The Boy and the Bridge

Last updated

The Boy and the Bridge
The Boy and the Bridge film titles (1959).png
Opening titles
Directed by Kevin McClory
Screenplay byKevin McClory
Geoffrey Orme
Desmond O'Donovan
Story byLeon Ware
Produced by David Eady
Kevin McClory
StarringIan Maclaine
Liam Redmond
James Hayter
Cinematography Edward Scaife
Edited byJack Slade
Music by Malcolm Arnold
Production
company
Xanadu Productions
Distributed by Columbia Pictures
Release date
  • 28 July 1959 (1959-07-28)(United Kingdom)
Running time
91 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

The Boy and the Bridge is a 1959 British drama film produced and directed by Kevin McClory and starring Ian Maclaine, Liam Redmond, James Hayter, Geoffrey Keen and Arthur Lowe. [1] The film was shot during the summer of 1958 and set around London's Tower Bridge from which the film takes its name.

Contents

Plot

Believing his widowed father, Pat Doyle, to have killed a man and that the police, having arrested him, will soon come to put him in a children's home, Tommy Doyle, a little cockney boy, runs away from his Bermondsey lodgings and seeks sanctuary within the confines of his dream castle, Tower Bridge. He makes his home in a room at the top of the north tower, coming and going without being seen and, bit by bit, furnishing it with all the ingenuity of a nine-year-old boy. Here, he makes one friend, a seagull he names Sammy. To the boy, the bridge is a living character with a personality of its own and the catwalks, staircases, engine rooms and bascule chambers are a magic world in which he is king. Although he takes care not to be seen, the maintenance staff become aware of a strange “presence” and their fears are confirmed when one night, Tommy saves the life of a suicidal woman who is about to jump off the bridge into the river. "DON'T", he yells down to her, "DON'T JUMP OFF MY BRIDGE!" The woman is so startled by this voice from somewhere up there, that she changes her mind, believing the voice to be of a supernatural origin. The next day, the newspapers follow up with the story that a protective spirit presides over the bridge. Searching ceaselessly for his son, his father is suddenly confronted by Tommy on the bridge. Following the boy to the top of the tower, he realises that the building has become father, mother and home to the boy, all the things that he should have been. He explains to Tommy that the bridge was built to bring people together and has brought them together too and, as Sammy flies away to join his own kind, Tommy agrees to come home.

Cast

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "This first film, made by a young director who has worked with both Mike Todd and John Huston, is remarkable for its naiveté and its pretensions. Elaborately angled views of Tower Bridge, shots of a willing but not outstandingly talented small boy trotting up and down the bridge and the streets, occasional interludes with whimsical East End characters, are presented at a length that nothing in their content can justify; and the final reconciliation is as sentimentally moralistic as a Victorian nursery tale. Occasionally, notably in the child's resourceful attitude to his housekeeping problems, the picture stumbles into a mild charm. But childhood fantasy needs more than a few winning smiles and a pet seagull to keep it going." [2]

British film critic Leslie Halliwell said: "This tiny fable adds up to very weak entertainment, despite inventive photography, because it has virtually no plot development." [3]

Ian Maclaine

Hailed at the time as a new child star – John Huston declared him the greatest find since Jackie Coogan – Ian Maclaine's real name was Ian McLenahan and he was born in Brighton, Sussex, in the summer of 1949 and was the son of an aircraft worker at De Haviland's Hatfield plant in Hertfordshire. When he was nine years old in the summer of 1958 and a pupil at Sir Thomas Abney Primary School in Stoke Newington, London, he won the part of Tommy Doyle after an exhaustive search which saw the production team interview some 3,000 local boys. He had a brother, Keith, who was two years older than him and who had a small part in the film as a boy Tommy's father momentarily mistakes for Tommy while he is out looking for him at night. "The Boy and The Bridge" was given a royal premiere at the Curzon cinema, London, on Wednesday, July 22, 1959, where Ian was presented to HRH Princess Margaret and it was shown at the Venice Film Festival that year. At the festival, Kevin McClory was nominated as Best Director for the film. Ian Maclaine also attended the festival and was presented to the top film stars of the day. Ian was married to Cutina Drake in Southend-on-Sea in Essex at the age of 26 in 1975 and had two sons, Stuart, born in September 1976, and Alastair, born in November 1978 – both born in Southend-on-Sea.

Related Research Articles

<i>Thunderball</i> (novel) Novel by Ian Fleming

Thunderball is the ninth book in Ian Fleming's James Bond series, and the eighth full-length Bond novel. It was first published in the UK by Jonathan Cape on 27 March 1961, where the initial print run of 50,938 copies quickly sold out. The first novelisation of an unfilmed James Bond screenplay, it was born from a collaboration by five people: Ian Fleming, Kevin McClory, Jack Whittingham, Ivar Bryce and Ernest Cuneo, although the controversial shared credit of Fleming, McClory and Whittingham was the result of a courtroom decision.

<i>The Dead</i> (1987 film) 1987 film by John Huston

The Dead is a 1987 drama film directed by John Huston, written by his son Tony Huston, and starring his daughter Anjelica Huston. It is an adaptation of the short story of the same name by James Joyce, which was first published in 1914 as the last story in Dubliners. An international co-production between the United Kingdom, the United States, and West Germany, the film was Huston's last as director, and it was released several months after his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kevin McClory</span> Irish actor, screenwriter, and producer

Kevin O'Donovan McClory was an Irish screenwriter, film producer, and film director. McClory was best known for producing the James Bond film Thunderball and for his legal battles with the character's creator, Ian Fleming.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Hayter (actor)</span> British actor (1907–1983)

Henry James Hayter was a British actor of television and film. He is best remembered for his roles as Friar Tuck in the film The Story of Robin Hood and His Merrie Men (1952) and as Samuel Pickwick in the film The Pickwick Papers (1952), the latter earning him a BAFTA Award for Best British Actor nomination.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kenneth Connor</span> English actor (1918–1993)

Kenneth Connor, was a British stage, film and broadcasting actor, who rose to national prominence with his appearances in the Carry On films.

<i>Kid Galahad</i> 1962 film by Phil Karlson

Kid Galahad is a 1962 American musical sports drama film starring Elvis Presley as a boxer. It was released by United Artists in August 1962 and opened at #9 at the American box office. Variety ranked it #37 on its list of the top-grossing films of 1962.

<i>The Fallen Idol</i> (film) 1948 British film

The Fallen Idol is a 1948 British mystery thriller film directed by Carol Reed, and starring Ralph Richardson, Bobby Henrey, Michèle Morgan, and Denis O'Dea. Its plot follows the young son of a diplomat in London, who comes to suspect that his family's butler, whom he idolises, has committed a murder. It is based on the 1936 short story "The Basement Room", by Graham Greene.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mundell Lowe</span> American jazz guitarist (1922–2017)

James Mundell Lowe was an American jazz guitarist who worked often in radio, television, and film, and as a session musician.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Private Pike</span> Fictional character in from the sitcom Dads Army

Private Frank Pike is a fictional Home Guard private and junior bank clerk, first portrayed by actor Ian Lavender (1946-2024) in the BBC television sitcom Dad's Army. He was appointed as the platoon's information officer by Captain Mainwaring in "The Man and the Hour". He is frequently referred to by Captain Mainwaring as "stupid boy".

Paul Popowich is a Canadian actor. He is best known for his portrayal of Mr. Smith, an angel who helps people change their pasts, in season two of Twice in a Lifetime. Popowich has performed in many television series, including Beverly Hills, 90210, and features and theatre.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jeremy Summers</span>

Jeremy Summers was a British television director and film director, known for directing television series such as The Saint and films such as Five Golden Dragons, The House of 1,000 Dolls, and The Vengeance of Fu Manchu.

Up Against It is an unproduced script by Joe Orton, written in 1967 for the Beatles at the height of their fame.

Seán McGinley is an Irish actor. He has appeared in about 80 films and television series.

<i>Jonathan Livingston Seagull</i> (film) 1973 US drama film by Hall Bartlett

Jonathan Livingston Seagull is a 1973 American drama film directed by Hall Bartlett, adapted from the 1970 novella of the same name by Richard Bach. The film tells the story of a young seabird who, after being cast out by his stern flock, goes on an odyssey to discover how to break the limits of his own flying speed. The film was produced by filming actual seagulls, then superimposing human dialogue over it. The film's voice actors included James Franciscus in the title role, and Philip Ahn as his mentor, Chang.

Stephen B. Grimes was an English production designer and art director. He won an Oscar and was nominated for two more in the category Best Art Direction.

<i>No Trees in the Street</i> 1959 British film

No Trees in the Street is a 1959 British crime thriller directed by J. Lee Thompson and starring Sylvia Syms, Herbert Lom and Melvyn Hayes. It was written by Ted Willis, from his 1948 stage play of the same name.

<i>Manuela</i> (1957 film) 1957 film

Manuela is a 1957 British drama film directed by Guy Hamilton, starring Trevor Howard and Elsa Martinelli. It was released as Stowaway Girl in the United States.

<i>The Dead</i> (Higson novel) 2010 novel by Charlie Higson

The Dead is a novel written by Charlie Higson. The book, published by Puffin Books in the UK on 16 September 2010, is the second book in a seven-book series, titled The Enemy. The Dead takes place in London, a year before the events in the previous book, two weeks after a worldwide sickness has infected adults turning them into something related to voracious, cannibalistic zombies.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Liam Redmond</span> Irish actor (1913–1989)

Liam Redmond was an Irish character actor known for his stage, film and television roles.

<i>She Didnt Say No!</i> 1958 British film by Cyril Frankel

She Didn't Say No! is a 1958 British comedy film directed by Cyril Frankel and starring Eileen Herlie, Perlita Neilson and Niall MacGinnis. Based on the 1955 novel We Are Seven by Una Troy, an attractive young Irishwoman has six children from five different fathers.

References

  1. "The Boy and the Bridge". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 6 February 2024.
  2. "The Boy and the Bridge". The Monthly Film Bulletin . 26 (300): 122. 1 January 1959 via ProQuest.
  3. Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 134. ISBN   0586088946.