The Scouting Book for Boys

The Scouting Book for Boys
The Scouting Book for Boys
Directed by	Tom Harper
Written by	Jack Thorne
Produced by	Ivana Mackinnon
Starring	Thomas Turgoose ; Holliday Grainger ; Rafe Spall ; Susan Lynch ; Tony Maudsley ; Steven Mackintosh ;
Cinematography	Robbie Ryan
Edited by	Mark Eckersley
Music by	Jack C. Arnold
Production; companies	Pathé ; Film4 Productions ; Celador Films ; Screen East ;
Distributed by	Warner Bros.
Release dates	21 September 2009(San Sebastián); 19 March 2010(United Kingdom);
Running time	93 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£1 million

Last updated November 15, 2025

The Scouting Book for Boys is a 2009 British drama thriller film directed by Tom Harper in his directorial debut, produced by Ivana MacKinnon and written by Jack Thorne. It stars Thomas Turgoose, Holliday Grainger, Rafe Spall, Susan Lynch, Tony Maudsley and Steven Mackintosh.

Plot

Fourteen-year-old David is spending the summer hanging out with Emily, the only other teenager in his trailer park. When her mum, Sharon, loses custody, Emily refuses to live with her father and convinces David to help her hide in a cave. While he brings Emily supplies and keeps her secret, the police investigate her disappearance – and soon uncover Emily's relationship with her mother's boyfriend, Steve, igniting David's jealousy.

Cast

Thomas Turgoose as David
Holliday Grainger as Emily
Rafe Spall as Steve
Susan Lynch as Sharon
Tony Maudsley as Jim
Steven Mackintosh as DI Kertzer
Ann Eisley as Lucy
Ewan Macintosh as Charlie
Ruth Wellman as Mrs. Fry
Lorraine Bruce as Betty
Candice Manning as Candice

Reception

The film received mixed reviews from critics. On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes , 55% of 22 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.2/10.^[2]

References

↑ "The Scouting Book for Boys (15)". British Board of Film Classification . 20 August 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2023.
↑ "The Scouting Book for Boys". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 25 July 2023.

External links

The Scouting Book for Boys at IMDb
Wilding, Philip. "The Scouting Book For Boys." Empire .

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[1] "The Scouting Book for Boys (15)". British Board of Film Classification . 20 August 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2023.

[Rotten_Tomatoes-2] "The Scouting Book for Boys". Rotten Tomatoes . Fandango Media . Retrieved 25 July 2023.

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v t e Jack Thorne
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Plays written	Sixty-Six Books (Oliver Lewis, 2011) Greenland (2011) Let The Right One In (2013) Harry Potter and the Cursed Child (2016) A Christmas Carol (2017) King Kong (2018, Broadway version) After Life (2021) The Motive and the Cue (2023) When Winston Went to War with the Wireless (2023) Stranger Things: The First Shadow (2023)