The Great Pony Raid

Out in the wild west -- Devonshire, to be exact -- some children at a riding camp spot a man taking two ponies, putting them in a van and driving off with them. They notify the authorities, but the coppers don't seem very interested, so they investigate on their own.

This handsome production from the Children's Film Foundation is a delight, what with the fine location photography, the nicely told story and the nice bit of mystery: what does the fellow want with eighty quid worth of horse flesh? It kept me watching happily through the end. My only cavil was the music by Harry Robertson, which seemed to be overwrought and far too contemporary for a tale set in such a timeless-looking landscape.

Unfortunately the grand finale where the baddies get their comeuppance has been overdone to make it look like it was filmed at night and the screen is pitch black, none of the action is visible. If not for the dark ending it is worth a watch but the ending is ruined.

A poor script and pretty bad acting (the kids were better than the adults). It's watchable but only for the fantastic scenery only marred in the latter stage by poor lighting. Aside from the ponies themselves, nice selection of what are now classic vehicles.

It is difficult to understand why the producers decided to shoot the climactic part as day for night. It is impossible to see what is going up. So it negates everything that happened previously. How did they expect people watching on TV to be able to make out what was happening. The plot is the standard CFF plot,children v a gang of . And you know who wins.

Quite a good film. Well directed with impressive scenery and contextual camera work. The cast provide amazing skills in riding and cohesive acting. Add in a good music score with a james bond feel in a quarry scene . Understandably lighting is tricky when filming location in twilight. Overall the film is a neat gem shot on location. The children's riding skills , without riding hats too, were astonishing.... I doubt health and safety would allow this film to be made these days!