Those Kids from Town

On the outbreak of the Second World War, a group of six children from the East End of London are evacuated to the village of Payling Green. The boisterous pair Charlie and Ern are lodged with the local vicar and proceed to torment, mock and terrorise his sensitive and delicate son. They then get involved in petty-thieving and vandalism, before being taken under the protective wing of a local female novelist with progressive social views.

Sisters Liz and Maud are placed with a pair of old-fashioned and stern spinster sisters and chafe under the constrictions of the discipline imposed on them. They become increasingly unhappy until they are taken in by the local Earl, who discovers Liz's singing talent and proposes to sponsor her to train professionally. Liz's parents are called to visit and her father at first bridles at the interference of a member of the gentry in his daughter's life, before being brought round to the view that her talent should be nurtured.

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• George Cole as Charlie
• Harry Fowler as Ern
• Percy Marmont as Earl
• Shirley Lenner as Liz
• Angela Glynne as Maud
• Jeanne de Casalis as Sheila
• Charles Victor as Harry, the vicar
• Olive Sloane as vicar's wife
• Stanley Escane as Stan

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• Leslie Adams as Arthur
• Dane Gordon as vicar's son
• Maire O'Neill as housekeeper
• Ronald Shiner as Mr. Bert Burns
• Josephine Wilson as Mrs. Burns
• Hay Petrie as Ted Roberts
• D. J. Williams as Butler
• Sydney King as Donald
• Bransby Williams as Uncle Sid

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The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A good deal of thought has obviously been given to this story and as many sides as possible of the absorbing question of dealing with evacuee children have been covered, with, of course, the one exception of those who take to their foster parents naturally and lead a healthy but uneventful life. It is therefore a pity that Dane Gordon is allowed to overact so sadly as the Vicar's son and amusing points occasionally flogged by repetition. There is some excellent work by the rest of the children, especially from Angela Glynfie as Young Maud and George Cole as Charlie. The comedy is natural in the main and should entertain all classes of audiences very satisfactorily. An admirable cast of grownups play second fiddle to 'those kids' more than competently."{{Cite journal |date=1 January 1942 |title=Those Kids from Town |volume=9 |issue=97 |pages=42 |id={{ProQuest|1305802675}} |magazine=The Monthly Film Bulletin}}

Kine Weekly said it had "some good moments and a certain amount of child psychology, but it hardly presents a good case for evacuation". ... It is diflicult to find out what the central theme is aiming at. The tough kids get away with it all the time, so the moral is hardly a good one. It is mainly because the juveniles act so capably that the material gets over as well as it does. Arguments between Lizzie's class-conscious father and the squire are trite and seem dated in effect. Sentiment concerning Lizzie and her sister is quite good and not unduly overstressed. The trouble is that the picture's continuity and purpose are both very weak."{{Cite journal |date=2 April 1942 |title=Those Kids from Town |volume=302 |issue=1824 |pages=29 |id={{ProQuest|3127094230}} |magazine=Kine Weekly}}

The Daily Film Renter wrote: "Commendable popular entertainment. ... There is ample fun and considerable cleverness in a series of burlesques of the rough and tough methods of the Dead End Kids; while some fascinating singing comes from Shirley Lenner as the elder of two sisters billeted on a hard spinster."{{Cite journal |date=1 April 1942 |title=Those Kids from Town |volume=9 |issue=4257 |pages=15 |id={{ProQuest|3127088159}} |magazine=The Daily Film Renter}}

Cinema praised "sympathetic direction...(which) cleverly sets wartime atmosphere and..a convincing picture of reactions of parents, children and hosts", but felt the film faltered badly in its later stages by "resorting to frank slapstick".

{{reflist}}

• [https://web.archive.org/web/20210519234234/https://www2.bfi.org.uk/films-tv-people/4ce2b6b83cc91 Those Kids from Town] at the British Film Institute{{better source needed|reason=Help request: a live link can be searched for at https://collections-search.bfi.org.uk/web/search/expert - if available, replace the archive URL with the live link. Or if none found, remove this 'better source needed' template. | date=October 2023}}
• {{IMDb title|0035435}}

{{Lance Comfort}}

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Category:1942 films

Category:1940s war comedy-drama films

Category:British black-and-white films

Category:British war comedy-drama films

Category:Films directed by Lance Comfort

Category:British World War II propaganda films

Category:Films set on the United Kingdom home front during World War II

Category:Films based on British novels

Category:British World War II films

Category:Films shot at British National Studios

Category:1940s English-language films

Category:Films scored by Kennedy Russell

Category:English-language war comedy-drama films