The Boy and the Bridge (1959) User Reviews

A rarity deserving of circulation.

[tcushion · 8/10 · 26 April 2008]

The Boy and the Bridge is a charming, haunting, oddity of a film, almost as much a tourist information film of Tower Bridge and the area of London in that vicinity as it is a story of the naïve innocence that childhood was in the fifties.

Lovingly filmed, the travelogue part is now, in many respects, an historical document, showing in some detail a comparatively small area of London as it was around 50 years ago.

It is something of a rarity for the star of a film to be a boy aged around 11 but this is the case here. Young Tommy Doyle, very well played by Ian Maclaine in his only acting role mentioned in this site, lives with his father, a stereotypical, hard drinking, heart-of-gold Irishman played by Liam Redmond. As a result of a drunken fracas, a grandfather clock gets "smashed in the face" by the father and when, the following day, he is sought by the police, young Tommy puts two and two together and believes his father has killed a man.

Shame over what his father has done and fear of being taken into custody cause Tommy to go on the run and by fortune he finds access to Tower Bridge where he manages to set up home in a disused room in one of the towers. Befriended only by Sammy the Seagull, he goes about the task of setting up home and fending for himself. There are many shots of the behind-the-scenes workings of the bridge which are as interesting now as when filmed.

For the first half of the film there is minimal dialogue, indeed Tommy, who had been on screen for most of the time, doesn't say a word. One of the joys of The Boy and the Bridge is a musical score of considerable charm and invention by Malcolm Arnold and, by virtue of the lack of dialogue he has more time than is usual in movies to develop his ideas. In Whistle Down the Wind, another film dealing with childhood perceptions, Arnold lightened proceedings by the use of a tuneful and lilting score and he was able to do the same for The Boy and the Bridge.

That other reviewers are recalling this film from decades earlier is ample testimony both to the haunting quality of this movie and its rarity. It is high time it received the recognition and circulation it deserves.

Update May 2017. This film is now available to view from the BFI. Googling 'BFI Boy and the Bridge' will get you there.

Further update May 2023. There is a fascinating major article on this movie (and others scored by Malcolm Arnold) in a new book "The Film Music of Malcolm Arnold" by Alan Poulton and David Dunstan and published by The Malcolm Arnold Society ISBN 9798781218080.

Post-blitz London

[alan-worrow · 9/10 · 19 July 2010]

I saw this film two days ago at the BFI. tombancroft2 warns about spoilers, but don't worry, he has just about everything wrong about the story. The story is toe-curlingly twee, but what made the film for me is the location shots. I grew up in that part of London in the fifties and almost all of the outdoor locations are a part of my life. I dearly wish this were available on DVD so that I could freeze frame and dwell on the places so familiar to me from my childhood. There are several scenes shot in Tooley Street, where I went to school a few years after this film was made. And a few years after that, the pub featured in the film became my 'local'.

The Boy and the Bridge - 1959

[tombancroft2 · 10/10 · 31 August 2006]

WARNING: This is most of the storyline. However, the chance of it spoiling the film for you is minimal as it seems to have vanished from the face of the earth! The Boy and the Bridge was a British film released in 1959. The story line concerns a schoolboy, Tommy Doyle (Ian McLaine) who runs away from home in the East End of London following a blazing row with his father (Liam Redmond) with whom he lives. The boy wants some money (can't remember what for) but father is hard up and has to refuse. The boy's parting words to his father are "I wish you were dead!". The film then follows the boy on his adventures around London. Lots of location stuff around Covent Garden (where he pinches an apple because he's hungry), the Fish Market, Tower of London (where he watches the changing of the guard) and on the banks of the Thames. As the day draws on, the cold and hungry the boy slinks home with his tail between his legs, but as he rounds the corner into the terraced street he sees two men carrying a coffin out of the house and into a hearse. His words echo back into his head "I wish you were dead" and he runs off in a blind panic thinking his curse has killed father. However, when the camera pans back to the house a different angle shows the 'coffin' to be a grandfather clock and the 'hearse' is simply a plain black van. His father is actually selling his prized clock to raise money to grant the boy's request. It is now dark and Tommy's father has informed the police about the boy's disappearance. The boy passes a news stand and sees the headline "Police search for missing boy" obviously he thinks he is now wanted for murder! Tired and scared he finds himself on the banks of the Thames and crawls under the tarpaulin cover of a barge where he sleeps the night away. The hustle and bustle of the Thames wakes him up next morning and more adventures follow with him trying to avoid the police. Finally, as darkness falls for the second night, he witnesses the "Ceremony of the Queen's Keys" at the Tower of London which seems to be when the day shift Beefeaters hand over to their night shift colleagues. Eventually, Tommy is wandering across Tower Bridge when he spots a policeman approaching from the other end. He ducks into a doorway and as he leans on the door it swings open and he darts inside to hide. He hears noises from below and descends the stone steps into the area where the bridge mechanism is contained. At one stage he almost gets crushed as the massive counterweight swings towards him as the bridge opens. There are three engineers down there (one played by Arthur Lowe) and while they're not looking, the boy nicks their sandwiches causing a row as the engineers blame each other for the theft. The boy then goes back up stairs and carries on up a few flights where he finds a disused room and beds down for the night. Next morning he his awakened by a tapping noise and realises that he is at the top of one of the towers and a seagull is pecking at the window. He opens the window and finally coaxes the seagull in with the remains of the sandwiches and they become friends (the seagull appears in the credits on screen as "Sammy The Seagull"). The boy tidies up the room and makes it a proper home from home. Comedy is provided by a Thames tugboat captain (James Hayter) who keeps seeing a face at the window at the top of the tower, and even washing out to dry at one point. However, every time he shouts his crew up from below to look there is nothing to see and they just think he's been at the whisky! Eventually the boy is discovered and as in all good films of this kind, he is re-united with dad, and they all live happily ever after. Regarding the music backing - I think it was mainly from a hand operated street barrel organ. Sorry if this seems a little sketchy, but I only saw it once about 50 years ago, so it must have had something to stay with me all these years! I personally don't remember it appearing on TV, but the British Film Institute appears to have a print of it and they say it may be released for TV or DVD if they can sort out who owns the rights to it.

the boy and the bridge, impressed and moved me.

[lexmead · 11 February 2007]

I saw 'The Boy and The Bridge'when it first came out in the cinema ( I was 14) and it coincided with my first crush on a girl at school. I planned to ask her to go and see it with me, but it never came round again and I always wondered about it as it moved me at that time.I can remember looking in the cinema listings expecting to see those magic words 'the boy and the Bridge' So I could take the plunge. I sometimes think I dreamt it all up. I surfed a couple of years ago for it on the net with no luck - until now. Thanks for the memory jog on the storey line from another comment,I could barely remember anything except the bridge and the seagul. I also remember the boy walking through the cobbled streets of the eastend with that wonderful and unique background music,I think it was played on one of the old east end homemade sort of xylaphone things. I wonder who the musician was and whether its still around - a lovely melody and very apt for the setting of the film.I seem also to remember the boy stealing an apple from a street barrow.

Almost plotless children's film

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 30 September 2022]

The clue to the nature of this film is in one of the producers. David Eady son of Sir Wilfred Eady of the eponymous fund. David Eady made many films for the Children's Film Foundation. This fits into that category. A child who has been at loggerheads with his father runs around the City of London. An area which still shows the scars of the blitz. So different from the current bhigh rise buildings occupying the area.

The black and white photography is brilliant. It is not so much an entertainment as a documentary capturing for all time what the area was like prior to its reconstruction. Much of it is photographed around Tower Bridge.

The boy and the bridge

[frank-priest · 10/10 · 13 November 2006]

I remember seeing this film when it was first released. I also, like tombancroft2 have never met anyone who remembers seeing this excellent film. It is pointless for me to go through the storyline, as this has been superbly covered by tombancroft2. I was twelve years old when I saw it at my local cinema, I enjoyed it so much, my Mother bought me a small "Mamod" steam engine, {similiar to the model the boy has}.

I remember the clip where the boy thinks he is going to get crushed by the massive {600 tons } counterbalance weight,also the one showing the large steam engines working. I recently saw a television documentary about Tower Bridge showing the steam engine preserved, but not in working order.

The film has been shown on television, but I cannot remember when. I would also like to know if this film was made available, as i would purchase it straightaway.

The first film I remember seeing...

[v00n · 10/10 · 8 March 2014]

Obviously my score is going to be affected by the fact my mum took me to see it at about age 6, but for a kid who grew up in the East End not 2 miles from where all the action was filmed, it was all fantastically romantic and absorbing.

My abiding memory is of the boy sleeping in the tower, away from all adults, independent and living the dream.

(Completely far-fetched of course as the place has always been locked down like Fort Knox, but still.)

Would love to see it again, I may ask the BFI if I can see it in one of their viewing rooms (you can, apparently, ask to do this).

An excellent movie set in the 1950's in London

[cturner01 · 20 September 2011]

I was in the same class at school as Ian although his surname was slightly altered to make it a bit more "film" friendly. The school was William Patten junior at or near Stoke Newington. He was missing from school for a fair while during the filming process. His elder brother was also in the film but only had a 10 second part when he was mistaken for Ian. I saw the film when it was first released and of course enjoyed it - would love to know if it is possible to get a copy somehow. The movie is set in 1950's London and really shows how much things have changed in a comparatively short time. Whilst the story line is a bit thin it contained suspense and an element of surprise. In summary a very watchable film set in a time when a lot of people living today would not be able to recognize. Worth watching out for on late night TV

Would love to see this film on DVD

[nixonkg-1 · 12 November 2011]

Thanks for all the excellent reviews of this film. I remember seeing this film as a 10 year old. It is very much in the vein of " The Red Balloon", another film of childhood and innocence. I think it is high time it was released on video. A lost cinematic gem! I was really impressed by the documentary feel of the film, and the London locations. I lived in Manchester as a child and once saw a part of the film "Hell Is A City" being filmed. That film also had real locations, and sadly most of those locations have disappeared in the last half century. Films such as "The Boy And The Bridge" are real social and historic documents and should be more widely available. Another film in a similar vein would be Carol Reeds " A Kid For Two Farthings"

Sammy the Seagull

[saundwpm · 28 October 2010]

I saw this film aged 11 (now 62). I do not remember a lot of the film, as I went to see it on the strength of the seagull's appearance (Sammy).

I knew the seagull and its owner, who was a woman who took in all manner of injured and lost animals, and who lived nearby in East London.

I used to be amused by Sammy playing the piano (not in tune), but he danced up and down on the piano keys. As far as I know Sammy was the only "star" amongst her menagerie of animals. Sammy lived well into the 1970s.