A Group 3 Production for Associated British-Pathè, made at Southall Studios. U.K. release through Associated British: July 1952. Never theatrically released in the USA, but available to TV through Warner Bros. No record of any Australian theatrical release. 81 minutes.
SYNOPSIS: A famous poet of the Irish rebellion (Joseph Tomelty) has fled to Scotland where, under an assumed identity, he takes a post as gatekeeper at Edinburgh University. He augments his income by running a book on the side, but his niece comes looking for him and threatens to expose his secrets.
COMMENT: Here's a movie that should have been one of the best. There was a time in my late youth when James Bridie figured as my favorite playwright. I read through almost all his works with an eager and rarely disappointed anticipation. I looked forward to this film. Hard to make poor entertainment out of a sprightly Bridie play, I thought, but "You're Only Young Twice" turned out to be a rather lackluster adaptation.
The fault lies in insipid direction more than anything else, though the stagey script and some uninspired casting also merit a share of the blame. Still, it's nice to see that undergraduates in Scotland behave much the same as their confreres in the rest of the U.K.
Incidentally, despite the huge popularity of the TV series of the same name, this film is currently not available on either VHS or DVD. I draw attention to it here, merely as a reminder that, for once, we are not missing a lost gem, despite all the big names in both cast and credits.
SYNOPSIS: A famous poet of the Irish rebellion (Joseph Tomelty) has fled to Scotland where, under an assumed identity, he takes a post as gatekeeper at Edinburgh University. He augments his income by running a book on the side, but his niece comes looking for him and threatens to expose his secrets.
COMMENT: Here's a movie that should have been one of the best. There was a time in my late youth when James Bridie figured as my favorite playwright. I read through almost all his works with an eager and rarely disappointed anticipation. I looked forward to this film. Hard to make poor entertainment out of a sprightly Bridie play, I thought, but "You're Only Young Twice" turned out to be a rather lackluster adaptation.
The fault lies in insipid direction more than anything else, though the stagey script and some uninspired casting also merit a share of the blame. Still, it's nice to see that undergraduates in Scotland behave much the same as their confreres in the rest of the U.K.
Incidentally, despite the huge popularity of the TV series of the same name, this film is currently not available on either VHS or DVD. I draw attention to it here, merely as a reminder that, for once, we are not missing a lost gem, despite all the big names in both cast and credits.