Wayne Peake
A really nice, modest little movie. It somehow makes the bleak town in northern England where it is set seem cheery and attractive. Notable for the presence of Anthony Newley in a very early role. Also Dianna Dors is there, very beautiful in a platinum blonde way, and Honor Blackman as the female romantic lead is aloof and fetching. Male lead John McCallum has a touch of Keith Miller the Australian cricketer about him. Quite compelling theme music. Overall, a surprisingly pleasant couple of hours - its usually played in Australia in the early morning hours, and thus goes quite well with a cup of Milo and a piece or two of cheese on toast for insomniacs.
malcolmgsw
This was one of the films from the Rank pro-gramme trying to entice audiences back to the cinema.Some hope.About the only people it is likely to please are those interested in cycle racing and picturesque scenery.\the plot is poorly written and in fact it even leaves one major plot line unresolved.Maybe Rank decided that at 87 minutes enough was enough.What is worse is that everyone in the film seems to have their own accent.Anthony Newley as a pilfering teenager stands out with a Cockney accent.Now how did he manage to get that living in Yorkshire?The only interesting aspect of the story is the army deserter who had fled from London.Clearly this must still have been a live issue when the film was made.Only Diana Dors comes out of this with her reputation intact.
petshel
I saw the film in our local cinema in Paddington in 1949, when I was nearly 13 and a keen cyclist. All of us young boys rated it highly, not least for the unique way the rear brake cable was routed to the brake via a small pilot tube within the bike's top tube. It was the first time that we had seen the young Diana Dors (I think she was 16 at this time) and a real head-turner. Honor Blackman spoke with a creditable Yorkshire accent and I particularly remember the scene when, after having a puncture, she asks John McCullum to "pass the patches and solution". Years later I met Miss Blackman when she was learning to fly at my flying club, Flairavia, at Biggin Hill in 1964 after having just played the part of Pussy Galore in "Gold Finger" - she couldn't remember saying those (to me) immortal lines from the 1949 film! I think the film has stood the test of time and is well worth viewing to remind us how we all lived.Peter Woodman.
calvertfan
Didn't Diana Dors look so nice before they dyed her hair and made her into some kind of English Monroe? She reminded me of a very young Lana Turner here. And John McCallum. Whoa, boy! Plenty of nice shots of him in those little shorts and bathers raised my rating of this up to a 9. This film isn't really "a" boy, "a" girl or "a" bike, it's many. Ada and her many admirers, Charlie and his Ginger, Susie and her Sam and David, vying for her affections.. There seemed to be a few minor plots going on before they struck the big one - Charlie being in debt and stealing a bike to cover it, naturally he steals one with unique brake wires that is easily identifiable, naturally David buys said bike and everything ends up pear-shaped - but it's definitely a lot of fun to watch!
AD
