P'tang, Yang, Kipperbang

1948. 14-year-old Alan Duckworth dreams of playing cricket for England and of kissing Ann Lawton, a classmate. She is oblivious to his infatuation and only has eyes for Geoffrey, the class heartthrob. It seems Alan's dreams will forever be dashed but then fate intervenes.

A sweet, funny coming-of-age film. Solid, entertaining plot and engaging characters and heaps of nostalgia make for a great movie. You can't watch this without thinking of your own school days and relating to Alan's priorities and predicament.

It's not just about the kids: the adults' sub-plots are very entertaining too. These also bring up some interesting themes.

Solid performances from the (largely) young cast.

An enjoyable movie, without a doubt, and very evocative of both its era and that very particular stage in any boy's 'rites of passage'. But I have to say that having read the very positive comments here, I was a bit disappointed. The period was captured, but the plot was desperately thin. The whole thing revolves around the most egregious bit of miscasting in the history of school plays. The idea that quack quack would ever be chosen to play not only one of only three star turns, but a philanderer, is risible. And without that, nada. The sub-plots bore no relation that I could see to the main plot - all of them could be removed in their entirety without in any way affecting the main story - which surely suggests a fundamental flaw. When all your sub-plots look like padding, you know a central idea is being stretched beyond its limits. Nevertheless, it's a benign movie with its heart in the right place, there are some fine performances, and you just get the feeling that everyone involved felt deflated at the final 'cut!' That good feeling permeates the film. And that has to count for something. A flawed really quite good movie. 7 out of 10.

This sweet, breezy, coming of age/first kiss movie follows the trials and tribulations of Alan "Quack-Quack" Duckworth, a likable young teenager going through his first crush. Set in post WWII Britian, Alan has his public love of Cricket, and his secret puppy-love for classmate Ann Laughton, who barely tolerates his existence. And just as Baseball (or Cricket) can throw you a curve ball, Alan gets his curve ball in the the form of an iron-clad opportunity to kiss the girl of his dreams. But will "Quack-Quack" be able to step up to the plate and fulfill his dream? Well, get a hold of this little gem of a movie and find out. Great supporting cast of his Teacher and Headmaster, his schoolyard chums, and Tommy the Groundskeeper , whom Alan admires, but whom might throw Alan yet another curve ball. All in all, an entertaining movie that I highly recommend.

I was at school in the late sixties and early seventies and this film is very much how my school was. The school play where the leading actors kiss, that happened at my school. A crazy gang of lads, my school again only when we went on a cross country run we would have a smoke! 'Getting the whack', some one at my school broke in through a sky light and broke the canes! after that they were kept in a safe!!! And as for certain nocternal activities! what can I say.... The film actually came out in 1982, I remember that as it was when I bought my house and the film was showing at the same time. If you like British films and films about school, growing up and period pieces, then this is for you. Another film very much like it, 'SWALK', came out a few years before and I for one would like to see that again, also 'Kes' is in the genre. Highly recommended. (But trust me, 1982 is when it came out)

Not as "simple" as the plot synopsis makes out. The lad struggles with issues such as his hopes that after the second world war there will be progress for everyone and that there will be no more wars in the future. It is a sad awakening he has to the reality of lies and deceit. Lies from the person he admires and what we the audience see as the hypocrisy of his form teacher who while preaching moral decency to the class, behaves very differently herself (i am not condemning her it is actually the hypocrisy of the times astutely observed by Jack Rosenthal the author). Still, these are deep waters among the shallows of a "simple" boy girl plot. Oh, and I have't mentioned the cricket commentary that runs through the lads mind at crucial times. If you love any ball game e.g. Baseball, you will so get it- so US do give it a go. You could well love it! Cricket lovers- well it goes without saying.