A minor item in the Carol Reed oeuvre,"A kid for two farthings" falls somewhere between "It always rains on Sundays" and "Expresso Bongo" - also written by Wolf Mankowitz - in following the path beaten by Gerald Kersh as the principal chronicler of post - war street life in London. Set in Middlesex St - popularly known as Petticoat Lane - it tells the story of a small boy entranced by tales of the magic properties of unicorns who mistakes a young goat with a single horn for such a creature and attributes it with miraculous powers.Having an absent father the boy relies heavily on the guidance of wise Jewish tailor Mr D.Kossof who is also his mother's landlord.The mother (Miss C.Johnson distinctly uncomfortable and,frankly,a bit too old)is apparently receiving letters from her husband who is trying to make his fortune in the rapidly - dwindling colonies,but the inference is that he has just walked out on her and the boy. Working in the tailor's shop is Sam - a narcissistic bodybuilder who has been engaged to Miss D.Dors for four years.It is clear that ,as was the way at the time,that they are not having a sexual relationship and both Miss Dors and Mr J.Robinson as Sam are rather touching as the not - quite lovers,a more serious equivalent of Ron and Eth in "The Glums", from "Take it from here",a radio show popular at the time. Like "Night and the city",Jules Dassin's earlier take of the Kersh novel of the same name "A kid for two farthings" centres round professional wrestling.Mr P.Carnera,formerly World Heavyweight Boxing Champion,and allegedly the model for Mountain Rivera in "Requiem for a Heavyweight" plays "The Python",an ageing but rather frightening wrestler whose jibes provoke Sam into abandoning his principles as a "pure" bodybuilder to enter the wrestling ring for that Godsend for the Promoter the "Grudge Match". Buoyed up by the burning faith of the boy in his unicorn Sam eventually defeats the Python,Miss Dors gets her ring and Mr Kossof a new steam press from the winnings and Sam a partnership in the tailor's business. Presumably exhausted by its efforts the unicorn dies and is buried by Mr Kossof,singing a Jerwish lament over its body.Against all the odds this turns out to be moving rather than corny. There are small parts for Mr S.James,Miss I.Handl,Mr H.Behrens and Mr D.Green.Mr S.Tafler and Miss B.de Banzie feature rather more strongly. Miss Dors wisely does not attempt a cockney accent in such august company. "A kid for two farthings" is certainly a rose - coloured picture of East End life in the 1950s,but then it is a fable rather than a straightforward account.I doubt if anybody took it as a serious bit of film making when it was first released and certainly fifty years on it hardly seems cutting - edge but British film lovers of a certain age may well regard it as a treasure house . It is the world of Harrison Marks,pencil skirts and jiving in the street.When Joe and The Python brawl ,just the sight of a Bobby stops them in their tracks,day-old chicks and cute puppies are sold on market stalls.This may be a lost London,but "A kid for two farthings" ensures that it is not a forgotten one.
Review of A Kid for Two Farthings
