A Boy, a Girl and a Bike is a 1949 British romantic comedy film directed by Ralph Smart and starring John McCallum, Honor Blackman and Patrick Holt,[2] with art direction by George Provis.[3][4] The screenplay was by Ted Willis. The film is set in Wakeford and in the Yorkshire Dales and features cycle sabotage and cycling tactics.
| A Boy, a Girl and a Bike | |
|---|---|
.jpg) British quad poster | |
| Directed by | Ralph Smart |
| Screenplay by | Ted Willis |
| Story by | Ralph Keene & John Sommerfield |
| Produced by | Ralph Keene Alfred Roome |
| Starring | John McCallum Honor Blackman Patrick Holt Diana Dors |
| Cinematography | Ray Elton Phil Grindrod |
| Edited by | James Needs |
| Music by | Kenneth Pakeman |
Production company | |
| Distributed by | General Film Distributors (UK) |
Release date |
|
Running time | 92 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £61,000 (by 1953)[1] |
Plot
editYoung couple Sue and Sam are members of a Yorkshire cycling club, the Wakeford Wheelers. Romantic complications ensue when wealthy David becomes smitten with Sue and joins the club to pursue her, much to Sam's dismay.
Cast
edit- John McCallum as David Howarth
- Honor Blackman as Susie Bates
- Patrick Holt as Sam Walters
- Diana Dors as Ada Foster
- Maurice Denham as Bill Martin
- Leslie Dwyer as Steve Hall
- Anthony Newley as Charlie Ritchie
- Megs Jenkins as Nan Ritchie
- John Blythe as Frank Martin
- Hal Osmond as Mr. Bates
- Thora Hird as Mrs. Bates
- Amy Veness as Grandma Bates
- Maggie Hanley as Ginger
- Cyril Chamberlain as Bert Gardner
- Barry Letts as Syd
- Vera Cook as Helen Gardner
- Julien Mitchell as Mr. Howarth
- Alison Leggatt as Mrs. Howarth
- Lyn Evans as Policeman in Cafe
- Margot Bourke as Mary Bates
- Geoffrey Best as Harry
- John Howlett as Alf Pearson
- Patrick Halstead as Willie
- Joan Seton as Beryl Howarth
- Dennis Peck as Norman Bates
- Vera Williams as Jill Bates
- Bernard Hepton as Cyclist
- Gerald Lawson as Dog Seller
- Barbara Murray
- Valerie Pearson as Cyclist
- Charles Saynor as Policeman
- Marianne Stone
- Ben Williams as New Houseowner
Production
editThe film is based on an original idea by Sydney Box, who was head of production at Gainsborough. Box devised the idea while out for a Sunday drive and assigned the script to Ted Willis, who had worked for Box on the scripts for Holiday Camp and The Huggetts Abroad. Willis had a reputation as a skilled writer for working-class characters. The film was originally titled Wheels Within Wheels.[5][6]
Richard Attenborough was meant to play a key role but was busy making The Guinea Pig, so Patrick Holt played his part instead.[7]
In March 1948, Smart scouted locations in Yorkshire[8] and filming took place in September 1948 at Lime Grove Studios as well as on location in Yorkshire at places including Wakefield, Hebden Bridge, Skipton and Malham Cove.[9]
Reception
editVariety called the film "feeble ... valueless for the US market."[10]
The Monthly Film Bulletin called it a "simple unpretentious story enlivened by flashes of homely Yorkshire humour."[11]
Leslie Halliwell said: "Mild comedy drama with the advantage of fresh air locations."[12]
In British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959 David Quinlan rated the film as "average", writing: "Homespun humour and romance, with a variety of accents from the Rank Charm School."[13]
The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 2/5 stars, writing: "A minor, good-natured British comedy romance ... The cosy enterprise demonstrates why, with certain superior exceptions, the public preferred American films."[14]
References
edit- ^ Andrew Spicer, Sydney Box Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 211
- ^ Spicer p.214
- ^ "A Boy, a Girl and a Bike". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ "A Boy, A Girl and a Bike (1949)". Archived from the original on 26 March 2017.
- ^ Spicer, Andrew (2006). Sydney Box. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719059995.
- ^ Ted Willis, Evening All: 50 Years Over a Hot Typewriter (London: Macmillan, 1991), pp. 11, 23.
- ^ "U.S. ACTOR'S FIRST FILM IS BRITISH". The Sun. No. 11948. New South Wales, Australia. 13 May 1948. p. 17 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 11 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "They'll spend summer outside -- if it's fine". The Sun. No. 2345. New South Wales, Australia. 21 March 1948. p. 35. Retrieved 11 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ "McCALLUM BACK AFTER HOLLYWOOD HOLIDAY". The Mail (Adelaide). Vol. 37, no. 1, 900. South Australia. 30 October 1948. p. 3 (SUNDAY MAGAZINE). Retrieved 11 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
- ^ Review of film at Variety
- ^ BOY A GIRL AND A BIKE Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 16, Iss. 186, (June 30, 1949): 96.
- ^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 135. ISBN 0586088946.
- ^ Quinlan, David (1984). British Sound Films: The Studio Years 1928–1959. London: B.T. Batsford Ltd. p. 195. ISBN 0-7134-1874-5.
- ^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 123. ISBN 9780992936440.
Bibliography
edit- Spicer, Andrew. Sydney Box. Manchester University Press, 2006.
External links
edit- A Boy, a Girl and a Bike at IMDb
- A Boy a Girl and a Bike at BFI
- A Boy a Girl and a Bike at Letterbox DVD