Just William's Luck (film)

Just William's Luck is a 1947 British comedy film directed by Val Guest and starring William Graham, Garry Marsh and Jane Welsh.[1] The film was based on the Just William series of books by Richmal Crompton. Crompton was impressed with the film and wrote a novel Just William's Luck based on the events of the film. The following year a second film William Comes to Town was made.[2]

Just William's Luck
Cover of the "making of" book
Directed byVal Guest
Written byRichmal Crompton
Val Guest
Produced byJames A. Carter (as James Carter)
StarringWilliam Graham
Garry Marsh
CinematographyLeslie Rowson (uncredited)
Edited byAnne Barker
Music byRobert Farnon
Distributed byUnited Artists Corporation
Release date
  • 17 December 1947 (1947-12-17) (London)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish

Plot

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William Brown, leader of his gang, "The Outlaws", while exploring/playing in a "haunted house", stumble across a gang of fur thieves. The children are kidnapped and are bundled into the back of a lorry which drives off. Spotting a large bag of flour, the boys proceed to kick it open. Its contents spill through a gap in the floorboards of the truck's cargo bay. This leaves a trail on the road for the police to follow who ultimately catch and foil the gang of fur robbers.[3]

Cast

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Production

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Val Guest had some troubles working with children but said otherwise production went smoothly and both William films were "very successful."[2]

Critical reception

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Radio Times wrote, "while William Graham captures something of the scruffy boisterousness of Richmal Crompton's timeless comic creation, director Val Guest's screenplay smoothes away the rougher edges to produce a sanitised tale of childhood mayhem, suitable for young eyes. The same paternalism dogged the sequel, William at the Circus";[4] while Sky Movies wrote, "it's a lively romp with a jolly knockabout climax in a house that William and his gang of `outlaws' are trying to haunt."[5]

References

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  1. ^ "Just William's Luck (1947) - BFI". BFI. Archived from the original on 2 August 2012.
  2. ^ a b Fowler, Roy (1988). "Interview with Val Guest". British Entertainment History Project.
  3. ^ Best Of British (magazine); June 2022 issue; Page 16
  4. ^ David Parkinson. "Just William's Luck". RadioTimes.
  5. ^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 11 October 2014. Retrieved 7 October 2014.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

Bibliography

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  • Collins, Fiona & Ridgman, Jeremy. Turning the Page: Children's Literature in Performance and the Media. Peter Lang, 2006.
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