cecil Parker (Mr. Frome)his well meaning but non-understanding headmaster. Jeremy Spenser, Dorothy Bromley and a very young Richard O'Sullivan take leading roles as Dingle's "Angels". The good feeling that I had when I first saw this film, in about 1957, has remained for more than forty years. Thank you Sir John and all concerned. I only wish that my teachers had been like Dingle.