Touch and Go

Touch and Go, a light and airy comedy from Ealing Studios is probably not one of the legendary company's best known films. It doesn't seem to have been included in any of the British box sets that feature titles like The Titfield Thunderbolt or Passport to Pimlico. That fact notwithstanding, Touch and Go is unmistakably Ealing in its plot, pacing and execution. The story finds Jim Fletcher (Jack Hawkins) planning to emigrate to Australia after a row with his employer (James Hayter). As one might expect, the decision to move lock,stock and barrel to another continent is not without pitfalls. Jim's wife is less than enthusiastic about the move, and with two days to go before the trip, his daughter meets a young man. Like most Ealing films, Touch and Go features a quirky storyline, though admittedly not AS quirky as,say, Man in the white suit. The social polemic is here (20th century everyman takes a stand against bureaucracy)and the above par acting, right down to the casting of the extras seems absolutely right. Although by no means a great film, Touch and Go, in lovely Technicolor, eschews belly laughs for gentle comedy and does so with style and wit.

Jack Hawkins who is usually associated with action/adventure films in the British cinema gets a change of pace in Touch And Go. Hawkins stars in this Ealing comedy about a man who feeling unappreciated at his job decides to throw it all overboard and move bag and baggage and family to Australia. All except the family cat Heathcliff a black cat who crosses many paths and proves the catalyst for a lot of events in the film.

Wife Margaret Johnston dutifully goes along, but daughter June Thorburn really has doubts when she meets the boy of her dreams John Fraser on one of the Thames River bridges. In fact Heathcliff is most certainly the catalyst there in a very funny but touching sequence.

I could really identify with how they felt about Heathcliff. When I made the move from New York City to Buffalo it cost me a lot of extra money to take Simba with me. This family was going a lot farther and Hawkins just wanted to give him away. Heathcliff does have a few tricks up his sleeve.

James Hayter has a nice turn as Hawkins's pompous oaf of a boss. He's enough to drive anyone to quit.

This Ealing comedy has not dated a bit if the fashions in dress and music have changed a lot. Family pets are universal.

Like the previous reviewer I had never seen this film before until it was shown on London Live.It was made at a time when Australia was offering nine pounds assisted passages to people prepared to emigrate.This was an offer taken up by many people.This was long before TV programmes showed prospective emigrants what their new life would be like.Also in those days it seems to have been the husband who made important decisions unilaterally.Jack Hawkins plays the husband and it is so unusual to find him playing a role of this type.It is an amiable sort of film shot in a rather garish Eastman colour.This film came towards the end of Balcons reign at Ealing.

Jack Hawkins is "Fletcher" who is tired of working at a furniture company which refuses to adopt his new designs. When he finally reaches the end of his creative tether, he, wife "Helen" (Margaret Leighton) and daughter "Peggy" (June Thorburn) decide to emigrate to Australia! All goes well enough, he quits his job and they start to plan, but soon the daughter falls for a young man, and "Helen" starts to get cold feet... It's a bit of a one-joke film, this, but Hawkins is on good form as was writer William Rose and director Michael Truman and the story moves along, quite wittily on occasion, at one heck of a pace towards an increasingly obvious conclusion. Certainly worth a watch.

This film screens on Talking Pictures and I hope they are not put off by the disgraceful one star the 'Radio Times' gave it the last time it was shown. This (for those who live outside the UK) is our leading radio and television magazine. I have an original 'Picture Show' magazine from 1955 which gives it the full three stars which was the highest accolade then. Are we all so jaded that we cannot experience a witty, well-acted film which is arguably as great as 'Genevieve'? Why the comparison? William Rose wrote both scripts, Touch & Go in collaboration with his wife Tania Rose, whose first name is actually mentioned in 'Genevieve'. His third great film was the delightful 'The Smallest Show on Earth'. Sadly the actor John Fraser died in London in 2020, and he was an excellent actor who I hope will be long remembered for many fine performances, including in this film.

The screenplay of 'Touch and Go' has much in common with 'Genevieve' including a love of old cars and a touch of magic. In 'Genevieve' it was the car taking on a life of its own at the end of the film after its exhausting Brighton to London journey. In 'Touch and Go' it is the hidden perseverance of a black cat who casts his spell to prevent the emigration of the family to Australia.

I give this film the accolade of ten stars in keeping with the critics of 1955 for its wit, humour and joy of love which have not faded over the years. William Rose gave us truly original scripts and, in this trilogy of comic and human delight that I mentioned before, he deserves better recognition. These are, all three, treasured masterpieces.