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| Cache of children's films that gave stars their big break is set for new release | |
| (4 days later) | |
| A forgotten catalogue of hundreds of British children's films, all shot in the school holidays from the 1950s to 1980s, is to be re-released after lying dormant while many of their young stars rose to fame and fortune. | |
| Performers such as Phil Collins, Michael Crawford, Leslie Ash, Susan George, Sadie Frost and Gary Kemp all got their first screen work in Children's Film Foundation features, which entertained the nation's youth at Saturday morning cinema screenings. The British Film Institute has announced that it will be releasing the entire catalogue and screening many of the best features at special events which are sure to attract nostalgic fans and social historians. | Performers such as Phil Collins, Michael Crawford, Leslie Ash, Susan George, Sadie Frost and Gary Kemp all got their first screen work in Children's Film Foundation features, which entertained the nation's youth at Saturday morning cinema screenings. The British Film Institute has announced that it will be releasing the entire catalogue and screening many of the best features at special events which are sure to attract nostalgic fans and social historians. |
| "The early black-and-white films from the 1950s were rather middle-class and wholesome, so you can imagine the children throwing their ice cream tubs at the screen back then, but even these are still interesting period pieces for us to look at now," said the BFI's Vic Pratt, curator of the CFF archive. | "The early black-and-white films from the 1950s were rather middle-class and wholesome, so you can imagine the children throwing their ice cream tubs at the screen back then, but even these are still interesting period pieces for us to look at now," said the BFI's Vic Pratt, curator of the CFF archive. |
| The first DVD release, on 26 July, will centre on high jinks and adventure in London, but other rural gems from the back catalogue include Phil Collins in Calamity the Cow, about a boy who is given a cow and then tracks down a band of cattle rustlers. Similarly, a young Sadie Frost foils a dairy robbery in A Horse Called Jester. There is also the chance to see a schoolgirl Susan George alongside Olivia Hussey in 1965's Cup Fever. | |
| Gary Kemp, who like many of the other nascent stars was plucked from a London stage school, can be seen sporting a tank top in the comparatively gritty 1972 drama Hide & Seek, about a boy coping with a dysfunctional and criminally inclined family. | Gary Kemp, who like many of the other nascent stars was plucked from a London stage school, can be seen sporting a tank top in the comparatively gritty 1972 drama Hide & Seek, about a boy coping with a dysfunctional and criminally inclined family. |
| "The foundation was an initiative of J. Arthur Rank's because there was a lot of suspicion about all the American suspense and horror comics and entertainment," said Pratt. "A pioneering and rather eccentric producer and director called Mary Field ran it and they carried out a lot of tests in cinemas by taking photographs of children's faces at particular points and gauging their reactions to different scenes. They were looking to see when they were scared and when entertained. Then they produced what they felt would keep children watching." | "The foundation was an initiative of J. Arthur Rank's because there was a lot of suspicion about all the American suspense and horror comics and entertainment," said Pratt. "A pioneering and rather eccentric producer and director called Mary Field ran it and they carried out a lot of tests in cinemas by taking photographs of children's faces at particular points and gauging their reactions to different scenes. They were looking to see when they were scared and when entertained. Then they produced what they felt would keep children watching." |
| The CFF was not run for profit and had a minimal annual production budget of only £60,000, which meant that most films ran for less than an hour and were filmed in less than a fortnight. | The CFF was not run for profit and had a minimal annual production budget of only £60,000, which meant that most films ran for less than an hour and were filmed in less than a fortnight. |
| Ticket prices remained at sixpence until 1971 so the films were widely accessible. The CFF also managed to attract some established acting talent for the adult roles, with Ronnie Barker, David Lodge, Wilfred Bramble, Frazer Hines, Patricia Hayes and Bernard Cribbins all appearing in cameos on minimum union rates. | Ticket prices remained at sixpence until 1971 so the films were widely accessible. The CFF also managed to attract some established acting talent for the adult roles, with Ronnie Barker, David Lodge, Wilfred Bramble, Frazer Hines, Patricia Hayes and Bernard Cribbins all appearing in cameos on minimum union rates. |
| Professional directors with good track records kept visual standards high. Directors Lewis Gilbert, Alberto Cavalcanti and John Krish all had CFF outings and in 1972 the revered film makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made The Boy Who Turned Yellow – the last production from their celebrated Archers partnership. | Professional directors with good track records kept visual standards high. Directors Lewis Gilbert, Alberto Cavalcanti and John Krish all had CFF outings and in 1972 the revered film makers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger made The Boy Who Turned Yellow – the last production from their celebrated Archers partnership. |
| "As the 60s came along, the foundation started to make films in colour and there were regional accents and black kids too. They were not so middle class any more. In fact they got quite up to date," said Pratt. | |
| In 1963's Go Kart Go, a teenage Dennis Waterman can be seen in the story of a failed attempt to sabotage a race. Other notable acting alumni of the CFF include Francesca Annis, Richard O'Sullivan, Keith Chegwin and television presenter Matthew Wright. | In 1963's Go Kart Go, a teenage Dennis Waterman can be seen in the story of a failed attempt to sabotage a race. Other notable acting alumni of the CFF include Francesca Annis, Richard O'Sullivan, Keith Chegwin and television presenter Matthew Wright. |
| "Carlton, which is now [part of] ITV, owned the rights, so after negotiation we are releasing the whole catalogue in conjunction with the film foundation," said Pratt. | |
| "We put out a few Enid Blyton titles last year and they did very well, so after dipping a toe in the water we wanted to put out the lot, including the short films and serials. They are great entertainment and they show how England was in a way that nothing else has captured on film." | "We put out a few Enid Blyton titles last year and they did very well, so after dipping a toe in the water we wanted to put out the lot, including the short films and serials. They are great entertainment and they show how England was in a way that nothing else has captured on film." |
| Blyton gave the CFF all the rights to her books because she distrusted other film-makers. "I tried out one of the Blyton adventures on my six-year-old nephew and although he was a bit put off by it being in black and white at first, he loved it and has seen it several times before asking for the book," Pratt said. | Blyton gave the CFF all the rights to her books because she distrusted other film-makers. "I tried out one of the Blyton adventures on my six-year-old nephew and although he was a bit put off by it being in black and white at first, he loved it and has seen it several times before asking for the book," Pratt said. |
| The films are all preserved in the BFI National Archive and a selection will be screened at BFI Southbank in London and released on BFI DVDs over the next few years. The first DVD release of London-based titles includes The Salvage Gang (1958), Operation Third Form (1966) and Night Ferry (1976). | The films are all preserved in the BFI National Archive and a selection will be screened at BFI Southbank in London and released on BFI DVDs over the next few years. The first DVD release of London-based titles includes The Salvage Gang (1958), Operation Third Form (1966) and Night Ferry (1976). |
| In 1982 the foundation formally embraced television in its title, although production stopped five years later as the new medium drew children away from cinemas. Now known as the Children's Media Foundation, it retains an advisory function and is chaired by Anna Home, who said she hopes a new audience will now discover the work. | In 1982 the foundation formally embraced television in its title, although production stopped five years later as the new medium drew children away from cinemas. Now known as the Children's Media Foundation, it retains an advisory function and is chaired by Anna Home, who said she hopes a new audience will now discover the work. |
| "These films are examples of great storytelling specifically created for children," she said. | "These films are examples of great storytelling specifically created for children," she said. |
| Highlights to look forward to include the release of Mr Horatio Nibbles, a 1977 feature about a giant rabbit visible only to a young girl, and the award-winning Glitterball, which tells of an alien that crashlands on Earth and befriends some children, predating Steven Spielberg's ET by three years. | Highlights to look forward to include the release of Mr Horatio Nibbles, a 1977 feature about a giant rabbit visible only to a young girl, and the award-winning Glitterball, which tells of an alien that crashlands on Earth and befriends some children, predating Steven Spielberg's ET by three years. |
| • This article was corrected on 20 June 2012 to make clear the BFI brought out the films in collaboration with Carlton and that Leslie Ash did not appear in Cup Fever. |