Geordie

I first saw this movie on late night TV as a youth around 10 years old.Luckily, I got to stay up late one night over the weekend and surprise! there was a film called "Wee Geordie" on late night TV. I still remember it to this day. Sentimental? yes, but as a full blooded Scot, that scene of the mountains back hame,and hearing the Bagpipes in "Big" Geordie's dream sequence, still brings a tear to my eyes after 42 years. That's an excellent film in my opinion and I would recommend it to anyone with a drop of Celtic heritage or anyone who enjoyed films like " Rob Roy" and "BraveHeart". Wee Geordie thankfully, is without all the "historic" violence. Still another great film that deserves to be mentioned here,is "Tunes of Glory" with Sir Alec Guiness.This film is definitely not as innocent as Wee Geordie in nature. But in my opinion, it also ranks as one of the best Scottish Army themed films ever made, and still is dynamic entertainment. Enjoy!

It's hardly "Local Hero" but this Scottish-set comedy from the Launder and Gilliat team is still a charmer. Bill Travers is the game-keeper's son who is entered for the Melbourne Olympics as a hammer-thrower but insists on wearing his kilt. It's a very simple little picture with characters that are easy to like. Travers may not have been much of an actor but he was certainly personable and Alastair Sim is wonderful as the local laird while the Scottish locations are lovely and like "Local Hero" it's funny but in a very gentle kind of way. This is British humour at its most restrained and its supporting cast of of character actors is first-rate. Popular at the time, it has disappeared over the years but is worth reviving.

I watched Wee Geordie out of curiosity but found so much more than that. The story centres around a small rural Scottish boy who was teased and ridiculed at school because of his small stature and who took growth tablets to aid his physical development. He grows into a fine specimen of a man, tall and strong. His strength ultimately leads to him becoming a hammer thrower and representing Britain at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.

The film is entertaining throughout. Bill Travers (of Born Free fame) is convincing and engaging as the grown Geordie Mac Taggart and Alastair Sims is a fine laird.

I thought that the movie might be based on fact (a la Chariots of Fire) but a review of the Hammer Throw results at the Melbourne Olympics reveals it as a work of fiction. No matter! It does not change the fact that the movie is a delight to watch.

The scenes of the final throw of the competition are captivating. Some competitors thrive on crowd support, others wilt under it. Geordie was a crowd favourite, thanks to his involvement in saving a man trapped under a car, but his nerves betray him under that pressure. When he shuts out the crowd and imagines his sweetheart back in the hills of Scotland - at the same time that she whispers into her wireless back home - a little piece of cinema magic is created.

There was some licence taken with the location. When Geordie is shown arriving in Melbourne by ship, there are 2 scenes of Sydney Harbour. But that is immaterial to the enjoyment of the film.

It is definitely worth the investment of your time and attention.

saw this movie as a child in scotland and loved it. it popped up on tv a few years ago and i taped it but the quality was not great. if it ever came available as a vhs or dvd i would buy it in a heartbeat. a simpler time told in a simpler way. "come away ma wee geordie" was a classic line that reverberated in my head ...nostalgia...

One can only agree with most of the reviewers who found this film so utterly delightful. Which, of course, it is. I note that some sort of DVD release of the film is scheduled for September, 2008 but I am apprehensive that the quality of this release might not be that great. I hope I am wrong, of course.

Contrary to the opinion of one writer this film was beautifully photographed in the original, wonderful Technicolor process, not in black and white, as was erroneously stated. Those lucky enough to see an original Technicolor print are lucky indeed for the colour cinematography was one of the best things about that movie. Nowadays that the old Technicolor "imbibition" process is no longer used (it ceased in 1977) we are mostly left with pale, washed-out poor colour prints of this great movie. That is why I fear this upcoming DVD release may be a sad disappointment.

It is a pity that the original studio (British Lion/Columbia/Sony) doesn't spend a few dollars by going back to the film negative and giving us a nice restored version, as is done with so many other older films. Look what Warner Brothers recently did restoring the old 1937 Technicolor "Robin Hood" for DVD: it looks like the film was shot yesterday. And the same thing could be done to nearly every old Technicolor film, if the studios would make the effort.

"Wee Geordie" is a terrific film, so let's hope it one day gets a new lease on life with a proper transfer to DVD.