A Kid for Two Farthings

What a bunch of moaners. It would seem obvious to me that the mother and her son were middle class down on their luck.( note - disappeared dad) Hundreds of thousands of people found their lives turned upside down during and just after the war. Mine was. Yes, perhaps it would have been better in black and white, but can't you just suspend critical faculty just enough to enjoy the story. Nobody noticed Barbara Windsor, even uglier then than she is now. Gerald Kersh is a blast from the past. His novel 'Fowlers End' is a marvellous depiction of life amongst 'ordinary' folk between the wars.

I am 70, but I cried like a babby,watching this last week

I saw this in Britain (Blackpool of all places) in black-and-white on a disturbed television in 1963, but I could never forget the film. 50 years later I can see it again on the computer, but !N COLOUR! which was sensational, and the magic of the very simple and ordinary story appeared in full splendor. This is a fascinating and successful effort to catch the magic of life at the bottom, it's a poor family that can't afford anything, not even a cracked wedding ring, and still a small boy's sense of magic, helped on by an old Jewish tailor of singular psychological insight, brings this family to a kind of realization of all their dreams - except one. It's simply a presentation of how magic can work on even the most basic levels. To this comes the overwhelming charm of the street life of East End with a picturesque gallery of originals without end, so you could easily see this film many times and each time find new treasures; and the great acting of all the protagonists, Diana Dors, 'Britain's only blonde bomb-shell' stealing every scene she appears in, and Celia Johnson good as always, while the two characters you will remember with the greatest pleasure undoubtedly will be David Kossoff as Mr Kandinsky the old tailor, and the boy Joe, played by Jonathan Ashmore - I've never seen him again. Primo Camera as the monstrous Python and Danny Green as Bully Bason add another kind of charm and spice to the stew and enrich the colorful gallery with burlesque and sometimes awesome brutality. Finally poetry is added to it by the endearing music of Benjamin Frankel, veiling it all in lovability. This was Carol Reed's first color film and will remain a priceless gem of poetry-in-the-gutter for all times.

A nostalgic film which works on many levels. It is as gentle a look at the innocent magic of childhood as Stephen Spielberg's E.T. It is also a look at the indomitable spirit of London's east enders only 10 years after the end of WWII. Another level is a look back at the 50's, which seem chaste by comparison with today. As one who grew up in the 50's, I can remember that it was exactly like that. Wrestling matches were gritty affairs which took place on Friday night's at the local drill hall, and attracted all the small town gamblers, crooks, bookmakers and "fast Eddies" in town.

The film captures the cockney humor and sharp wit of the polyglot community practically living on top of each other. People lived close to the small shops and businesses. Everyone knew everyone else and saw them all day. Their lives were lived openly, with the neighbors sharing in each others joys, sorrows, gossip, romances, and whatever. The most shining performance is that of the wonderful character actor, David Kossof, as the elderly tailor who strives to keep the child's dream alive.

At last, a chance to see this unique, rarely played film again. During a resent trip to the UK and a chance visit with friends to Covent Gardens market, I happened to find a DVD copy. While my copy is not one of the re-mastered Criterion discs, this HVE disc has very good visual quality (even if the audio may be a slight thin) The transfer from the original IB three strip Technicolor is fine indeed.

When I first saw this work I had no idea it was made by that great British master Carol Reed (odd Man Out '47 ~ The Third Man '49 etc) This is a film of believable humanity with a true sense of beauty (often amidst back alleys). This unusual story at first seems to be a fantasy but it later dawns on the viewer that all that happens, does so by natural coincidence.

It's almost told through the eyes of Joe, a young lad growing up in a part of London now long gone (pettycoat lane)...the real story teller though, is the local tailor superbly played by David Kossoff. He's the gentle teller of stories that create a sense of wonder in young Joe. This marvelous story, written by Wolf Mankowitz has so many nuisances, I can't help but feel both these characters were etched out of the writers recollections and experiences of growing up with such people in similar surroundings. It's also spiced with some very witty humor.

In another of Wolf's award winning short stories "The Bespoke Overcoat" he tells the story of a tailor (again played by David Kossoff) this also featured strong overtones of human responsibilities. Many of the characters in 'A Kid for two Farthings' are quite gruff and the theme involves some grotesque wrestling scenes but somehow the drama of these everyday lives all adds up to a very special experience.

In some ways the look and feel of 'Kid' is reminiscent of Reed's "Oliver" a decade later. The young lovers of this piece are convincingly played by Diana Dors (her best work though was probably in "Yield to the Night" in '56) and wrestler Joe Robinson - surprisingly good in his role. Robinson, having been injured in various rough and tumble bouts realized movies offered a safer way to make a living. Young Joe (Johnathon Ashmore) who never made another film, grew up to become a Physiology lecturer.

This film is given a terrific look by superb Director of Photography Ted Scaife whose other works included the classic 'Outcasts of the Islands' 51 and two surprise entries in the Tarzan series 'The Greatest Adventure' 59 and 'The Magnificent' 60. Everything he photographs is graced with eye popping Art Direction by multi Award winner Wilfred Shingleton ('Great Expectations' 48 ~ African Queen' 51) The above combination brought together by an astute director, with a sensitive script, assures that this film offers a veritable visual treat. The film was well received at Cannes film festival and deserved its nomination for a Palme D'or.

The melodic music by prolific jazz and symphonic composer Benjamin Frankel, also known for: 'Footsteps in the Fog' 55 and 'End of the Affair' 55, adds just the right finishing touch. It tells much about the modern media industry when these great Motion Pictures don't receive the recognition they deserve, while so much cartoonish fluff flourishes.

If you like entertainment with a flair for realistic details and warmth, then this could be for you. The final walk off with tailor Kandinsky cradling the 'unicorn' won't be forgotten easily. Recommended for discerning viewing or film study...AND, good quality DVD's are out there!....KenR.

Young Joe is constantly enthralled by tales of a Unicorn, told to him by Kadinsky the tailor, he is mesmerised by the notion that a Unicorn can make wishes come true. Whilst roaming the market he happens upon a seller who has a one horned Goat for sale, believing it to be a Unicorn, Joe barters for the Goat and begins to see little miracles happening to the folk around the area.

This is a positively delightful film, based on the novel by Wolf Mankowitz, this is the first colour film from acclaimed director Carol Reed. A Kid For Two Farthings plays out the innocence of youth amongst a backdrop of working class trades folk in London's Petticoat Lane, young Joe, believing the Unicorn has mystical powers, starts asking for little miracles to happen to those around him, low and behold fortunes start to take an upturn. That the miracles are easily explained is of no importance in the picture, it's the belief system that this one horned Goat, via Joe's prompting, instills in everyone, a hark back to the time in us all when we believed in magic and miracles.

The cast list boasts Celia Johnson {sadly underused}, Diana Dors, David Kossoff, Brenda de Banzie, Primo Carnera {perfectly cast as a hulking bully of a wrestler} and Sid James. Reed should take a lot of credit for getting such a joyous performance from Jonathan Ashmore as Joe, it's a lovely turn that has sweet innocence seeping from every frame. The film culminates in a well staged wrestling match that ups the tempo considerably, and then the film closes with a truly wonderful final shot that left this particular viewer feeling all the more richer for having just watched this picture. 8/10