I spotted this in the Talking Pictures (UK) schedule and recorded it out of curiosity, not realising that it's another of the CFF films-from 1955.
Whilst not quite up to the standards of others in the stable like "Skid Kids", it's nevertheless another valuable record of childhood days in more innocent times, now long gone but remembered anew-maybe through rose tinted glasses- by those of us of a certain age; and hopefully of interest to future students.
This one is largely filmed in Ireland-a land here of rural communities, farmers, donkey dealers, tinkers, slow trains; but the action moves later to Dublin, the docks, a cargo boat; and then to a genuine donkey race/village fête in Sussex. All the locations are interesting, with minimal or no studio footage, and the camera work is fine.
The tension here (remember these are children's films) is over a boy's donkey which is mistakenly placed in a holding field with others that are for the travelling dealer to collect and take to an undefined fate, with hints that it is the knacker's yard. The tension is heightened because the obligatory Baddy is another boy who harbours hatred to the hero merely because the kids have laughed at him when he fell off the donkey! So he takes advantage of the confusion when the grandpa is injured to deliberately take the creature out of its stable and into the holding field. Thereon the desperate chase and little incidents ensue to rescue the donkey.
If one can remember back to one's own childhood, these incidents where there is unfairness or injustice are very worrying for children, and are guaranteed to hold their attention. We even have the familiar device of the youngest child trying to report the Baddy's crime to her older sister-of course she is ignored, adding to the tension.
I say again-this is a children's film (which was enjoyed by this Senior!) and should be viewed as such. To give it a 1/10 rating, as one reviewer has, is nonsensical to me. Minimum 6/10!
