Product Details

• Actors: Celia Johnson, Diana Dors, David Kossoff, Joe Robinson, Jonathan Ashmore
• Directors: Carol Reed
• Writers: Wolf Mankowitz
• Producers: Carol Reed, Alexander Korda
• Format: Color, NTSC
• Language: English
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: Homevision
• VHS Release Date: June 13, 2000
• Run Time: 96 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302969751
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #50,717 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This dreamy, quirky film, directed by Sir Carol Reed (The Third Man), combines elements of British "kitchen sink" realism with Fellini-esque fantasy and the Jewish fables of Isaac Bashevis Singer. A spunky little boy, Joe, lives with his mother in old Mr. Kandinsky's tailor shop in the midst of a bustling London bazaar a few years after the Blitz. Kandinsky fills Joe's head with stories of the magical power of unicorns and their ability to grant wishes. Eager to help his extended family attain their dreams, Joe buys a unicorn--actually a one-horned baby goat--from a vagrant. For himself and his mother, Joe requests his father's return from South Africa; for neighborhood beauty Sonia (Diana Dors, "the English Marilyn Monroe"), he wishes an engagement ring. Joe also wishes for Sonia's boyfriend, Body Beautiful magazine cover boy Sam, to beat the evil giant Python Macklin (Primo Carnera, a.k.a. "the Ambling Alp") at wrestling, and for Kandinsky to get a steam presser.

The story is sweet but the movie has overtones both serious and surreal: discordant jazz plays on the soundtrack and Joe's pets keep dying on him. The tale Kandinsky tells Joe about how unicorns became extinct is an obvious metaphor for the extermination of the Jews by the Nazis. Joe's neighborhood is a true cultural melting pot: one doesn't see many 1950s British movies with settings like this. The film might have been too eccentric to become a family staple, but it's quite fascinating today. --Laura Mirsky

Product Description

A Kid for Two Farthings is a sentimental story about a young boy, Joe, who is convinced that through the mythical powers of a unicorn he can grant the wishes of his mother and friends, who live in a poor part of London. Jonathan Ashmore is charming as Joe, who searches endlessly and finally discovers his unicorn. However, his magical discovery is short-lived when he's told that his "unicorn" is merely a goat with a misshappen horn. Or is it?

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magic, Realism, November 13, 2003

By	Randy Buck (Brooklyn, NY USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: A Kid for Two Farthings (DVD)

I approached this DVD with some trepidation; I'd loved this film as a child, from black-and-white tv viewings, and was afraid I'd be disappointed seeing it as an adult. Happily, I still loved it! KID stands alone in the works of Carol Reed, an intriguing mix of fantasy and kitchen-sink realism, and it's received a nice transfer here. The Technicolor is luscious in that 50's way that makes you want to crawl up into the screen and live for a while. Very touching, nicely judged performance from Diana Dors, and fine work from favorites like Celia Johnson, Brenda de Banzie and Lou Jacobi. My only caveat is that this disc is apparently being marketed as a children's movie (I found it in the kid's section of three different stores in NYC), and, despite my childhood affection for it, KID's not really aimed at children. The Cockney dialect and different world of 50's Jewish London will probably be difficult, if not off-putting, for many active moppets. But for adults, and the kind of child who's reflective, dreamy, and curious about the world, the picture's still magic. Take a chance and see it.

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It has become a lasting movie, April 29, 2001

By	kim,young min (pusan,korea) - See all my reviews

I had seen this movie when I was in 13. I was so touched, I've never forgotten this film since I ever had It made me think about "truth life" even though I was too young. After all, It comes to the best infleuential movie of my childhood. Recently, I found it by my contry websites that related movie. I'm so surprised. 'cuz ..I thought that mostly people in my country(I'm a korean) didn't watch. but A few remember it. They almost said "It's really good one"

I absolutely agree..! I wish movie goer shouldn't miss it!!

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Kid For Two Farthings, October 17, 2002

By	Amanda Bradley "bookworm" (Seattle, (Where Lynda's from)) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

I am now 53 years old and I still remember this movie from my childhood in 50's England. I so loved this movie, it was wonderful. I am about to order it. Of course, as an adult, I may have a different perspective now but I can hardly think I will like it any less. I can't even remember one other movie I saw as a kid, but I sure remember this one! Diana Dors was great. ...she really did an excellent job in this movie and it was sweet and touching as a story can get without being sappy. If you are curious about this film, I'd say, go for it. It will at least be an interesting look at British movie making in the fifties and you'll see what a different world it was back then. At best, you'll want to share it with your friends and as many kids as you can find that will sit still for a black and white movie.