The Magnet (1950)
The Magnet (Liverpool Movie 1950) An 11-year-old James Fox stars in this 1950 Ealing comedy. A schoolboy swindles another kid out of his prized magnet and ends up feted as a local hero, yet can’t escape his guilt The second film to feature the young James Fox, and the first in which he had a starring role, The Magnet has subsequently slipped off the radar, overshadowed by better known work by those involved. However, it brings together director Charles Frend (The Cruel Sea) with stalwart Ealing Studios writer TEB Clarke, who with Hue And Cry, Passport To Pimlico, The Blue Lamp and The Lavender Hill Mob on his CV, scripted some of post-war Britain’s most enduring and inventive black comedies. By comparison, The Magnet is a mild-mannered affair and the comedy gives way to a decidedly poignant conclusion. Amid the whimsy are some sharp little gags, and Clarke’s blend of farce and satire, combined with a story that’s economical and free from sentiment, all work to the film’s advantage.
(1 votes, average: 5 out of 5)
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