Film watched at Primary School

[designgirl]

Back at Primary School, the teachers would gather kids into a room and entertain us for an hour or so with (mostly boring) movies played through an old film projector, complete with the 10, 9, 8, 7, etc countdown. I think we even watched 'Old Yeller' (which was a sappy old movie even then ).

There is a film that I can recall a lot of detail from, but cannot remember the name. Google has not helped either.

It was a British film, possibly a telemovie, about three kids at an isolated farmhouse who outwitted two bad guys who tried to kidnap them. One was an older guy, the other was younger, with a shaggy haircut. The kids were left alone while their parents were away. The parents left in a Land Rover.

I remember that they drugged one of the bad guys with sleeping pills in a cup of tea, and the other was caught after a police chase, on top of a bridge. All the kids watched this film until the end, without getting restless, which meant it must have been above the usual standard.

I would have seen this in the late 70s, early 80s. Hopefully someone here remembers the film title!

[huggie74]

the Hostages-1975-The Definitive Childrens Film Foundation

THE HOSTAGES - Two bumbling prison escapees (including ace Confessional cockney ROBIN ASKWITH) hide out in a farmhouse where they force the three kids left alone there to keep quiet and get 'em some food and new clothes. The kids, natch, foil the ne'er-do-wells, in eminently slapstickable fashion.

http://tv.cream.org/lookin/cff/index.htm

A list can be found here
http://66.102.9.104/search?q=cache:d...lnk&cd=2&gl=uk

[designgirl]

Thanks Heather , do you remember the film?

Was great to see the pic you found. I found this link as well....

http://ftvdb.bfi.org.uk/sift/title/62727

Wonder if this will ever come out on DVD - would love to see it again.

What is er, amazing is that Robin Askwith is best known for 70s sex comedies...I wonder how he ended up cast in a kids movie?

[huggie74]

You are welcome

It rang a bell when I read your OP, but I'd have to watch it to be sure its the same one.

[Wil]

What is er, amazing is that Robin Askwith is best known for 70s sex comedies...I wonder how he ended up cast in a kids movie?

Poor old Robin, ever to be associated with the Confessions flicks. He was, though in loads of other stuff too - Carry On, the Bless This House movie, Randall and Hopkirk, The Double Deckers, Please Sir! and loads more.

[designgirl]

It rang a bell when I read your OP, but I'd have to watch it to be sure its the same one.

Isn't it cool how strong these memories are, and how much detail you can bring back when you start to really think it through?

Its kind of stating the obvious, however, one of the best things about this forum is how reading the discussion points brings back your childhood/teenage years.........well, except for some of those things that you had in Britain and we missed out on here. Surprisingly though, the TV, movies, music, fashion, has lots of crossover....even if we used to get everything a year or two later....

[soapy]

Isn't it cool how strong these memories are, and how much detail you can bring back when you start to really think it through?

Its kind of stating the obvious, however, one of the best things about this forum is how reading the discussion points brings back your childhood/teenage years.........well, except for some of those things that you had in Britain and we missed out on here. Surprisingly though, the TV, movies, music, fashion, has lots of crossover....even if we used to get everything a year or two later....

So you didn't realise how stupid you looked in those hideous 70's and 80's fashions until a full 2 years after us

[designgirl]

er, yeah, we were still wearing those fluro socks in 1984 and thinking they were the height of fashion to have 2 pairs on, with the colour order in opposites, like green/orange....orange/green.....

Lucky for teenagers in Australia now - we have the internet, satellite TV, global communications, and every fashion happens here five minutes before or after it happens anywhere else on the planet.....