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 (as J. Lee-Thompson)

Writers:

Anne Burnaby (from an original story by), Anne Burnaby (screenplay)

Stars:

Andrew Ray, Kathleen Ryan, Kenneth More

Cast

Cast overview:
Andrew Ray	...	Frankie
Kathleen Ryan	...	Em
Kenneth More	...	Ted
Bernard Lee	...	Constable Chapman
Stephen Fenemore	...	Ron
William Sylvester	...	Len
Marjorie Rhodes	...	Mrs. Stokes
Peter Jones	...	Spiv
Eliot Makeham	...	Pawnbroker
Sidney James	...	Barrow Boy (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.

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Plot Keywords:

british noir | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 October 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Der gelbe Ballon

Filming Locations:

Sutton Estate, Cale Street, Chelsea, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Associated British Picture Corporation (ABPC), Marble Arch Productions

Technical Specs

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

Innocence and guilt of youth played out in working class Chelsea

Like many post-WW2 films this intrigues as much for its location photography, as the plot itself. The concept of a working class area of Chelsea would probably amaze the residents of London SW3 today, but exist it certainly did until the late 70's. Similarly bombsights, and the capacity they had to cause accidents were to be found for almost as long. I enjoyed 'The Yellow Balloon' mainly for the reasons above, and the performance of Andrew Ray. However, imo the casting of Kathleen Ryan and Kenneth More as the parents did not convince given the setting. Even worse was the casting of William Sylvester. I felt he played the role as well as he could, but due to having to desert his natural accent he never found the capability of mastering a local one. (Dirk Bogarde for example could have made the role memorable.) Despite this, it is well worth watching particularly to understand what the then censorship board initially deemed unacceptable for young adults to watch.