The Yellow Balloon

THE YELLOW BALLOON can be said to be a period piece unto itself. It is an art film that was made in the early 50's. A time when cinema was dead in the water. Especially in Britain. Television was attempting to upstage the big screen until THE ROBE debuted(also in 1953). THE YELLOW BALLOON takes place in post-WW2 London which makes it even more referential in its sociological tone. It's Hitchcockian plot concerns a capricious boy who gets misconstrued with a tragic event perpetrated by the incidental drudges of his war-torn society. The most fascinating aspect of the film is that the plot is a byproduct of the film itself. In many ways it resembles Kurosawa's HIGH AND LOW. Anyone familiar with that film or the Ed McBain story will appreciate this. THE YELLOW BALLOON is also notable as an early film by J. Lee Thompson(GUNS OF NAVARRONE)and cameraman Gilbert Taylor(DR. STRANGELOVE, STAR WARS) You might also recognize William Sylvester who played Dr. Heywood Floyd in 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY. THE YELLOW BALLOON is a lost film,which also means that it is hard to find. If you ever do find it,consider yourself a genuine afficianado.

An interesting plot and very well acted but Frankie's accent was a bit too posh for the character. I had the pleasure of serving Veronica Hurst, who played the Sunday School teacher, in a shop in South Wimbledon, London in 1973 and she remains the most charming Lady that I have ever met.

You won't find the films of J. Lee Thompson on any list of all-time great movies nor will you find Thompson mentioned on any list of great directors and yet he was one of the best directors Britain ever produced and he went on to have a sizeable international career. He made "The Yellow Balloon" in 1953; it was only his second film and while a minor movie in the Thompson canon it showed considerable promise, making great use of its London locations. It had a good plot, involving the accidental death of a child and a blackmailing murderer and it gave that fine and underrated actor William Sylvester one of his best roles as the villain.

The talented Andrew Ray is the boy being blackmailed after his friend falls to his death and he's spotted at the scene by Sylvester who then uses him in a robbery that goes wrong. Ray's parents are the always reliable Kenneth More and Kathleen Ryan while Bernard Lee is once again on the side of law and order. There's also an uncommonly good supporting cast of British character actors. It's a small film but it is genuinelly exciting and it showed Thompson was definitely a name to watch.

The photography and editing in this film are first class,particularly in the climax.All very expressionistic.Actually very reminiscent of early Hitchcock.Also seeing London the way it was in 1952 ,with so many bomb sites is very nostalgic.However the story fails to grip due to its total implausibility and the use of too many clichés and coincidences.Whilst Sylvester makes a convincing villain his use of the boy in the robbery is rather beyond belief.Kenneth More as the puzzled father is just on the cusp of stardom.The next year he would appear in Genevive and the following year in the film which made his name,Reach For The Stars.Andrew Ray just seems a bit too posh to have lived in that environment and would surely have been rather more streetwise.

Like many post-WW2 films this intrigues as much for its location photography, as the plot itself. The concept of a working class area of Chelsea would probably amaze the residents of London SW3 today, but exist it certainly did until the late 70's. Similarly bombsights, and the capacity they had to cause accidents were to be found for almost as long. I enjoyed 'The Yellow Balloon' mainly for the reasons above, and the performance of Andrew Ray. However, imo the casting of Kathleen Ryan and Kenneth More as the parents did not convince given the setting. Even worse was the casting of William Sylvester. I felt he played the role as well as he could, but due to having to desert his natural accent he never found the capability of mastering a local one. (Dirk Bogarde for example could have made the role memorable.) Despite this, it is well worth watching particularly to understand what the then censorship board initially deemed unacceptable for young adults to watch.