No Kidding (film)
| No Kidding | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Original British quad poster | |
| Directed by | Gerald Thomas |
| Produced by | Peter Rogers |
| Written by |
Verily Anderson Robin Estridge Norman Hudis |
| Starring |
Leslie Phillips Geraldine McEwan Joan Hickson |
| Music by | Bruce Montgomery |
| Cinematography | Alan Hume |
Production company |
Peter Rogers Productions |
| Distributed by | Anglo-Amalgamated Film Distributors |
Release dates | 1960 |
Running time | 86 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
No Kidding is a 1960 British comedy film directed by Gerald Thomas featuring Leslie Phillips, Geraldine McEwan and Irene Handl, Noel Purcell and Julia Lockwood.[1] The film is adapted from Verily Anderson's 1958 memoir Beware of Children,[2][3] under which title the film was released in the US.[4] Anderson also wrote the screenplay.
The film has been interpreted by film scholar Wheeler Dixon as "a gentle critique of A. S. Neill's Summerhill method of schooling".[5] Elsewhere it is described as "surprisingly sophisticated fare that also scores a number of interesting points about greed, privilege and class."[6]
Plot
David (Leslie Phillips) and Catherine Robinson (Geraldine McEwan) move into a rundown country house. After a number of failed ventures, they are looking to build a solid business. They strike upon the idea of setting up a summer home for the children of the wealthy. They attract a number of customers, and hire a matron (June Jago) and a cook (Joan Hickson), and immediately fall foul of a local councillor (Irene Handl) who does not believe they should be allowed to look after children.
The families arrive and drop off their children. They range from polite, scared and helpful to wild, spoilt, rebellious children led by an American brother and sister, and an English fantasist girl (Julia Lockwood), who tries to insist that she has been maltreated by her in fact kindly family.
As the children grow increasingly ill-disciplined, the staff and owners battle to keep them under control. The father advocates a tough approach while his wife beliefs that the children's freedom should be allowed to flourish. They are undermined by an increasingly drunken cook, and the wild antics of the children.
After an illicit midnight trip out to a nearby cafe, the children are grounded for two days. They also hear that the local council are sending an inspector round, who is likely to close them down if they fail the test. They rally the staff and children, who behave correctly when the visitors come.
When the children's families come to collect them, they refuse to come down - wishing they could stay. They insist that in future they are treated better by their parents, to which the parents agree. The children depart. The Robinsons, realising that they have now got financial security, decide to fulfil their dream of having more children of their own.
Cast
- Leslie Phillips as David Robinson
- Geraldine McEwan as Catherine Robinson
- Julia Lockwood as Fenella / "Vanilla"
- Irene Handl as Mrs Spicer
- Noel Purcell as Tandy
- Joan Hickson as Cook
- June Jago as Matron
- Cyril Raymond as Colonel Matthews
- Esma Cannon as District Nurse
- Alan Gifford as Edgar Treadgold
- Sydney Tafler as Mr Rockbottom
- Brian Oulton as Vicar
- Eric Pohlmann as King
- Patricia Jessel as Queen
- Brian Rawlinson as Will
- Michael Sarne as Henri
- Joy Shelton as Mrs Rockbottom
- Earl Cameron as Black father
- Pearl Prescod as Black mother
- Peter Howell as father of Angus
- Marion Mathie as Helen Treadgold
- Peggy Simpson as mother of Angus
- Noel Hood as Vicar's wife
- Cyril Chamberlain as Cafe proprietor
- Christopher Witty as Richard Robinson
- Martin Stephens as Angus
- Francesca Annis as Priscilla
- Haydn Evans as Lionel
- Michael Gowdy as Dandy Big Treadgold
- Janet Bradbury (as Jeanette Bradbury) as Dandy Little Treadgold
- Keith Lacey as Hassan
- Mark Milleham as Suleiman
- Millicent Kerr as Eileen
- Louise Redman as Margaret
References
- ↑ "No Kidding (1960)". BFI.
- ↑ Eloise Millar, "Verily Anderson obituary", The Guardian, 29 July 2010.
- ↑ Janie Hampton, "Verily Anderson: Writer of humorous, optimistic children's books and memoirs", The Independent, 3 August 2010.
- ↑ "No Kidding (1961)", Release Info, IMDb.
- ↑ Dixon, Wheeler W. "The Director as Journeyman" (Ralph Thomas interview, 3 February 1995), in Collected Interviews: Voices from Twentieth-Century Cinema, SIU Press, 2001, p. 117.
- ↑ "No Kidding (Leslie Phillips)", Studiocanal.
External links
- No Kidding at the Internet Movie Database
- "No Kidding (1960)", with clip from the film. Summer Camp Culture.