A Kid for Two Farthings continues to divide audiences and critics alike. But whatever your final thoughts, there is no escaping its charm and Reed’s ability to pull you into the hustle and bustle of a Petticoat Lane that has long since vanished. A Kid for Two Farthings will be released on Studiocanal Vintage Classics Blu-ray and digital on February 26 in a stunning new 4K restoration.
Mention the name Carol Reed, and three films immediately come to mind: The Fallen Idol (1948), The Third Man (1949) and Oliver! (1968). A prolific British director, Reed had several hits throughout his career but also more than a few misses. Michael Powell once said of Reed that “Carol could put a film together as a watchmaker puts together a watch, and it’s true that many of his movies gently tick with a highly crafted and intricate quality. A Kid for Two Farthings (1955), written by Wolf Mankowitz, was Reed’s first foray into colour. Here, the new Studiocanal restoration allows the Technicolour of Reed’s film to sparkle as we are taken to Petticoat Lane in the East End of London, where immigrant tailors press clothes and fix frayed seams, market traders shout about their wares, con artists sell knocked-off goods, and kids run through the crowds playing.
In the bustling markets and streets of London’s traditional Jewish community, a young boy called Joe (Jonathan Ashmore) dreams of giving his family everything they desire. At the same time, his mum, Joanna (Celia Johnson), longs to be reunited with her husband, who left months ago for work in South Africa with the promise of creating a wealthy future. Together, they rent a room above a tailor’s shop run by Mr Kandinsky, the brilliant David Kossoff, whose performance makes this film tick. Mr Kandinsky’s beefcake assistant Sam (Joe Robinson) dreams of being Mr World, never committing to the wedding his fiancée Sonia (Diana Dors) so desperately desires. But Sam’s reason for not marrying Sonia immediately is simple: money! Therefore, he reluctantly takes on a wrestling contest with a mighty wrestler called the Python (Primo Carnera) for a big cash prize.
But back to Joe, who is convinced that unicorns are real, following a story from Mr Kandinsky and that while rare, if found, they grant all of your wishes. Luckily for Joe, he discovers a kid goat with a single stunted horn in the market and, using all his money, he buys it to make everyone’s dreams come true. Co-starring Irene Handl, Brenda de Banzie, Sid James and Sydney Tafler, Mankowitz’s story is, in essence, a tale of childhood innocence in the face of adversity as Joe attempts to make everyone’s dreams a reality with the help of a Kid Goat masquerading as a unicorn. But it is also a precursor to the far grittier kitchen-sink drama that was to come in movies such as Kes (1969).
With a mix of on-location filming in Petticoat Lane and studio work, A Kid for Two Farthings may not be Reed’s finest work. Still, it does carry a glorious sense of place and offers us a rare 1950s portrait of the thriving Anglo-Jewish communities of London’s East End, even if Reed opts for a rather sentimental approach.
Some will find A Kid for Two Farthings too busy, frantic and confused. Is it a film aimed at children or an adult drama? Is it a tale about the Anglo-Jewish experience of London following the horrors of World War II? Or a fantastical portrait of a place that never existed as Reed portrays it? The fascinating thing about this gentle Sunday matinee is that it is all these things. Therefore, A Kid for Two Farthings continues to divide audiences and critics alike. But whatever your final thoughts, there is no escaping its charm and Reed’s ability to pull you into the hustle and bustle of a Petticoat Lane that has long since vanished.
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