This was one of the last films from Gainsborough before the studio was shut down as a Rank economy measure.It is actually quite a good and effective film reflecting the mood of the time.The biggest problem being the shoehorning into the boys roles of Rank contract actors.This despite the fact that there were some good teenage actors such as Harry Fowler and Anthony Newley.Bogarde is seen here just before the Blue Lamp which would propelled him to screen stardom and Jack Warner to TV stardom .This film though is far removed from Scum.
11 Reviews
Interesting social commentary insight
daniele-iannarelli4 May 2019
Warning: Spoilers
Somewhat dated (understandably), this snapshot of 1949 borstal was a little surprising to me in that I had the idea that borstal conditions were *much* tougher than the movie portrayed.
The acting is, generally, very good (particularly by the main characters Jack Warner, Richard Attenborough, Dirk Bogarde). However, it seemed to me that many of the cast were - in real life - much older than the maximum age (23) for 'inmates' and, consequently, I think some of them (in trying to act younger) overdid it and acted too young. One notable case was Bogarde's character on his knees crying and begging the governor to be separated from peers. This created a considerable disparity that just didn't sit well for me. This was compounded by my first impression image of grown men dressed in schoolboy shorts acting as young teenagers. The young Attenborough, though, was what was to later become his usual brilliance.
This film was a very interesting social commentary for the time and, as previously alluded, an excellent social history snapshot.
Notable end quotes:
Worth watching.
The acting is, generally, very good (particularly by the main characters Jack Warner, Richard Attenborough, Dirk Bogarde). However, it seemed to me that many of the cast were - in real life - much older than the maximum age (23) for 'inmates' and, consequently, I think some of them (in trying to act younger) overdid it and acted too young. One notable case was Bogarde's character on his knees crying and begging the governor to be separated from peers. This created a considerable disparity that just didn't sit well for me. This was compounded by my first impression image of grown men dressed in schoolboy shorts acting as young teenagers. The young Attenborough, though, was what was to later become his usual brilliance.
This film was a very interesting social commentary for the time and, as previously alluded, an excellent social history snapshot.
Notable end quotes:
- "Well, of course they try to escape. And why not? Aren't we all of us trying to escape from some prison of our own making? There you are, Johnson, the wheat and the chaff"
- "Yes sir, but the thing is, which is which?"
- "No, Johnson, the thing is to find out *what* is the chaff... and why".
Worth watching.
Hardly 'boys'!
planktonrules12 January 2017
Most of this film is set at a reform school for young offenders. I had to laugh at this because most of the actors are in their late 20s and some look well over 30! So the word 'Boys' in the title seems hardly appropriate!
Jackie Knowles (Richard Attenborough) is a young punk who has already been arrested for some petty crime. He didn't learn his lesson and soon is arrested again and is sent to the reform school. Jackie seems like he's not too bad a sort and he decides to apply himself, do his time and make something of himself. Unfortunately, there are a lot of guys who are more than happy to keep Jackie down...particularly the rat- like Alfie (Dirk Bogarde). When a group of the 'boys' want to escape, Alfie insists that he'll make Jackie join them....even if it means lying and manipulating to get his cooperation.
Overall, this is a reasonably well made and entertaining film which emphasizes humane treatment and reform. In many ways, it's a bit like some of the early Dead End Kids films in this respect. Worth seeing mostly so you can see Bogarde and Attenborough as they both were fine actors even when they were 'boys'!
Jackie Knowles (Richard Attenborough) is a young punk who has already been arrested for some petty crime. He didn't learn his lesson and soon is arrested again and is sent to the reform school. Jackie seems like he's not too bad a sort and he decides to apply himself, do his time and make something of himself. Unfortunately, there are a lot of guys who are more than happy to keep Jackie down...particularly the rat- like Alfie (Dirk Bogarde). When a group of the 'boys' want to escape, Alfie insists that he'll make Jackie join them....even if it means lying and manipulating to get his cooperation.
Overall, this is a reasonably well made and entertaining film which emphasizes humane treatment and reform. In many ways, it's a bit like some of the early Dead End Kids films in this respect. Worth seeing mostly so you can see Bogarde and Attenborough as they both were fine actors even when they were 'boys'!
Very Gainsborough and very Pinewood look at life in Borstal.
jamesraeburn20034 September 2018
Warning: Spoilers
A young petty criminal called Jackie Knowles (Richard Attenborough) is sentenced to three years at Borstal for being the getaway driver in a botched raid on a jewelry store. At the time he was already on probation for a previous offence. Knowles plans to keep his head down and do his time in the hope he will get an early release. However, he soon becomes involved with a group of lads who are planning to escape and the devious and scheming Alfie Rawlings (Dirk Bogarde) persuades him to get involved by exploiting his anxieties that his girlfriend Kitty (Barbara Murray) is romantically involved with former Borstal boy Bill Foster (Jimmy Hanley). As the boys make their escape, Knowles coshes a guard with a table lamp and, after they have been quickly recaptured, he is told that the man he coshed is in a critical condition and will need a life saving operation and could die. Will Knowles end up facing a murder charge? Or should the man survive can the institution's progressively minded governor (Jack Warner) and Kitty help Jackie finish his sentence and come out of Borstal a reformed person?
This very Gainsborough, very Pinewood look at life in Borstal now seems very dated and very tame compared with tougher, grittier and more realistic depictions we have seen since. It is also rather indifferently directed and plodding in places, but one cannot deny that is extremely well acted all round by the stellar cast. Dirk Bogarde, in particular, is stand out as Jackie Knowles' scheming fellow Borstal Boy Alfie Rawlings who ruthlessly exploits his fears that his girlfriend Kitty has gone off with former inmate Bill Foster. The performances from Attenborough and Murray are sufficient to make us care about them and their predicament provides the emotional centre to the story and some suspense too. For instance, we see Foster taking Kitty out to dine and dancing and he later proposes marriage to her, but she doesn't reply and we are not sure as to whether she will abandon Jackie because, after all, he is going to be away in Borstal for quite some time. The impression that she might well have ditched Jackie is reinforced after Alfie produces a signed photo of her from Foster's belongings after he returns to Borstal to further his own ends. The tension picks up after Jackie has coshed the guard and we can imagine how he must feel inside with our pulses racing as we wait to find out if the fatally injured Borstal guard will recover or not. Jack Warner, in a refreshing change from playing police inspectors, is also noteworthy as the progressive Borstal governor. Other people to look out for in the supporting cast include Thora Hird, Alfie Bass and Patrick Holt. This was one of the handful of 'A' features that Montgomery Tully directed before he became relegated to making b-pics and shorts where he became one of Britain's most prolific film makers in that field. The film is also notable because it was shot in the 'independent frame' process, which blended studio sets with natural backgrounds. It was a short lived experiment, though, and was soon abandoned.
This very Gainsborough, very Pinewood look at life in Borstal now seems very dated and very tame compared with tougher, grittier and more realistic depictions we have seen since. It is also rather indifferently directed and plodding in places, but one cannot deny that is extremely well acted all round by the stellar cast. Dirk Bogarde, in particular, is stand out as Jackie Knowles' scheming fellow Borstal Boy Alfie Rawlings who ruthlessly exploits his fears that his girlfriend Kitty has gone off with former inmate Bill Foster. The performances from Attenborough and Murray are sufficient to make us care about them and their predicament provides the emotional centre to the story and some suspense too. For instance, we see Foster taking Kitty out to dine and dancing and he later proposes marriage to her, but she doesn't reply and we are not sure as to whether she will abandon Jackie because, after all, he is going to be away in Borstal for quite some time. The impression that she might well have ditched Jackie is reinforced after Alfie produces a signed photo of her from Foster's belongings after he returns to Borstal to further his own ends. The tension picks up after Jackie has coshed the guard and we can imagine how he must feel inside with our pulses racing as we wait to find out if the fatally injured Borstal guard will recover or not. Jack Warner, in a refreshing change from playing police inspectors, is also noteworthy as the progressive Borstal governor. Other people to look out for in the supporting cast include Thora Hird, Alfie Bass and Patrick Holt. This was one of the handful of 'A' features that Montgomery Tully directed before he became relegated to making b-pics and shorts where he became one of Britain's most prolific film makers in that field. The film is also notable because it was shot in the 'independent frame' process, which blended studio sets with natural backgrounds. It was a short lived experiment, though, and was soon abandoned.
Mature, reflective filmmaking
Leofwine_draca4 March 2019
Warning: Spoilers
BOYS IN BROWN is an engaging little tale of borstal life made in 1949. It's mainly of interest to see a thoroughly ensemble cast doing their bit, with a script allowing each character to develop and stand out from the crowd. Richard Attenborough is the nominal lead, inevitably after BRIGHTON ROCK, but others such as Michael Medwin, Dirk Bogarde and Jimmy Hanley all stand out too. The story weaves together various little subplots in order to stay interesting but particularly excels during a latter stage jailbreak sequence which features as an early precursor to THE GREAT ESCAPE. This is mature, reflective filmmaking that doesn't back down.
Boys in Brown
CinemaSerf4 January 2023
Richard Attenborough is the naive young "Jackie", in love with his girl "Kitty" (Barbara Murray) but prone to getting into bad company. It is after one such escapade that he finds himself sentenced to three years in borstal. Fortunately for him, the governor (Jack Warden) believes firmly that the purpose of these institutions is to rehabilitate and so he is inclined to try and help the man; unfortunately his habit of falling for the wrong 'uns continues as he soon becomes the quarry of the duplicitous "Rawlins" (Dirk Bogarde) and his gang of would-be escapees. The film follows the path he takes to try and escape, not just from his incarceration, but from the self-perpetuating cycle of scenarios that make it impossible for him to break free and make a clean start with his life and his love. It sags a bit, this, but overall the performances are convincing and it does evoke a sense of just how despairing times must have been for many in the immediate aftermath of WWII. Jimmy Handley chips in well as another of "Rawlins" pawns, also do Thora Hird, Alfie Bass and Michael Medwin, too. There is a little too much dialogue but it is still worth a watch.
Men In Red (Faces)
writers_reign15 September 2020
Warning: Spoilers
For reasons best known to 1) himself, or 2) the person or persons to whom he sold the rights, writer-actor Reginald Beckwith was not featured in this 1949 adaptation of his 1940 hit play. Although it seems like he is the only English actor who wasn't wheeled out for this proction it only SEEMS that way and we look in vain for stalwarts like Sam Kydd, Vic Maddern, Alfie Bass et al. What we do get is Dirk Bogarde attempting an accent (in this case Welsh) as far beyond his capabilities as cockney was to Dick Van Dyke, the ubiquitous Jimmy Hanley, more wooden than Pinnochio, as ever, Dickie - all-I-want-is-a-knighthood- Attenborough, Jack Warner as the progressive governor, Thora Hird as mum and Barbara Murray as Little Nell. It passes the time painlessly enough and that's the best you can give it.
Borstal Boys
richardchatten30 November 2019
If you've ever wanted to see Dirk Bogarde in shorts then this is the film for you!! (Today's generation of young offenders would probably regard being made to wear short trousers cruel & unusual punishment in itself; and I still haven't decided yet who looks more grotesque in shorts, Alfie Bass in this or Roman Polanski in 'A Generation'!)
One of the final gasps, incredibly enough, of Gainsborough Pictures; and based, even more incredibly, on a play by Reginald Beckwith, 'Boys in Brown' is yet another stern warning to the youth of postwar austerity Britain to stick to the straight and narrow or face severe consequences.
Three of the cast were promptly reunited in 'The Blue Lamp'; Jack Warner & Jimmy Hanley as coppers, Bogarde as the zoot-suited spiv taught an even harsher lesson that crime is a mug's game.
One of the final gasps, incredibly enough, of Gainsborough Pictures; and based, even more incredibly, on a play by Reginald Beckwith, 'Boys in Brown' is yet another stern warning to the youth of postwar austerity Britain to stick to the straight and narrow or face severe consequences.
Three of the cast were promptly reunited in 'The Blue Lamp'; Jack Warner & Jimmy Hanley as coppers, Bogarde as the zoot-suited spiv taught an even harsher lesson that crime is a mug's game.
Star-studded cast but dated story.
Neil-11731 January 2002
Some great British actors were building their career foundations in this drama about the pressures of life both inside and outside a Borstal reform institution. In particular, Dirk Bogarde makes an excellent scheming manipulator of his fellow inmates while Richard Attenborough is his naive prey.
The Borstal governor and his staff lament that the young men in their charge won't try harder to become good citizens, while the young inmates themselves can't see beyond peer pressure and adolescent rebellion - that much at least hasn't changed since 1949.
But the passage of time has not served this movie well. Its main interest now is historical, in the very early performances of future superstars and in documenting a vanished way of British life and values. We've all seen a multitude of tough prison movies made in later years and in their light this one seems rather pale.
The Borstal governor and his staff lament that the young men in their charge won't try harder to become good citizens, while the young inmates themselves can't see beyond peer pressure and adolescent rebellion - that much at least hasn't changed since 1949.
But the passage of time has not served this movie well. Its main interest now is historical, in the very early performances of future superstars and in documenting a vanished way of British life and values. We've all seen a multitude of tough prison movies made in later years and in their light this one seems rather pale.
Excellent film
microlearn22 February 2019
At the time of making this film Borstals had inmates up to the age of 23, so the actors look right for the parts they play. One of the inmates in the film is married and has 2 children so the critics who say the actors are too old are wrong.
A precursor of American Juvenile Delinquent stories
aventer-13 June 2011
Amazon notwithstanding, a DVD of this is available and I recently ran across it. The story is pretty basic and not very believable but you do learn quite a bit about the time in which it happens. Unlike the US where kids were already defining their own style of dress, their own music and gathering places devoid of adults, the British kids dress like miniature adults with clean white shirt, tie and dark sport coat....even when robbing stores! You get the feeling that success for them means getting what the adults already have rather than renouncing the world of their elders. And they are comfortable hitting a pub for a drink. It's no big deal. I guess the British drinking age is a bit lower than that in the US. But while the British world might have welcomed the youngsters into the fold, the British film industry took things to a ridiculous extreme; all the borstal "kids" are old enough to be guards themselves. Check the biogs of the actors. Several of them are in their 30's, playing teens. Hanley, playing the part of Bill Foster, is 32 and sports an enormous belly. He is almost old enough to have a son of his own in a borstal. Attenborough and Bogard are a little less obvious, but not much. Apparently Rank, like American International and Roger Corman, had difficulty finding suitable juvenile actors and simply used adults dressed as kids. After a while you get used to it since the teens act like little adults anyway. Actually a rather interesting picture from a historical aspect. If you can find it.
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