There are some remarkable similarities between Sally Ann Howes and Julie Andrews. Both began their careers as singing ingenues in the same era. Julie's stepfather Ted Andrews was a radio entertainer; Sally Ann's father Bobby Howes starred in West End musicals, playing a character similar to Eddie Cantor's but less brash and more wistful. Sally Ann Howe's most famous film is 'Chitty Chitty Bang Bang', which is a clear attempt to copy the formula of 'Mary Poppins'.
'Thursday's Child' is Sally Ann Howes's film debut: at age 13, she proves herself an astonishingly accomplished actress of almost supernatural beauty. She is cast here as Fennis Wilson, the younger daughter of a tradesman's family. Her 20-year-old sister Phoebe has ambitions to become a film actress, and wangles an audition at Elstree Studios. As part of a ruse to prevent her mother from chaperoning, Phoebe brings Fennis along to the studio. Meanwhile, Elstree are seeking a child actress to star in 'Strange Barrier' (sounds like a science-fiction film). A casting director (with an annoyingly exaggerated Bow Bells accent) spots Fennis waiting for her sister. He persuades Fennis to read for the role, and ... a star is born!
This premise might seem unbelievable, were it not for the very real talent of Sally Ann Howes. Fennis is soon offered a contract, at 50 pounds weekly: an astonishing sum for wartime Britain. Fennis's father is a dispensing chemist (a druggist), played by Wilfrid Lawson: there's a very touching scene in which he carefully measures drugs onto his balance scales while pondering the fact that his daughter has a chance to make more money in a few months than his father made in an entire year.
SPOILERS COMING. Frustrated actress Phoebe becomes envious of her younger sister's success. Eventually, Phoebe leaves home ... with no money and no prospects, a vulnerable young woman who will be easy prey for any man on the make. Oddly, this subplot is left unresolved at the end of the film.
Stewart Granger is in the cast of this film, but he appears only briefly. Much better here is underrated character actor Anthony Holles as a man who counsels Fennis's mother on the consequences of her daughter's sudden stardom. Gerhard Kempinski (looking amazingly like Danny DeVito) is annoying in a cliched 'funny' foreigner role.
Director-scenarist Rodney Ackland shows a sure hand with the script. Less happily, his directorial style is distinctive, but not in a favourable way. Ackland has a penchant for tight close-ups of unimportant objects, giving them more significance than they warrant in the script. This is especially blatant during a sequence in the Elstree canteen, when Fennis's mother (Kathleen O'Regan) suddenly encounters an actor wearing monster-movie makeup. We see a tight close-up of actress O'Regan screaming in terror. This would be appropriate in a horror movie or a suspense movie involving genuine menace, but in this context Ackland's penchant for close-ups puts far too much dramatic weight on what's clearly meant to be a comic-relief bit.
There's one extremely impressive montage sequence in 'Thursday's Child', depicting Fennis's rise to stardom. (Done much better than a similar sequence in 'What Price Hollywood.') I suspect that this montage was shot by a second-unit director, not Ackland.
BIG SPOILER NOW. The film's ending is unexpected but completely welcome. Fennis reads a biography of Marie Curie, and is inspired to give up her acting career to become a research chemist. Ironically, earlier in the film, a press agent tried to ginger-up Fennis's studio biography by stating that her father (a lowly dispensing chemist) is a research chemist (a much more glamorous job). I'm impressed that 'Thursday's Child' tells its young female viewers to aspire to become scientists rather than actresses.
Modern audiences might have trouble following some of the wartime references in the dialogue, such as when Phoebe spends her 'coupons' to buy a birthday gift for Fennis. Still, this is an absolutely delightful film, starring a talented actress on the brink of womanhood. I'll rate 'Thursday's Child' 9 points out of 10.
'Thursday's Child' is Sally Ann Howes's film debut: at age 13, she proves herself an astonishingly accomplished actress of almost supernatural beauty. She is cast here as Fennis Wilson, the younger daughter of a tradesman's family. Her 20-year-old sister Phoebe has ambitions to become a film actress, and wangles an audition at Elstree Studios. As part of a ruse to prevent her mother from chaperoning, Phoebe brings Fennis along to the studio. Meanwhile, Elstree are seeking a child actress to star in 'Strange Barrier' (sounds like a science-fiction film). A casting director (with an annoyingly exaggerated Bow Bells accent) spots Fennis waiting for her sister. He persuades Fennis to read for the role, and ... a star is born!
This premise might seem unbelievable, were it not for the very real talent of Sally Ann Howes. Fennis is soon offered a contract, at 50 pounds weekly: an astonishing sum for wartime Britain. Fennis's father is a dispensing chemist (a druggist), played by Wilfrid Lawson: there's a very touching scene in which he carefully measures drugs onto his balance scales while pondering the fact that his daughter has a chance to make more money in a few months than his father made in an entire year.
SPOILERS COMING. Frustrated actress Phoebe becomes envious of her younger sister's success. Eventually, Phoebe leaves home ... with no money and no prospects, a vulnerable young woman who will be easy prey for any man on the make. Oddly, this subplot is left unresolved at the end of the film.
Stewart Granger is in the cast of this film, but he appears only briefly. Much better here is underrated character actor Anthony Holles as a man who counsels Fennis's mother on the consequences of her daughter's sudden stardom. Gerhard Kempinski (looking amazingly like Danny DeVito) is annoying in a cliched 'funny' foreigner role.
Director-scenarist Rodney Ackland shows a sure hand with the script. Less happily, his directorial style is distinctive, but not in a favourable way. Ackland has a penchant for tight close-ups of unimportant objects, giving them more significance than they warrant in the script. This is especially blatant during a sequence in the Elstree canteen, when Fennis's mother (Kathleen O'Regan) suddenly encounters an actor wearing monster-movie makeup. We see a tight close-up of actress O'Regan screaming in terror. This would be appropriate in a horror movie or a suspense movie involving genuine menace, but in this context Ackland's penchant for close-ups puts far too much dramatic weight on what's clearly meant to be a comic-relief bit.
There's one extremely impressive montage sequence in 'Thursday's Child', depicting Fennis's rise to stardom. (Done much better than a similar sequence in 'What Price Hollywood.') I suspect that this montage was shot by a second-unit director, not Ackland.
BIG SPOILER NOW. The film's ending is unexpected but completely welcome. Fennis reads a biography of Marie Curie, and is inspired to give up her acting career to become a research chemist. Ironically, earlier in the film, a press agent tried to ginger-up Fennis's studio biography by stating that her father (a lowly dispensing chemist) is a research chemist (a much more glamorous job). I'm impressed that 'Thursday's Child' tells its young female viewers to aspire to become scientists rather than actresses.
Modern audiences might have trouble following some of the wartime references in the dialogue, such as when Phoebe spends her 'coupons' to buy a birthday gift for Fennis. Still, this is an absolutely delightful film, starring a talented actress on the brink of womanhood. I'll rate 'Thursday's Child' 9 points out of 10.