Hunted in Holland

The creators of this little gem seemed to be more interested in giving the viewer a tour of Holland than in telling a story.

It reminds me of those old educational films that tried (nearly always unsuccessfully) to add a story to some academic subject to make it more interesting. There are however many impressive scenes of Holland in this film.

The plot consists of three kids (a Dutch boy, his sister and their guest from England) who happen upon a stolen diamond bracelet. A gang of jewel thieves then chase the three throughout Holland trying to recover their prize.

Obviously, this was a low-budget production as witnessed by the weak plot and poor acting; Its one redeeming feature being the scenery. I also especially liked the houseboat the Dutch kids called home.

Although this film is suitable for all ages, I doubt that most kids today would find it watchable...My 14-year-old summed it up as "boring." But, if you'd like a peek at picturesque Holland 40 or so years ago, then this film would fit the bill.

I am surprised to find that there are still people commenting on this film as late as 2021, I wasn't aware it was still available to view. It was made in 1960, when I was just ten years old and played the part of Annike den Helder. I watched it again two years ago, when my daughter arranged a private viewing at our local boutique cinema for a lot of my family and friends. I must admit, the acting is at most, wooden, but it was fun at the time, being chaperoned all over Holland and treated like royalty, chauffeur driven around and staying in some of the best hotels in Amsterdam and Rotterdam.

One of the last features made by Ian Dalrymple's Wessex Productions is this lively travelogue in colour in which the credits inevitably appear over an Amsterdam barrel organ and the action (which at one point resembles 'The Twelve Chairs' substituting Dutch cheeses for chairs) also treats us to plenty of canals and windmills. The dialogue has plainly been post-synced back at Anvil Films (with the assistance of lots of narration and a busy score by Muir Matheson), with the result that it feels more like a continental film that has been dubbed into English than a native production.

Less preachy than most CFF adventures (although it anticipates the warning in 'Pulp Fiction' over thirty years later that guns handled carelessly can go off by accident), it interestingly reveals that sixty years ago in Amsterdam it was accepted practice for kids to ride their bikes on the pavement.

Both heroes are the sons of policemen, but in their absence go it alone to foil the usual gang of crooks, who are scarier than their British equivalent and have been trailing them in a big, imposing black car before being pelted with tomatoes. The film is enhanced rather than harmed as a travelogue by the onlookers frequently gathered in the background watching the filming.

Watched this in the mid to late sixties on German TV and was always trying to find a copy. Is there anybody out there who has one and would be willing to make a copy for me? I'm looking for this one for more than 40 years. This would be a dream come true! My e-mail address is waldenpond88@hotmail.com.

The British Children's Film Foundation (CFF) produced lots of very good and very thrilling movies for kids in the fifties and until the mid sixties. Everything that has been made after 1966 is unfortunately not nearly as good as the early black & white films.

Rank Screen Services and Rayant Pictures were among the movie production companies who made movies for CFF.

The CFF has been founded by Mary Field.

I remember that one of the kids did hide the jewels in her teddy bear.

I am working my way through the CFF films currently being shown on Saturday mornings on Talking Pictures TV and this one has the silliest story and worse acting so far. Over acting by just about everyone in it with plenty of shots of the locals watching the action which ruins the believability still further. Not CFF's greatest effort by a long way.