Not bad for a Children's Film Foundation production, fairly good in fact, but far from their best. The plot is very simplistic here and given over to long sequences of model plane flying and the final 'solution' - to recreate the Battle of Britain with toy planes and darts - is ridiculous even by kid's film standards. On the plus side it's short and to the point as ever and Bill Maynard brings a lot of his usual gruff charm, but I was expecting a little more sophistication here.
6 Reviews
Past the Golden Years
nigel_hawkes12 June 2022
I expect that those whose formative years were the '70s will quite enjoy this, but for those slightly older it compares unfavourably with the older, classic, gritty B&W CFF films like "Skid Kids" and "Adventures in the Hopfields".
Still, it's not unenjoyable, though the plot is rather silly. Like many 1970s films the colour-probably almost mandatory by then-is rather fuzzy and adds nothing to the overall quality. Rather embarrassing now to see boys with those ridiculous long hair styles-did we really all look like that!
Nice to see Bill Maynard-always good value-as the kindly father/model aircraft builder...
Still, it's not unenjoyable, though the plot is rather silly. Like many 1970s films the colour-probably almost mandatory by then-is rather fuzzy and adds nothing to the overall quality. Rather embarrassing now to see boys with those ridiculous long hair styles-did we really all look like that!
Nice to see Bill Maynard-always good value-as the kindly father/model aircraft builder...
excellent film of the 1970's
alexander_blake8 April 2006
A lost gem of a film,with magnificent performances from Bill Maynard and Reginald Marsh.The contrast between the two characters played by these wily old pros could not be greater.Maynard,as an ex fighter pilot is the embodiment of meritocratic decency,a man whose honesty and reliability oozes from every pore.Marsh is his diametric opposite,a latter-day spiv whose war efforts,one supposes,were confined to black marketeering or incarceration in the glass house.They have both since become role models,Maynard as a paragon of virtue to his daughter and her two young friends,while the sleazy Marsh has moulded his equally feckless son into a second-rate replica of himself.A great little film that should be made available on DVD.
It goes from silly to sillier
malcolmgsw4 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Rather daft CFF film featuring lots of radio controlled model aircraft. Usual plot of children defeating crooks. Good to see in an untypical role as a crook. Odd that the smugglers car in France is a right hand drive.
Head and shoulders above usual Children's Film Foundation fare
jamesharding2 June 2020
A very imaginative and well-paced (but a little silly) crime drama from 1977 where diamond thieves steal remote controlled model aeroplanes and then use them to smuggle diamonds. It's not exactly Snakes On A Plane, but it doesn't need to be.
It's now finally available on DVD from BFI in their "Children's Film Foundation Bumper Box Vol. 2".
It's now finally available on DVD from BFI in their "Children's Film Foundation Bumper Box Vol. 2".
The best CFF film watched so far.
plan9930 September 2021
There must have been a surge in the sales of radio controlled planes when this film came out with every budding young Biggles wanting one. A very interesting plot in which to have the children battling against the adult baddie. The large model spitfires were very impressive. This has to be one of the best CFF films.
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
