The Yellow Balloon (1953)

One of two young boys accidentally falls to his death when playing in a bombed-out London neighborhood. Frankie, the survivor feels guilty about his friend's death. Len, a petty thief who ... See full summary »

Director:

J. Lee Thompson

Writers:

Anne Burnaby (screenplay), J. Lee Thompson (screenplay)

Stars:

Andrew Ray, Kathleen Ryan, Kenneth More

Cast

Cast overview:
Andrew Ray	...	Frankie Palmer
Kathleen Ryan	...	Emily Palmer
Kenneth More	...	Ted Palmer
Bernard Lee	...	Constable Chapman
Stephen Fenemore	...	Ron Williams
William Sylvester	...	Len Turner
Marjorie Rhodes	...	Jessie Stokes
Peter Jones	...	Spiv
Eliot Makeham	...	Pawnbroker
Sid James	...	Charlie (as Sydney James)
Veronica Hurst	...	Sunday School Teacher
Sandra Dorne	...	Iris
Campbell Singer	...	Potter
Laurie Main	...	Bibulous Customer
Hy Hazell	...	Mary

Storyline

One of two young boys accidentally falls to his death when playing in a bombed-out London neighborhood. Frankie, the survivor feels guilty about his friend's death. Len, a petty thief who has just killed a pub owner during a botched robbery, learns of the accident. He poses as Frankie's friend and blackmails the boy into stealing from his parents to finance Len's escape. When Len decides that Frankie may know enough to connect him with the murder, he decides to silence the boy in a tense "hide and seek" chase through the ruins.

---

Plot Keywords:

british noir

---

Genres:

Drama

---

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der gelbe Ballon

Company Credits

Production Co:

Marble Arch Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

76 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Connections

Featured in London - The Modern Babylon (2012)

User Reviews

taught thriller set in a bombed out East End

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.