Quincy's Quest

I first watched this aged 7 in black and white and cried. The next time I saw it was in colour and I cried even more lol. Heartbroken that I can't share it with my children and grandchildren

Quincy's Quest is quite simply one of the most moving interpretations of the story of man's triumph over tradgedy. It captures the upward struggle of a group of rejected toys (read bourgeoisie)in their upward journey of salvation over the toy story owners (read proletariat), with compassion and grace. If Eisenstein had worked in Hamleys this is the film he would have made. If you like this title you'll also appreciate Ben Hur and Birth of a Nation, although both pale in comparison to this masterwork. A timeless classic.

The Holy Grail. The Fisher King. Moby Dick. The quest motif is as old as story-telling itself, but never told so effectively or thought-provokingly as this 1979 masterpiece. Steele is solid, Franklin the stuff of childhood nightmares,but it is Reed's bold, sweeping directorial strokes that set this epic towering over its contemporaries. The fact it is set at Christmas lends it atmosphere but is immaterial - the themes are timeless, as valid now as they ever were. Essential.

Tommy Steele was a popular entertainer when I was a kid. A pop singer, actor and frequent performer in musicals.

He had a trademark toothy grin but I was surprised how relatively few films he made.

In the late 1970s he branched out into television and made two Christmas Specials for ITV and Quincy's Quest was one of them. You might say it was the Toy Story of its day.

A live action extravaganza with plenty of blue screen. Steele plays Quincy an imperfect toy among group of rejected ones in a department store and are set to be destroyed. He sets outs in a quest to visit Santa in his grotto on the top floor in order to save these toys destined to be thrown into the fire. However a wicked witch is hellbent on stopping Quincy.

Quincy gets detoured along the way, a showman puts him on a wrong train which crashes, a damsel sends him to the army and then he battles giant robots.

Its really musical theatre with plenty of effects. Steele is in his element with the song and dance numbers, Mel Martin is very appealing and Gretchen Franklin (Ethel from Eastenders) is the witch.

The special effects have dated but its still an enjoyable show for kids.

I seen this Christmas 1979 never seen it again should be with the great classics