Description

FIRST EVER RELEASE! NEW EXCLUSIVE RENOWN DVD    

Child’s Play

WITH SUBTITLES 

PLUS: FRONT LINE KIDS NEWLY RESTORED WITH SUBTITLES
and an exclusive interview with ANNEKE WILLS

Extra Features: also included on the disc are the following bonus features: FRONT LINE KIDS and an exclusive interview with ANNEKE WILLS, who played Alice Nightingale in Child’s Play, and went on to appear in Some People with Kenneth More and Doctor Who.

£15 WITH FREE UK POSTAGE

Run time: 66 minutes

Renown Pictures present Child’s Play (made in 1952 and released in 1954), a science-fiction comedy film about children who manage to split the atom! What could possibly go wrong? Never before released on DVD, this nostalgic 1950s film portrays a sweet and innocent view of post-war childhood and features early performances by Anneke Wills and Christopher Beeny.

What happens when a bunch of unruly children get their hands on an atomic chemistry set? They manage to split the atom and thereby create a new form of popcorn! Mischief soon follows when their little enterprise goes global, despite the interference of a suspicious local detective in this family-friendly adventure. A charming, nostalgic trip to childhood in 1950s Britain, this classic film was directed by Margaret Thomson, previously a prolific director of instructional horticultural, agricultural and medical films for wartime audiences. She went on to work as a casting director at Pinewood Studios, coaching the children on, among other films, Philip Leacock’s Kidnappers (1953). The two children involved (Jon Whitely and Vincent Winter) were awarded honorary Oscars. In the late 1950s she established a production company with her husband Bob Ash, retiring in 1977. The film features an amazing cast that includes early appearances by future stars including Mona Washbourne (My Fair Lady), Ballard Berkeley (Fawlty Towers) and the beloved Peter Sallis, (Last of the Summer Wine). Based on a script by Don Sharp, who also worked on the film as an assistant.

Produced by: Group 3 (1951 – 1955)

In 1951 the National Film Finance Corporation (NFFC) helped to set up Group 3, to bring forward new talent. John Grierson and producer/director John Baxter ran the organisation, producing films funded by the NFFC and theAssociated British distribution arm.

Starring: Christopher Beeny Horatio Flynn, Ernest Scott Ernest Rutheford Chappell, Patrick Wells Hans ‘Einstein’ Blotz, Ian Smith Tom Chizzler, Anneke Wills Alice Nightingale (as Anneke Willys), Peter Sallis Bill (grocery merchant), Wendy Westcott Mary Huxley, Peter Martyn Police Constable ‘Nosey’ Parker, Mona Washbourne Miss Emily Goslett, John Sharp Police Sgt. Butler, Elain Sykes Linda Chappel (kid sister), Dorothy Alison  Margery Chappell, Carl Jaffe  Carl Blotz, Ingeborg von Kusserow Lea Blotz  (as Ingeborg Wells), Ballard Berkeley Dr. Nightingale

Directed by: Margaret Thomson, Produced by: Herbert Mason, Written by: Don Sharp

Music by: Antony Hopkins, Cinematography:  Denny Densham, Edited by: John Legard, Production company: Group Three Productions, Distributed by: British Lion Film Corporation (UK), Filmed at Southall Studios and on location. 

AN EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH ANNEKE WILLS

Anneke won her first film role at the age of 11 while she was living on a houseboat in Berkshire. The film was called Child’s Play and she gave the £9 fee to her mother. Deciding she wanted to become an actor, she studied drama at the Arts Educational School in London and quickly became one of the busiest performers of her generation. Hear her wonderful memories of Child’s Play and her varied career in this exclusive interview, conducted by Robert Ross.

FRONT LINE KIDS (1942)

WITH SUBTITLES 

Fully restored, with missing scenes.

Run time: 74 minutes

This British comedy film directed by Maclean Rogers was made at the Riverside Studios in Hammersmith. The film sets were designed by the art director Andrew Mazzei. Set in wartime London, a group of boys assist an incompetent hotel porter in thwarting a gang of criminals.

Starring: Gerald Rex Bert Wragg, Leslie Fuller Nobby Clarkson, John Singer Ginger Smith, John Tacchi Front Line Gang Member, Marion Gerth Elsa la Rue, David Keir The Parson, George Pughe Pinski, Anthony Holles Hotelier, Ralph Michael Paul, Ben Williams Porter, Norman Pierce P.C. Rozzer, Eric Clavering Carl, Vi Kaley Mrs. Lowther, Nora Gordon Evacuee organiser, O.B. Clarence ‘Real’ Clergyman, Vincent Holman Police Sergeant, Front Line Gang Members: Brian Fitzpatrick, Derek Prendergast, Gerald Moore, Michael John, David Anthony 

Directed by:  Maclean Rogers