Quincy's Quest

I first watched this aged 7 in black and white and cried. The next time I saw it was in colour and I cried even more lol. Heartbroken that I can't share it with my children and grandchildren

Tommy Steele was a popular entertainer when I was a kid. A pop singer, actor and frequent performer in musicals.

He had a trademark toothy grin but I was surprised how relatively few films he made.

In the late 1970s he branched out into television and made two Christmas Specials for ITV and Quincy's Quest was one of them. You might say it was the Toy Story of its day.

A live action extravaganza with plenty of blue screen. Steele plays Quincy an imperfect toy among group of rejected ones in a department store and are set to be destroyed. He sets outs in a quest to visit Santa in his grotto on the top floor in order to save these toys destined to be thrown into the fire. However a wicked witch is hellbent on stopping Quincy.

Quincy gets detoured along the way, a showman puts him on a wrong train which crashes, a damsel sends him to the army and then he battles giant robots.

Its really musical theatre with plenty of effects. Steele is in his element with the song and dance numbers, Mel Martin is very appealing and Gretchen Franklin (Ethel from Eastenders) is the witch.

The special effects have dated but its still an enjoyable show for kids.

Quincy's quest - I barely remember it but keep hoping each year at Christmas it will appear in the radio times or TV listings but it never does !! Does Anyone know how to get hold of a copy -- or fill me in what happens - i know its about a group of toys about to be incinerated unless they reach Santa Claus but apart from that i got no idea what happened- i believe it was only shown once on TV and that was it.

For many years i thought i'd made this film up in my head !! Maybe i did who knows anyway i spent many times arguing with my family about this as they swear the thing never existed. I have even told some friends about it but they just laughed in my face - so I've resorted to silence and my own quest to find it.

i bet if this film was re-released using todays animations it would probably make a fortune.

Quincy's Quest is quite simply one of the most moving interpretations of the story of man's triumph over tradgedy. It captures the upward struggle of a group of rejected toys (read bourgeoisie)in their upward journey of salvation over the toy story owners (read proletariat), with compassion and grace. If Eisenstein had worked in Hamleys this is the film he would have made. If you like this title you'll also appreciate Ben Hur and Birth of a Nation, although both pale in comparison to this masterwork. A timeless classic.

I totally LOVE this story. Tommy Steele has a wonderful bright personality, and this role really showcases it. I love the songs in this, especially the one sung by the "perfect" dolls, and the stage number hosted by the ventriloquist dummy.

I also love the way that the various elements of the story really balance each other out. The comedy isn't too wacky, the romantic angle isn't TOO sappy, the action and adventure is balanced by the warmth and humour.

This is really top class fantasy storytelling for the child in all of us. I just wish there were more TV specials in this class.