A Kid for Two Farthings (1955)
May 18, 2020 11:18:50 GMT
mattgarth, spiderwort, and 2 more like this
Post by wmcclain on May 18, 2020 11:18:50 GMT
A Kid for Two Farthings (1955), produced and directed by Carol Reed.
Cute little boy Joe grows up in the street markets of the East End in London, fascinated by all the animal stalls. I think it is supposed to be a Jewish neighborhood. His mother (Celia Johnson, last seen in Brief Encounter (1945)) works for a tailor who tells Joe about the magic of the unicorn, its ability to grant wishes. Joe buys a runty little goat with only one horn and assures everyone the unicorn will get them what they need.
Everyone works and everyone has dreams. Mom needs Dad to come back from Africa. Seamstress Sonia (Diana Dors, last seen in The Long Haul (1957) and briefly in Deep End (1970)) wants to marry her bodybuilder boyfriend but they have no money unless he gets into the wrestling game. The tailor needs a steam press.
It's very sweet, perhaps excessively so. Critics love Carol Reed but didn't care for this one. Like all "kids with animals" stories it turns weepy at the end. That poor weak little goat. Too many wishes.
My thumbnails are from a disc in the "Diana Dors: The Collection" PAL DVD box set. She is a supporting character in most of the other titles, which are:
Cute little boy Joe grows up in the street markets of the East End in London, fascinated by all the animal stalls. I think it is supposed to be a Jewish neighborhood. His mother (Celia Johnson, last seen in Brief Encounter (1945)) works for a tailor who tells Joe about the magic of the unicorn, its ability to grant wishes. Joe buys a runty little goat with only one horn and assures everyone the unicorn will get them what they need.
Everyone works and everyone has dreams. Mom needs Dad to come back from Africa. Seamstress Sonia (Diana Dors, last seen in The Long Haul (1957) and briefly in Deep End (1970)) wants to marry her bodybuilder boyfriend but they have no money unless he gets into the wrestling game. The tailor needs a steam press.
It's very sweet, perhaps excessively so. Critics love Carol Reed but didn't care for this one. Like all "kids with animals" stories it turns weepy at the end. That poor weak little goat. Too many wishes.
My thumbnails are from a disc in the "Diana Dors: The Collection" PAL DVD box set. She is a supporting character in most of the other titles, which are:
- Diamond City (1949): a formula "western" in the South African diamond fields. Featuring Honor Blackman, age 24.
- A Boy, a Girl and a Bike (1949): Yorkshire bicycle club romance, again with Honor Blackman, a better role for her.
- Lady Godiva Rides Again (1951): it's actually about beauty pageants.
- As Long as They're Happy (1955): with Janette Scott, age 17.
- Yield to the Night (1956): a starring role for Dors in a serious death penalty drama.
- The Blonde Bombshell (1999): TV bio-pic with Keeley Hawes as the younger and Amanda Redman as the older Dors.
