A Kid For Two Farthings (1955) (Blu-ray & DVD) (UK Import)

Directed by Carol Reed (The Third Man) starring Celia Johnson (Brief Encounter) and Diana Dors (Yield to The Night). In a lower-class London community of small shops, open-air vendors and flea-marketers, Joe, a small boy, lives with his mother, Joanna (Celia Johnson), who works in and rooms above the Kandinsky tailor shop. Joe is innocently and earnestly determined to help realise the wishes of his poor, hard-working neighbours. Hearing from Mr. Kandinsky the tale that a captured unicorn will grant any wish, Joe uses his accumulated pocket change to buy a kid with an emerging horn, believing it to be a unicorn. His subsequent efforts to make dreams come true exemplify the power of hope and will amidst hardship.

Specials

Documentaries: 'Memory Lane: Video Essay By Ella Taylor'; 'All in a Day's Work', Image Gallery, Interviews: Jonathan Ashmore (actor); Joe Robinson (actor), Short film by Jack Clayton: 'The Bespoke Overcoat' (1955)

Carol Reed’s last film for the legendary Alexander Korda and his first in colour is the whimsical tale of a young boy, Joe, who buys a small goat in the belief that it’s a magical unicorn that will grant him and his friends’ wishes. Counter-balancing this is the equally childlike romance of Sonia (Diana Dors) and her body-building boyfriend Sam (Joe Robinson), and the latter's misguided involvement with crooked wrestling promoter Blackie Isaacs (Lou Jacobi).

A very rare example of an Anglo-Jewish film, it was partly shot on location in Petticoat Lane in London's East End, at the heart of what was still a thriving Jewish community.

Extras

Presented in High Definition and Standard Definition
Fully illustrated booklet with new writing on the film and full film credits

Reviews

"Das Leben der einfachen Leute im Judenviertel im Londoner Osten, dem Trödlerdistrikt der Pettycoat Lane, wandelt sich zum Besseren, als ein kleiner Junge eine Ziege mit einem verkrüppelten Horn ersteht und in ihr das wundertätige Einhorn der britischen Volkssage sieht.​ Sein fester Glaube läßt viele der kleinen Wünsche seiner Mitmenschen in Erfüllung gehen.​ Inhaltlich überfrachtet, fesselt der Film durch seine verspielte, märchenhafte Geschichte und die treffende Milieu- und Charakterzeichnung.​" (Filmdienst)

"Reeds erster Farbfilm, ist ein charmant-märchenhafter Film für die ganze Familie.​" (Prisma)