Now this will get you spitting the cornflakes over tablet your reading this on. How dare he put this ahead of *insert movie title here* what is he mad? Well, yes, I am but that is beside the point. Release in 1968 this musical adventure movie was directed by Ken Hughes, screenplay was written by Ken Hughes and Roald Dahl and based on the spy novelist, Ian Fleming’s book of the same name. The movie stars Dick Van Dyke, Sally Ann Howes, Lionel Jeffries, Gert Fröbe, Anna Quayle, Benny Hill, James Robertson Justice, and Robert Helpmann. With me being the exception the other critics agree on the scores with 67% from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb giving a score or 6.9 out of 10. This movie was a flop at the box office despite being well received by the critics with a production cost being $10m which was rapidly increased with a strong promotion at launch with United Artists trying to match its previous success of the Sound of Music. It did not work and it is reported that this movie lost $8m in the box office. There are reports that video and rentals accrued close to that figure in the years after but the loss was already accounted by then. With loses of many other movies United Artists scaled back its UK work after this movie. Onto the plot.
There is a story in a story as this follows the story of what was a racing car that has since its last race in 1909 where it crashed and caught fire. It is then found rusty and ruined in a garage where it is spotted by two children Jeremy and Jemima Potts who it. A scrap dealer is just about to do a deal for it when they manage to convince their dad to buy the car and fix it up. Their father Caractacus Potts is an inventor that is struggling to get any of his inventions to work. When he realises he cannot afford the car he desperately tries to make money from his inventions which almost works when a wealthy woman called Truly Scrumptious catches his kids playing truant from school and takes them home to report it to Mr Potts. He doesn’t much care but they get to know each other and he is convinced to take a sweet he invented to her father who runs a sweet factory. It doesn’t quite come off but he does manage to get the money from tips from a song and dance routine to afford the car. He repairs the car by taking random items from the house. Grandpa is basically left in charge of the kids as they wait for him to appear with the car. The car is repaired and looking as good as new so he takes the kids and Truly to the beach where they have a fun day out before he launches the story within the story when telling the kids about a Bavarian King desperate to get his hands on the car that has sent spy to steal the car and take it back to him. The rest of the movie is attempts to steal the car until they kidnap grandpa believing he invented the car so they want him to make another. The kids, Truly and Potts give chase and end up getting caught up themselves in a story of capturing children and a dictator desperate to own everything good.
I am going to go straight to the terrifying character for children watching. That being the Child Catcher played superbly by Robert Helpmann which has haunted many a child’s dream for years after this movie was first viewed. This was not a scary movie but this character causes everyone to seek cover in the movie so added an extra depth of fear before he appears with his lolly’s and treats for any unsuspecting children to fall foul of his cunning ruse just to lock them away. I think coming dancing through the empty streets right upto the camera is as scary as Pennywise doing a similar thing in ‘It’. Benny Hill also makes another movie appearance which has to be good playing a toy maker in a town without children in it and I also have to mention another great performance from Lionel Jeffries. Lionel may not of become the glorious Hollywood star that he should but he brought a lot of pleasure to me in many different roles. Why do I love this movie enough to get it into my top 100 well it is a movie from my youth and a loved movie of mine. Is it a film that was over shadowed by the likes of the Sound Of Music and Mary Poppins and yet some of the songs in this are identical to those in Mary Poppins. If you don’t believe me go listen to the music for ‘Feed the Birds’ from Mary Poppins and the music from ‘Lullaby Mountain’ in Chitty it is Identical. It has the same composer who just changed the words from one movie to the next. Again why do I like it? It has stood the test of time with a fun family movie that will please adults and children alike and the child catcher to scare the whattits out of the youngsters as well. Compared to modern scary stuff for kids he is probably nothing but introduced young enough will be enough. Would I recommend watching this one? Of course I would it is a great family movie that can be enjoyed by anyone willing to give this a change.
Next up is a horror movie that couldn’t of been that scary as it was made for TV that then found its way onto video and then DVD. Lack of special effects and gore or scares there are moments in there that truly chill you…
Comments