''A Kid For Two Farthings'' is a 1955 film, directed by

Carol Reed Sir Carol Reed (30 December 1906 – 25 April 1976) was an English film director and producer, best known for '' Odd Man Out'' (1947), '' The Fallen Idol'' (1948), ''The Third Man'' (1949), and ''Oliver!'' (1968), for which he was awarded the ...

. The screenplay was adapted by

Wolf Mankowitz Cyril Wolf Mankowitz (7 November 1924 – 20 May 1998) was an English writer, playwright and screenwriter. He is particularly known for three novels— ''Make Me an Offer'' (1952), '' A Kid for Two Farthings'' (1953) and ''My Old Man's a Dustma ...

from his 1953 novel of the same name. The title is a reference to the traditional

Passover Passover, also called Pesach (; ), is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Biblical story of the Israelites escape from slavery in Egypt, which occurs on the 15th day of the Hebrew month of Nisan, the first month of Aviv, or spring. ...

song,

Chad Gadya Chad Gadya ''or'' Had Gadya ( Aramaic: חַד גַדְיָא ''chad gadya'', "one little goat, or "one kid"; Hebrew: "גדי אחד ''gedi echad''") is a playful cumulative song in Aramaic and Hebrew. It is sung at the end of the Passover Sede ...

, which begins "One little goat which my father bought for two zuzim". At the end of the film, Mr. Kandinsky softly sings fragments of an English translation of the song. It was one of the last films produced by

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)East End The East End of London, often referred to within the London area simply as the East End, is the historic core of wider East London, east of the Roman and medieval walls of the City of London and north of the River Thames. It does not have uni ...

everyone, it seems, has unattainable dreams. Then a small boy – Joe – buys a

unicorn The unicorn is a legendary creature that has been described since antiquity as a beast with a single large, pointed, spiraling horn projecting from its forehead. In European literature and art, the unicorn has for the last thousand years o ...

, in fact a sickly little goat, with just one twisted horn in the middle of its forehead. This, he has been led to believe by a local tailor, Kandinsky, will bring everyone good fortune. The film has a haunting last image, of Kandinsky carrying the tiny body of the "unicorn" to the graveyard, whilst passing in the opposite direction is a

Torah The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...

-reading

Rabbi A rabbi () is a spiritual leader or religious teacher in Judaism. One becomes a rabbi by being ordained by another rabbi – known as '' semikha'' – following a course of study of Jewish history and texts such as the Talmud. The basic form o ...

pushing a horn

gramophone A phonograph, in its later forms also called a gramophone (as a trademark since 1887, as a generic name in the UK since 1910) or since the 1940s called a record player, or more recently a turntable, is a device for the mechanical and analogu ...

, a character that appears in the background several times during the film.

Cast

Celia Johnson Dame Celia Elizabeth Johnson, (18 December 1908 – 26 April 1982) was an English actress, whose career included stage, television and film. She is especially known for her roles in the films ''In Which We Serve'' (1942), ''This Happy Bree ...

as Joanna *

Diana Dors Diana Dors (born Diana Mary Fluck; 23 October 19314 May 1984) was an English actress and singer. Dors came to public notice as a blonde bombshell, much in the style of Americans Marilyn Monroe, Jayne Mansfield and Mamie Van Doren. Dors was p ...

as Sonia *

David Kossoff David Kossoff (24 November 1919 – 23 March 2005) was a British actor. In 1954 he won the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles for his appearance as Geza Szobek in '' The Young Lovers''. He played Alf Larkin in TV sit ...

as Mr. Kandinsky * Joe Robinson as Sam *

Jonathan Ashmore Jonathan Felix Ashmore (born 1948) is a British physicist and Bernard Katz Professor of Biophysics at University College London. Early life and education He is the son of Rosalie Crutchley who played Madame Defarge in A Tale of Two Cities. Ash ...

as Joe * Brenda De Banzie as 'Lady' Ruby *

Primo Carnera Primo may refer to: People *DJ Premier (born 1966), hip-hop producer, sometimes goes by nickname Primo *Primo Carnera (1906–1967), Italian boxer, World Heavyweight champion 1933–1934 * Primo Cassarino (born 1956), enforcer for the Gambino cr ...

as Python Macklin *

Lou Jacobi Lou Jacobi (born Louis Harold Jacobovitch; December 28, 1913October 23, 2009) was a Canadian character actor. Life and early career Jacobi was born Louis Harold Jacobovitch in Toronto, Canada, to Joseph and Fay Jacobovitch. Jacobi began acting ...

as Blackie Isaacs * Irene Handl as Mrs. Abramowitz * Danny Green as Bason *

Sydney Tafler Sydney Tafler (31 July 1916 – 8 November 1979) was an English actor who after having started his career on stage, was best remembered for numerous appearances in films and television from the 1940s to the 1970s. Personal life Tafler was bor ...

as Madam Rita * Sid James as Ice Berg * Daphne Anderson as Dora * Harry Baird as Jamaica * Joseph Tomelty as Vagrant *

Harold Berens Harold Berens (born Isadore Harold Berenbaum; 4 March 1903 – 10 May 1995) was a British comedian and character actor. Biography He was born into a Jewish family in Glasgow, the son of a tailor, and grew up and was educated in Leeds, Harro ...

as Oliver

Production

Film rights to the novel were purchased by Carol Reed, who had made another film featuring a child protagonist, ''The Fallen Idol'', a few years previously. After making ''The Man Between'', Reed wanted to do something smaller scale. The role of the six-year old went to Jonathan Ashmore. The ''New York Times'' called Diana Dors' casting "a surprise choice" because "she has made no films of consequence before and has usually been thought of as a kind of junior Marilyn Monroe." Filming started in June 1954. It took place at the studio and on location at Petticoat Lane in London. It was Carol Reed's first movie in colour. Korda had just signed a deal with Romulus for them to distribute his movies. ''Kid for Two Farthings'' was the first.

Reception

Critical response

Reviews for the film were mixed. Reed said, "I loved that book. The film was alright in parts but not in others. It cost very little money but did well." ''Filmink'' said it contained " an archetypal Dors performance in many ways – she's down-to-earth, warm, kind, the best looking girl in a low-rent area (glamorous, but "East End" glamorous)."

Awards

''A Kid for Two Farthings'' was nominated for a

Golden Palm The Palme d'Or (; en, Golden Palm) is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival. It was introduced in 1955 by the festival's organizing committee. Previously, from 1939 to 1954, the festival's highest prize was the Grand Prix du Fe ...

at the

1955 Cannes Film Festival The 8th Cannes Film Festival was held from 26 April to 10 May 1955. The Golden Palm went to the US film '' Marty'' by Delbert Mann. The festival opened with '' Du rififi chez les hommes'' by Jules Dassin and closed with ''Carmen Jones'' by Otto P ...

Box office

According to the ''Monthly Film Herald'' The film was the 9th most popular movie at the British box office in 1955, after ''The Dam Busters'', ''White Christmas'', ''Doctor at Sea'', ''The Colditz Story'', ''Seven Brides for Seven Brothers'', ''

Above Us the Waves ''Above Us the Waves'' is a 1955 British war film about human torpedo and midget submarine attacks in Norwegian fjords against the German battleship ''Tirpitz''. Directed by Ralph Thomas, it is based on two true-life attacks by British commando ...

'', ''One Good Turn'', and ''

Raising a Riot ''Raising a Riot'' is a 1955 British comedy film directed by Wendy Toye and starring Kenneth More, Shelagh Fraser and Mandy Miller about a naval officer who attempts to look after his three children in his wife's absence. It was shot at Sheppert ...

''. The film's popularity helped exhibitors vote Diana Dors the 9th most popular British star in British films (after Dirk Bogarde, John Mills, Norman Wisdom, Alastair Sim, Kenneth More, Jack Hawkins, Richard Todd and Michael Redgrave, and in front of Alec Guinness.)

Notes

References

External links

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Review of film
at Variety * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kid For Two Farthings, A 1955 films 1950s fantasy drama films British fantasy drama films Films based on British novels Films directed by Carol Reed Films scored by Benjamin Frankel London Films films Films set in London Professional wrestling films Films with screenplays by Wolf Mankowitz 1955 drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films