A slice of life in a British Borstal reform institution for young criminals.A slice of life in a British Borstal reform institution for young criminals.A slice of life in a British Borstal reform institution for young criminals.
Marten Tiffen
- Dusty
- (as Martin Tiffen)
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMade using J. Arthur Rank's "Independent Frame" production system (even though it was made by Gainsborough). The system proved to be a costly flop.
- Quotes
Mr. Johnson: [Last lines] Won't they try to escape ?
Governor: Well, of course they'll try to escape, and why not? Aren't we all of us trying to escape from some prison of our own making ?
[Looking out of the window]
Governor: There is it Johnson, the wheat and the chaff.
Mr. Johnson: Yes sir. But the thing is, which is which ?
Governor: No, Johnson, the thing is to find out what is the chaff, and why.
- ConnectionsVersion of Boys in Brown (1947)
Featured review
Hardly 'boys'!
Most of this film is set at a reform school for young offenders. I had to laugh at this because most of the actors are in their late 20s and some look well over 30! So the word 'Boys' in the title seems hardly appropriate!
Jackie Knowles (Richard Attenborough) is a young punk who has already been arrested for some petty crime. He didn't learn his lesson and soon is arrested again and is sent to the reform school. Jackie seems like he's not too bad a sort and he decides to apply himself, do his time and make something of himself. Unfortunately, there are a lot of guys who are more than happy to keep Jackie down...particularly the rat- like Alfie (Dirk Bogarde). When a group of the 'boys' want to escape, Alfie insists that he'll make Jackie join them....even if it means lying and manipulating to get his cooperation.
Overall, this is a reasonably well made and entertaining film which emphasizes humane treatment and reform. In many ways, it's a bit like some of the early Dead End Kids films in this respect. Worth seeing mostly so you can see Bogarde and Attenborough as they both were fine actors even when they were 'boys'!
Jackie Knowles (Richard Attenborough) is a young punk who has already been arrested for some petty crime. He didn't learn his lesson and soon is arrested again and is sent to the reform school. Jackie seems like he's not too bad a sort and he decides to apply himself, do his time and make something of himself. Unfortunately, there are a lot of guys who are more than happy to keep Jackie down...particularly the rat- like Alfie (Dirk Bogarde). When a group of the 'boys' want to escape, Alfie insists that he'll make Jackie join them....even if it means lying and manipulating to get his cooperation.
Overall, this is a reasonably well made and entertaining film which emphasizes humane treatment and reform. In many ways, it's a bit like some of the early Dead End Kids films in this respect. Worth seeing mostly so you can see Bogarde and Attenborough as they both were fine actors even when they were 'boys'!
helpful•62
- planktonrules
- Jan 12, 2017
Details
- Runtime1 hour 25 minutes
- Color
- Aspect ratio
- 1.37 : 1
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