Half a Sixpence

Master showmen were at work in the production of this perhaps over long but nevertheless delightful picture. It would be impossible to visualise the film without the warm performance of Tommy Steele, and it was an inspired move to bring in George Sidney, one of Hollywood's finest directors of musicals, to give the picture a very special flare. The budget was obviously huge and it all shows on the screen in the very lively production numbers, especially those shot on location. A super piece of screen entertainment which stands up well to occasional re-watching.

A fabulous musical which I first saw at the age of 11 (back in 1967). In fact I saw this film at least 5 times back then. As a young lad I was also very struck by the appearance of Julia Foster, she was, my first heart throb! (along with Hayley Mills).

This film has great songs, great acting (if a little over the top by Mr Steele, great sets and locations, and great colour. It's very well directed to boot! A must see for all musical lovers and admirers of Miss Foster!

A uniquely English film. Terrific!

This is a very well acted and energetic musical. Tommy Steel and Julie Foster in the lead parts were brilliantly cast.

The banjo scene in this was well choreographed, put together and acted out. To top the whole scene the banjo playing was superb.

A brilliant family musical it gets a 10/10 from us. But then we are Tommy Steele fans.

Half A Sixpence is a musical adapted from the H.G. Wells story Kipps which Michael Redgrave played the title role back in a 1941 film version. I'm sure his interpretation of the role differed quite a bit from the boisterous styling of Tommy Steele in this film. They're so different in personality types.

It wasn't Wells the interpreter of the scientific future who wrote Kipps, but rather the Wells who was the Fabian Socialist. In a way this should be seen back to back with Pygmalion or My Fair Lady if you will. Some of the same themes were also done American style in The Unsinkable Molly Brown.

George Bernard Shaw when he wrote Pygmalion did the exact reverse of what Wells did in Kipps. That other noted Fabian Socialist took the flower girl Eliza and had her schooled in manners by the overbearing Henry Higgins to improve her station. Her economic status doesn't improve any, unless you figure she might marry well like the Freddy Eynsford-Hill character. She speaks well enough to fit in with his crowd.

But the exact opposite happens to Arthur Kipps. He's of illegitimate birth, apprenticed as a draper's assistant and living in the basement of his employer's store with other apprentices. But one fine day, Arthur's ship comes in, a grandfather leaves him an inheritance and a guaranteed annual income.

But unlike Audrey Hepburn, Tommy Steele is still at heart from the lower classes. So the story of Half A Sixpence is his personal struggle to find his place. That could be with a girl of his own class, Julia Foster or the previous unattainable Penelope Horner. Give you one guess where Steele winds up.

Half A Sixpence ran on Broadway for 511 performances in the 1965-66 season with Tommy Steele in the title role there. Steele's infectious style of performing is awfully hard to resist. Though he started out as a rock and roll singer, a British answer to Elvis Presley, Steele is really from the great tradition of Music Hall performers in the United Kingdom.

The socialist polemics are kept to a minimum here, I can't speak for how Wells originally wrote Kipps or how Michael Redgrave played it back in the day. But his points do come across and come across most entertainingly.

I remember seeing this movie alot when I was little. They used to show on Tv here in NY in the late 60s and early 70s. I think the first time I first saw it was like in 67 or 68 I was like 5 or 6. The music is great most of the numbers are uplifting and Tommy Steel delivers them wondefully and so does the rest of the cast, especially the the ones with all the dancing like when they sing Money to Burn and Flash Bang Whallop. The one thing I didn't like about this movie was it had a great storyline that should of been developed stronger. The whole thing about the love between Artie and Ann and how it was almost destroyed because of new found wealth and the way it changed him and caused a rift between them and also between him and the boys he worked with could of been emphasized a little stronger. Other than that this movie is a gem, a wonderful, romping musical that you can watch with your whole family because theres's no excessive violence, sex or crude humor o