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6 out of 6 people found the following comment useful :-
sensitive, sad but very true to life, 9 November 2000
9/10
Author: gordon (curtin_optom) from perth, Australia

This is a very sad and sensitive film, beautifully filmed in a very poor area of London just behind Battersea Power Station. If you enjoy Merchant Ivory films, the 'Kidnappers', or 'Whistle Down the Wind' then you will appreciate the delicate undertones of this story.

It is very true to life in the late 60's in London and shows the resilience of the children and the sadness of a once great Music Hall star.

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5 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
Charming, 31 August 2003
Author: aberlour36 from United States

Despite wretched photography and poor sound, this film is an especially appealing monument to the romanticism of the period in which it was filmed. Sellers is excellent as the street entertainer, and the youngsters playing the two children who are attracted to him are riveting. The music too is to be commended. It's a three star film, worthy of one's time.

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4 out of 4 people found the following comment useful :-
Wow, I'd forgotten all about this one, 30 March 2001
Author: kryan-1

"Sometimes it wasn't half as bad as all that, sometimes" Excellent Lionel Bart score adds to new style Peter Sellers, that of serious actor as in Being There. Superb London locations add to moral tale. Ex Vaudevillian Peter Sellers befriends two kids and begins to believe in life again and encourages the two kids from broken home to be more optimistic about life. A truly compassionate film that says despite your circumstances that there will always be someone who cares.

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3 out of 3 people found the following comment useful :-
Practical whimsy, 11 April 2007
8/10
Author: Igenlode Wordsmith from England

*** This comment may contain spoilers ***

"The Optimists of Nine Elms" played last night to a packed house, and I for one wasn't disappointed. As promised, it was touching and yet not sentimental in its story about the relationship between a former music-hall star and the urchins who find in the old busker first a solution to their boredom, then to their affection-starved lives.

The odd uncertainty of the eras in its setting -- as epitomised by the shots in which the hulk of Battersea Power Station and post-war slums are contrasted with jet-liners and executive helicopters -- is explained when you learn that the film's origins were indeed back in the early 1950s. (The director, who was present at the screening, catalogued for us the long process of delays by which it finally reached the stage of production!) And once you know that the scenario was originally intended for Buster Keaton, it's very easy to sense an unspoken echo in the writing of many of the scenes, from the scrapbook's childhood billing of "Little Sammy Hall" onwards.

But Peter Sellers, the actor who eventually made the part his own after many re-casting attempts fell through, is by no means a bottom-of-the-barrel substitute. The child actors are good (although in places their line readings came across as stilted; Liz's pert answerings-back to her mother seemed particularly prone to this) but Sellers carries the film as the shabby, capering, yet unconsciously dignified showman, still working the crowds with material that ranges from 'flappers' back to the Zulu Wars. Unlike the children's parents, he can employ a lifetime's experience with hecklers when faced with juvenile persistence -- and they, of course, are young enough to be fascinated by his patter, his treasure-trove of costumes, and his beloved dog. Especially the dog.

It takes a special sort of talent to portray a child of the stage who thinks nothing of dancing across a bridge while pushing an old pram, but Peter Sellers creates a credible character who is both a whimsical performer and a seasoned street survivor, aided and abetted by a soundtrack that supplies the unheard music of his life. We hear in voice-over, as if from a past age, fuller performances of the songs that are interrupted within the story by the business of the plot and of the busking life, and to be honest I kept expecting a flashback that would flesh out the ghosts of his past. But the costumes, the songs, the tales of fellow performers and the snippets of personal history remain just that: snippets that leave us, and the children, tantalised.

There is a good deal of humour in the script, principally but not entirely in Sam Hall's idiosyncratic comebacks and put-downs, but there is also feeling. I don't personally like dogs, but the children's predicament has me touched -- and their performances alongside Sellers, especially the non-professional Donna Mullane as Liz, have just the right touch of hard-boiled scepticism versus hunger for magic. The busking budgerigar act is also worthy of mention! And surely this must be the only film to show brutalist concrete skyscrapers as the Promised Land...

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2 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
A simple tale of childhood, growing and tough city life, 6 June 2005
10/10
Author: rjandtacarroll from New Zealand

It's been several years since I saw The Optimists and then only the once. But the movie stands out in my memory as one of the very best I've seen and remembered. I like Peter Sellers in any movie and this is one of his best works. The story is so typical of the era and it presents the gritty real life of the time, much like my own childhood. The tale is very much in the vein of Kes, another real life drama of equal merit, which was made around the same time and reflects the same childhood era. I'd like to see it again and own a copy of the film myself. If there is anyone with a copy or knows where I may obtain a copy, it would be very much appreciated.

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3 out of 5 people found the following comment useful :-
A Gem, 18 March 1999
Author: Michael Muldowney (m_muldowney@yahoo.com) from Dublin, Ireland

This is such a sweet little movie - containing (next to Being There) Peter Sellers finest screen performance. The two kids are also outstanding and anyone who wants to see London locations other than Tower Bridge and Piccadilly Circus should check this out. A seemingly forgotten film, but well worth seeking out.

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good all round film, 21 October 2009
7/10
Author: sotheran57 from Rotherham England

I have seen this film a couple of times over the years and even though it is a little maudlin (most films with dogs and kids are) and, possibly, naive, it is very entertaining. Sellers does what I consider to be one of his best performances - up there with his rogue friend Terry Thomas in Tom Thumb. But being a Keaton fan it would have been wonderful to see him in the role with all his years of vaudeville and film experience. Can you believe young kids wandering the streets and befriending an old man? I wonder if PC would allow this kind of thing to be produced today... It has no pretensions, just good story telling. Well worth a watch without deep analysis.

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1 out of 2 people found the following comment useful :-
Searching for The Optimists and/or The Optimists of NineElms, 3 June 2001
Author: jacq70 (mattienmoe@aol.com) from Philadelphia, PA USA

I once saw this wonderful film on TV and would give my eye teeth to see it again or to own it. I believe that there is a musical film as well as the drama that I saw.

For some time, I have been searching for a copy or the tv station that must have shown it with no luck. I did find a copy of the book on which it was based. It's lovely.

In my search, I came across these comments and hope that the writers return to the site to see mine. Perhaps they can direct me in my search for the video tapes (VHS).

With great anticipation, I thank you in advance for your interest.

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