Boy and Bicycle (1956)

A teenage boy plays truant from school, and spends the day riding around the town and the deserted beach on his bicycle, letting his mind wander as he imagines he is the only person in the world.

Director:

Ridley Scott

Writer:

Ridley Scott

Stars:

Tony Scott

Cast

Credited cast:
Tony Scott	...	The Boy

Storyline

A lad of 16 spends a day on his bike in and about a village on the coast of the North Sea south of Newcastle. He heads to the shore for a contemplative smoke, rides into the village for a visit to a candy shop, then goes back to the strand. Clouds, water, shadows, and reflections give his day texture as do his internal monologues - comic commentary on adults, thoughts about dying, and observations about his family. Afternoon rain sends him looking for shelter. He explores a shack where someone lives. What discoveries await?

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Plot Keywords:

bicycle | rain | reflection | sea | naivety | 

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Genres:

Short

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

1965 (UK)

Also Known As:

Boy on a Bicycle

Filming Locations:

Hartlepool, County Durham, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

BFI Experimental Film Fund, British Film Institute (BFI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

27 min

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

This being Ridley Scott's first short film, it is featured on the DVD version of The Duellists, which was Scott's first feature length film.

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Connections

Edited into Cinema16: European Short Films (2006)

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Soundtracks

"Onward Christian Spacemen"
Composed and Conducted by John Barry

User Reviews

Wow--this proves that practice makes perfect!!

These days, Ridley Scott is one of the top directors and producers and can command huge sums to helm movies--especially since he has films like ALIEN, GLADIATOR and BLADE RUNNER to his credit. So from this partial list of his credits, it's obvious he's an amazing talent. However, if you watch this very early effort that he made while in film school, you'd probably have a hard time telling that he was destined for greatness. That's because although it has some nice camera-work and style, the film is hopelessly dull and uninvolving. However, considering that it wasn't meant for general release and it was only a training ground, then I am disposed to looking at it charitably--hence the score of 4.

By the way, this film is part of the CINEMA 16: European Shorts DVD. On this DVD are 16 shorts. Most aren't great, though because it contains THE MAN WITHOUT A HEAD, COPY SHOP, RABBIT and WASP, it's an amazing DVD for lovers of short films and well worth buying.