Lost

I have seen this film a number of times on television. I find it quite pleasant and nostalgic as I was a young boy in the UK in the 50's and the images bring back so many pleasant memories. It is good to see so many actors in supporting roles who went on to become major stars in the UK like Barbara Windsor and Thora Hird, and a host of other well known British characters.

It is a typical British 50's film and is well made and well acted, although albeit quite stiff upper lipped and somewhat wooden, especially from the leading actors like the child's mother. In fairness to her the lines that were given to her were pretty weak, and it is a shame that her movie career did not go as well as it could of - she was certainly a quite stunning girl.

Very underrated, little seen film. Interesting for the extensive location filming and of course all the period cars, clothing etc. All the better for the high quality colour film used. Julia Arnall is beautiful and so 'of her time'. Shame she didn't do many other films and is virtually unknown today. The story is of course very dated now but this doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment. In fact the film is now best viewed as a rare colour historical record of Britain in the mid. 50's. A DVD copy would be excellent for producing 'stills', especially if interested in classic cars or period fashions, even pictures of the lovely Ms. Arnall! I will be recording this film the next time it's on. Recommended.

When a baby is snatched from outside a high street pharmacy, the police begin a painstaking search for clues and information whilst also trying to deal with the child's distraught parents.

Green's film is very much of its time, and there's nothing wrong with that – in 1956 Britain we thought nothing of leaving a baby in its pram outside a store. Small shops ran library services, small grocers and bakeries thrived, large supermarkets were a thing of the future and London's parks were awash with uniformed armies of perambulating nannies…

In the lead, Farrar is a little dull but this is perhaps more the fault of the script, which leaves little space for character development. As the baby's parents, Knight and Arnall both struggle with the challenges their parts bring, although certainly the script serves them better than Farrar, exploring the different emotional impacts a lost child can bring with both characters reacting differently. Green is better served by a delightful array of supporting character actors, each of whom savours the few lines they are given. This was a hallmark of British cinema in the 40s, 50s and 60s, where so often the supporting and bit players were much more believable and entertaining than the leads – witness Joan Hickson's amusingly patronising tone with her teenage customers (one of whom is Barbara Windsor!) in the chemist shop, or ice cream seller Joan Sims' hilarious gossiping about keeping her hairdo intact in an open top car. Thora Hird is hysterical as a caustic landlady, disapproving of plain-clothes policewomen, whilst Everley Gregg offers a sublime turn as a 'no nonsense' Viscountess in oily overalls.

All in all an enjoyably episodic story, coloured with fascinating location shooting and wonderful cameos, and a treat for anyone interested in Britain or British cinema in the 1950s.

Well acted and directed, this is a highly enjoyable mystery about the abduction of a baby in Central London. Much of the movie is shot on location giving a fascinating look at the city in the mid fifties. Julia Arnall is outstanding as the distraught mother and one wonders why Rank dropped her contract after one subsequent film. Future stars Shirley Anne Field, Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims all have bits while there are cameos from stalwarts like Thora Hird, Marjorie Rhodes, Joan Hickson, Everley Gregg and a lovely supporting performance from Eleanor Summerfield as a policewoman.

This film really is as good as people say. It's worth watching for the locations, the photography and that gallery of British stars. As soon as I saw Joan Hickson chatting to Barbara Windsor about lipstick shades I was hooked. The script is often funny, despite the harrowing subject matter (every parent's nightmare), but I can't help feeling it would have been much better directed if made 10

years earlier. Films of the 40s had a comic snap that the 50s lost. In fact, it sometimes looks like a 40s script made in the 50s. It's just that opportunities for comedy are lost. A film with this structure is picaresque - it's an excuse to get your foot in the door and nose around other people's front rooms and meet a lot of people you wouldn't otherwise. More could have been made of the

encounters with Thora Hird ("Take the door with you, dear, as far as it will go.") and the fat lady in the newsagents who blames the Russians. Why the

Russians? "Well, if we knew that we'd know everything." The boy on the bike

could have been more of a character. And the girl at the garage (gas station to you) is just a Rank starlet with her painfully refined accent and crisp summer dress (for dispensing petrol?). Some of the best bits are back at the police

station with the excellent David Farrar and the sergeants who have to read a

pile of trashy novels as part of the investigation. Well worth a look.