Go Kart Go

Cameraman Johnny Coquillon limbered up for the four films he later shot for Sam Peckinpah with this semi-remake of 'The Wild One' with go karts rather than motorbikes, filmed round and about Harrow about a million years ago when Dennis Waterman and Frazer Hines were both teenagers and Waterman still had a full head of hair.

There's more emphasis on slapstick than usual, and unusually for a CFF production the plot doesn't involve a gang of crooks; although the film's villain gets the usual ritual dunking at the conclusion. The conflict is instead supplied by initial parental scepticism ("Buy you a go kart and the washing machine not paid for yet?"), but that's swiftly overcome and everyone goes home happy. Except the defeated rival, of course.

At its heart, a remake of 1958's Soapbox Derby, this film nevertheless is more exciting due to the motorized karts whizzing around the circuit. Kids' TV favourites Dennis Waterman and Frazer Hines, play members of rival gangs who race one another on the track in what were called Go-Karts at the time. These miniature, skeletal racing cars were powered by lawn mower engines but, due to some nifty track-level camerawork, they appear to get along at a fair lick. Needless to say, dirty doings abound as the baddie Cravens sabotage the goodie Damsons (where do they get these names from?) kart causing the wheel to come off. But, some quick thinking on the part of Damsons' fixer "Square-Head" Hedley, and some co-operation from scrapyard owner Wilfred Brambell, ensure that our Dennis crosses the line first with naughty Frazer deservedly ending up in the duckpond. As usual there is a sprinkling of well-known adult character actors including Graham Stark, Cardew Robinson and Harry Locke. And, coincidentally, Damsons' gang member "Patchy" is played by child actress Pauline Challoner whose sister Carla played a similar role in the aforementioned Soapbox Derby. Great nostalgia film for old codgers who probably watched it nearly 60 years ago at a Saturday morning matinee.

Dennis Waterman leads a gang of kids who are go-kart crazy, and build their own vehicle; after it fails, their parents pay for a professionally built one. However, Frazer Hines and his crew want to win by fair means or foul, leading to an exciting finale.

Despite my usual low opinion of the Childrens' Film Foundation movies, this one is pretty go, with some moments of actual suspense, as when Waterman is racing around the track with an axle that has been sawed halfway through, and another when the final lug hasn't been tightened on the replacement axle. While the gang of kids who collect around Waterman seem a bit wide-ranging in age, they're actually pretty good actors; and while John Coquillon's camerawork isn't particularly beautiful, given the environments offered, including a junkyard, it's always competent and spot-on.

'Go Kart Go' (1964) is simply smashing, fast-moving, rough n' tumble, marvellously madcap kids comedy over the remarkably intense rivalry between two opposing Go Kart teams that culminates somewhat calamitously in a no less smashing whizz-bang conclusion where wholesome flaxen-haired hero 'Jimpy' (Denis Waterman) stoically takes on the conspicuously dastardly Harry Haggertty (Frazier Hines) in a terrifically thrilling, lemonade-spilling, axle-spinning climax of Daredevil Go Karting and delightfully disarming 'pluckiness' that makes 'Go Kart Go' one of the more niftily nostalgic, riotously rose-tinted examples of the ceaselessly edifying coda of 'good forever trounces evil' so beloved of the greatly admired Children's Film Foundation. With an exemplary supporting cast of expert comedy wags including the estimable pratfall-ready talents of Wilfrid Brambell, Graham Stark, Cardew Robinson, and a pacey, finger-poppingly rocking score by film & TV music legend Ron Goodwin, you'd be a rotten egg to miss out on these wizard larks!

Another lovely CFF film made back in that age of innocence (OK-we know it wasn't really) where kids played in the street, had huts or camps, were endlessly inventive and "can do"-here they have engineering skills in building a go kart to beat the bullies, and can go to the local breakers' yard, climb all over piles of scrap, and charm the owner-here it's Old Steptoe in a bit part!

Parents are largely peripheral and forgiving; the bullies (usually dressed in black, or leather, or scruffy) generate brief worry and outrage at their cheating, but there's no vicious violence, and they always get their comeuppance at the end-nothing like a jolly good dunking!

The characters' names in this are terrific and reminiscent of the "Beano"...Jimpy, Square Head, Squirt, Stiggy, Spuggy, Slab, Basher....

Not a hint of imposed PC, gender equality, diversity etc.-no need, all get on together in this microcosm of life then in a gentler age.

Made in 1963/4 this was the tail end of the modest B&W CFF films-the later colour ones didn't have that same essential innocence; but this may be a generational view.

Thanks again to UK's Talking Pictures channel for showing these little gems.