Le ballon jaune

You won't find the films of J. Lee Thompson on any list of all-time great movies nor will you find Thompson mentioned on any list of great directors and yet he was one of the best directors Britain ever produced and he went on to have a sizeable international career. He made "The Yellow Balloon" in 1953; it was only his second film and while a minor movie in the Thompson canon it showed considerable promise, making great use of its London locations. It had a good plot, involving the accidental death of a child and a blackmailing murderer and it gave that fine and underrated actor William Sylvester one of his best roles as the villain.

The talented Andrew Ray is the boy being blackmailed after his friend falls to his death and he's spotted at the scene by Sylvester who then uses him in a robbery that goes wrong. Ray's parents are the always reliable Kenneth More and Kathleen Ryan while Bernard Lee is once again on the side of law and order. There's also an uncommonly good supporting cast of British character actors. It's a small film but it is genuinelly exciting and it showed Thompson was definitely a name to watch.

Made in 1953 we are transported back to the still bombed out ruins of London. Frankie Palmer is smitten by a yellow balloon he sees a street vendor selling, but before he can buy it, a friend of his has already up and bought it. Now Frankie is an erstwhile 'good boy' but the green eyed monster of envy leads him to snatch it and 'do a runner' as is the common parlance. His friend follows and an accident happens that will change Frankie's life.

Luckily he is taken under the wing of some man who witnessed the incident. This is Len Turner (William Sylvester) who at first appears to be the friend he claims to be but it is not long before he is revealed to have intentions that are much more sinister all together.

Now this is beautifully shot in black and white and the scenes of London and the Tube are a great romp back in time. The actors will be known to a few, with Kenneth More doing his best to be working class, Sid James and Bernard Lee ('M' from James Bond) to name but three. The story is linear and as black and white as the film print, but it still manages to have a high degree of tension and a believability that has survived down the years despite changing societal norms.

This is one for those who love a bit of nostalgia and moreover a bit of realistic British cinema. It is only 77 minutes long but does not waste a single one and is so compelling it feels an awful lot shorter – so if any of the above floats your boat you will not be disappointed – recommended.

The photography and editing in this film are first class,particularly in the climax.All very expressionistic.Actually very reminiscent of early Hitchcock.Also seeing London the way it was in 1952 ,with so many bomb sites is very nostalgic.However the story fails to grip due to its total implausibility and the use of too many clichés and coincidences.Whilst Sylvester makes a convincing villain his use of the boy in the robbery is rather beyond belief.Kenneth More as the puzzled father is just on the cusp of stardom.The next year he would appear in Genevive and the following year in the film which made his name,Reach For The Stars.Andrew Ray just seems a bit too posh to have lived in that environment and would surely have been rather more streetwise.

Very fine, taught thriller set in a bombed out East End. Andrew Ray plays the respectable young lad who comes under the spell of a baddie (William Sylvester) and through whose eyes, unfortunately for me, the film is largely seen through. The kid does well enough but as a consequence, the film is on the edge of sentimentality the whole time. That it does avoid lapsing into paper handkerchief mode is due to the sharp direction and atmospheric cinematography, dark black shadows and all. To be fair this is also helped by the most convincing performance from the young lad who at no time goes for the easy options. Sparkling performance from Hy Hazel towards the end.

"the Yellow Balloon" is the second movie directed by Jack Lee Thomson, and with a B budget, directed a faced paced 80 minutes full suspensed story of a poor young teen who saw his young friend killed in an accident and getting in the claws of a killer thief. This young teen is played by the excellent Andrew Ray, also shooting his seconth movie : his wide eyes are staring dramatically at each nasty events he gets involved into. And what about his parents not understanding what happens, imagine. The rhythm of the entire movie gets more and more energic until the final chase in the sub.

Available on dvd, you can double bill with "Hunted" (or "Rapt") directed by Charles Crichton one year before with an even younger boy, aged six.