The Birthday Present (1957) User Reviews

Excellent low-budget film

[Marlburian · 7/10 · 14 January 2017]

Another "find" on Talking Pictures TV channel, and one I greatly enjoyed. Early sightings of a few actors: Ian Bannen, an unlined Thorley Waters, Harry Fowler, a slim Geoffrey Keen, John Welsh with some hair and of course a young Sylvia Syms - 23 years old but in her ninth role.

Bannen's customs officer enthused a bit too much about the toys that Simon had brought back (no long queues in those days!), though it did build up the tension. Likewise the scene at the elderly solicitor's home, with the apparently unnecessary inclusion of the son on leave from National Service. (We only ever got to see the top of his head.) As another reviewer has noted, the court proceedings did seem a bit unusual, and surely in his subsequent job search he would have been required to produce references from his last employer? The depiction of Simon's time in prison had a documentary feel to it - this is not a criticism.

Acting honours must go to Geoffrey Keen as the compassionate managing director.

A very worthwhile film.

Absorbing morality tale

[DPMay · 7/10 · 29 April 2018]

Completely devoid of action or incidents of extreme drama, this 1957 film lets its story unfold in a rather matter-of-fact fashion and yet manages to remain absorbing throughout. Essentially a study of morality, it follows a young enterprising travelling sales representative played by Tony Britton who returns from a business trip abroad, bringing back with him an expensive watch he is going to give his wife (played by Sylvia Syms) as a birthday present. Having already managed to purchase the watch at a bargain price, he tries to save himself even more money by sneaking it unseen through customs to avoid paying import duty on it upon his return to the UK.

However, his attempt to cheat is discovered by the customs officials. His initial laissez-faire attitude is an indicator that he regards neither the action he has committed or its consequences as anything really serious, but it has in fact triggered a chain of events that sees his entire life falling down around him. Britton and Syms deliver excellent performances as the situation grows more desperate at each turn, as the main character's career, home, social standing and maybe also his very marriage are threatened by an unexpected spell in prison, a humbling experience for a man who sees himself as being above the status of the warders, let alone the other inmates.

Is it fair for a good man to lose everything he has because of one momentary lapse of judgement which didn't harm anyone? That is the predominant question asked by this film, which will challenge the viewer to think through the possible consequences of any decision more fully in future.

Engaging morality tale

[Leofwine_draca · 7/10 · 24 July 2017]

THE BIRTHDAY PRESENT is a very interesting British crime drama of 1957 that plays out as a morality tale. Tony Britton plays a sales rep for a toy company whose job sees him travelling abroad to bring in new business. Unfortunately, he decides to smuggle back a diamond watch through customs to give to his wife as a birthday present, but he's caught by the customs officer. This seemingly insignificant crime spells disaster and the story goes from there.

Although this is a slow-moving character drama I found it completely gripping. You really invest in Britton's character and the events that play out have a kind of documentary realism to them. The supporting cast is very fine and includes Sylvia Syms as Britton's wife and Geoffrey Keen as his sympathetic employer, plus more minor parts for Ian Bannen, Thorley Walters, and Harry Fowler. It's a downbeat tale for sure, but never depressing; it's too engaging for that.

a present for sylvia syms causes a sacking

[steve-1241 · 10 May 2004]

Tony Britton stars as a toy salesman who while on business abroad in Germany foolishly hides a gift (a watch for his wife played by sylvia syms) in a toy to avoid paying the duty. His workmate Jack Watling gives him a name of a barrister who in turn introduces him to a jobbing solicitor (played by Howard Marion-Crawford). The confident bluster of Marion-Crawford is a total contrast to his ineptitude which results in Tony Britton being imprisoned for 3 months. As a result of this he loses his job and the second half of the film deals with his efforts to rebuild his working life. Great cast includes the gorgeous Sylvia Syms, the excellent Geoffrey Keen as well as the superb Marion Crawford. This thoughtful drama is more wordy than action but remains a well made piece of British cinema.

Doing Time For A Timepiece

[malcolmgsw · 6/10 · 23 July 2013]

It is difficult to realise that well into the 1960s there were strict exchange controls in force in the UK,a legacy of fighting World War 2.So for example you could not take more than £50 on holiday with you.there were strict customs checks ,no red and green channels in those days.Tony Britton falls foul of Ian Bannen's fresh faced Customs Officer.This leads him to the Magistrated Court,represented by an incompetent solicitor and a choleric magistrate.He is sentenced to 3 months imprisonment which turns his life around.Initially he attempts to appeal the sentence but the cost and time wasted would be prohibitive.So he does his time and gets out after 2 months.His wife,Syms has told the understanding managing director,Geoffrey Keen,who wants it hushed up and for Britton to keep his job.However due to nosey Jack Watling,the secret comes out and the board decide he must be sacked.Britton,tries to get another job but is frustrated in his task.When he does get an offer it is withdrawn because Britton lies about why he left his previous job.However he receives a letter from Kennoffering his old job back.It is a reasonably well told story,however it really does take Britton down to the depths.As a lawyer I have to say that I found the part where he was charged somewhat unlikely.Particularly a copper advising him only when he was driving away that he should get legal representation.They would have been bound to tell him of his rights at the station.So he would then get a competent lawyer and the outcome is different.Also it is somewhat unlikely that the court would have dealt with this as an exceptional case as they would have had a lot of smuggling cases through the court if the airport was in their area.It also strains belief that the chairman of the magistrates would take it out on a defendant because his legal representative wasn't up to the mark.

A man who's been to prison?

[mark.waltz · 6/10 · 28 January 2022]

There's a lot of unfairness cost at salesman Tony Britton, jailed simply because he bought a watch in Germany as a birthday for his wife Sylvia Syms and didn't claim it when he went through customs. Apparently at the time, this was considered a serious offence and as a result, he ends up losing his job while behind bars and his reputation is besmirched as well. While in jail, he is treated horribly, not physically but psychologically, with guards who talk to him as if he was a child, making ridiculous demands of respect and following of the rules, unreasonably condescending in a way you would expect in the middle ages but not in modern society.

He does have an understanding boss (Geoffrey Keen) who wants to take him back upon his release, but is stopped due to the judgments of the board. This makes it difficult for him to find work, and when he does find an opportunity, it is to start back at the bottom and move his way back up. This social drama is more interesting as a character study and the exposure of a ridiculous law, and ends up being very talky in spots rather than getting straight to the point. The opening credits are very interesting for the background behind the titles, showing a huge mountain range with the village below it looking like a model train display. Britton and Syms are very good, and the supporting cast is fine as well. The plot line is basically infuriating because it deals with ridiculous abuses of power and national law, and it's basically a situation that has no real resolution other than despondency from the leading protagonist.

"If a Man Breaks the Law He Must Face the Consequences"

[richardchatten · 9/10 · 20 November 2019]

Although the title and the presence of Tony Britton in the lead suggests a light fifties comedy, 'The Birthday Present' proves a more ruthless version of Hitchcock's 'The Wrong Man' (more ruthless because the protagonist is actually guilty rather than innocent of the crime that got him sent to prison in the first place).

History has taught us that one is judged more by the outcome of one's action than the action itself. (Would they be proposing erecting statues to Emily Davidson in Trafalgar Square had it been the horse rather than Davidson that had been killed?) Similarly, just as conservatives enjoy declaring that a conservative is a liberal who's been mugged, so the counter-argument could be that a liberal is a conservative who's been arrested.

Unlike Hitchcock's film we also see the way "Mr.Scott" is transformed into "Scott! 1692!!" and curtly instructed to "say 'Sir' when you speak to a prison officer!!" And the fact that only rich crooks can afford to go to court (in 1957, we learn, his appeal would have cost a prohibitively expensive 300 guineas).

More Interested In Preaching Than Storytelling

[boblipton · 5/10 · 10 January 2024]

Tony Britton is the top salesman of his toy manufacturer. On a selling trip to Germany, he finds some German goods and arranges for a contract for his company to manufacture them, if his boss agrees. He's also bought a nice diamond watch for wife Sylvia Sym's birthday. He tries to smuggle it past customs, but fails. When he goes before a magistrate, he's not assessed costs and penalties. He's thrown into prison for two months. When the directors of his company find out, they insist on his firing, despite his boss's protests.

It's a movie meant to preach forgiveness and that once a man has served his time, he should be forgiven. Usually these stories are about lower-class people, whom the middle-class audience will mistrust anyway, but here Britton is punished to the full extent of the law, and beyond, and so middle-class audiences are supposed to sympathize with him. I found it a bit pat and preachy. With Jack Watling.