''Quincy's Quest'' is a 1979 British

family film A children's film, or family film, is a film genre that generally relates to children in the context of home and family. Children's films are made specifically for children and not necessarily for a general audience, while family films are made ...

directed by Robert Reed, and starring

Tommy Steele Sir Thomas Hicks (born 17 December 1936), known professionally as Tommy Steele, is an English entertainer, regarded as Britain's first teen idol and rock and roll star. After being discovered at the 2i's Coffee Bar in Soho, London, Steele recor ...

, Mel Martin and Charles Morgan. A version was first shown on television on 23 December 1962 as ''The Tommy Steele Show: Quincy's Quest''.

Plot

In a

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

, unwanted toys are set to be destroyed. One of the rejects, a doll named Quincy (Tommy Steele), embarks on a quest to find

Santa Claus Santa Claus (also known as Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Father Christmas, Kris Kringle or Santa) is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring gifts during the late evening and overnight hours on Chris ...

, the only person who can save them. The first room Quincy enters is for costume dolls, where he meets Mr. Perfect, who is disgusted by the fact Quincy is a reject. Quincy then explains (through song) why he is happy being such. Conn is informed via telephone that Quincy is a reject and lures him into his

ventriloquist dummy Ventriloquism or ventriloquy is an act of stagecraft in which a person (a ventriloquist) speaks in such a way that it seems like their voice is coming from a different location, usually through a puppet known as a "dummy". The act of ventrilo ...

show. This allows Quincy the chance to sing, but then Conn convinces him to board a train, claiming it will lead him straight to Santa’s grotto. While driving it, Quincy runs headfirst into a black train, causing both to explode. He is found by a doll named Rebecca, who takes him to her disappearing village made of building blocks. After Rebecca says that the man of her dreams would wear a uniform, Quincy buys a soldier costume and is mistaken as a real red toy soldier. He is sent to battle blue soldiers, but manages to escape. The Witch blocks the way upstairs with boxes. Quincy considers giving up before voices in his head encourage him to continue, so he throws a rope up to the next storey. After a short rest, he meets a group of animals: Gerry the Giraffe, Larry the Leopard, Lionel the Lion and Ellie the Elephant, who live in a land of

stuffed animals A stuffed toy is a toy with an outer fabric sewn from a textile and stuffed with flexible material. They are known by many names, such as plush toys, plushies, lovies and stuffies; in Britain and Australia, they may also be called soft toys ...

. Quincy convinces them to join him on his quest to save his friends and ends up reuniting with Rebecca. She, however, is revealed to be in contact with the Witch, who kidnaps Quincy and ties him up to be attacked by robots. He is able to use various tanks and missiles to defend himself, which causes the Witch to activate the giant robot Archimedes. Top reprograms it to turn on the Witch and crush her. Quincy carries Rebecca out into Santa’s grotto, and both turn back into regular dolls in time for a group of children led by Santa to find them. Smithy claims that they are rejects and attempts to destroy them. The children attack Smithy, who all grab toys for themselves, except for Quincy and Rebecca, who are picked up by Santa and kept as reminders of love and compassion being gifts to all. Their friends are saved too.

Production

The film was shot at Shepperton Design Studios. The studio built Archimedes, a ten-foot suit with an unidentified actor inside. Although it was without fault, the block bridge proved controversial. Designer and Shepperton founder Andrew Ainsworth wanted the bridge to connect like real blocks, using

reaction injection molding Reaction injection molding (RIM) is similar to injection molding except thermosetting polymers are used, which requires a curing reaction to occur within the mold. Common items made via RIM include automotive bumpers, air spoilers, and fe ...

. However, due to the fact that the cast would dance on top of it, he reinforced it with a welded steel structure, which caused a fire due to the fuel energy contained within the bricks. It was quickly extinguished. Ainsworth then painted the bridge's surface with

resin A resin is a solid or highly viscous liquid that can be converted into a polymer. Resins may be biological or synthetic in origin, but are typically harvested from plants. Resins are mixtures of organic compounds, predominantly terpenes. Commo ...

, which caused the cast’s shoes to come off their feet and stick to the ground.

Cast

... Quincy * Mel Martin ... Rebecca * Charles Morgan ... Narrator * Frederick Schiller ... Smithy *

Lila Kaye Lila Kaye (7 November 1929 – 10 January 2012) was an English actress. She spent a number of years working in the United States, on Broadway and in television, before returning to England. She often played motherly and/or comedic characters ...

... Griselda / Mrs. Claus * Tony Aitken ... Teddy / Father Christmas *

Lance Percival John Lancelot Blades Percival (26 July 1933 – 6 January 2015), known as Lance Percival, was an English actor, comedian and singer, best known for his appearances in satirical comedy television shows of the early 1960s and his ability to impr ...

... Jack *

Aubrey Woods Aubrey Harold Woods (9 April 1928 – 7 May 2013) was an English actor. He is best remembered for playing Bill in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'', where he sang " The Candy Man". Biography and career Woods was born on 9 April 19 ...

... Mr. Perfect * Matt Zimmerman ... Conn * Leo Dolan ... Soldier *

Willoughby Goddard Willoughby Wittenham Rees Goddard (4 July 1926 – 11 April 2008) was an English actor whose trademark rotund figure was well known on television and in films for more than 40 years. Biography Goddard was born in Bicester, Oxfordshire. He ...

... General * James Woolley ... Aide de Camp *

Gretchen Franklin Gretchen Franklin (7 July 1911 – 11 July 2005) was an English actress and dancer with a career in show business spanning over 70 years. She played Ethel Skinner in the long-running BBC 1 soap opera ''EastEnders'' on a regular basis from 198 ...

... Witch *

Roy Kinnear Roy Mitchell Kinnear (8 January 1934 – 20 September 1988) was an English character actor and comedian. He was known for his acting roles in movies such as Henry Salt in the 1971 film ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory'', Algernon in The Be ...

... Top *

Patsy Kensit Patricia Jude Francis Kensit (born 4 March 1968) is an English actress and singer. Beginning her career as a child actor, Kensit gained attention when she acted in a string of commercials for Birds Eye frozen peas. She went on to appear in films ...

... Jennifer * Gary Fetterplace ... Boy * Arnold Diamond ... Manager * Jan Murzynowski ... Smithy's Assistant *

Peter Hawkins Peter John Hawkins (3 April 1924 – 8 July 2006) was a British actor. From the 1950s to 1980s, he was one of the most sought-after voice artists for television. Early life Peter John Hawkins was born on 3 April 1924 in Hargwyne Street in Bri ...

... Voices

Book adaptation

In 1981, the same year ''Quincy’s Quest'' was repeated on ITV,

published a children’s book simply titled ''Quincy'', based on the film.

References

External links

* 1979 films British children's films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films {{1970s-UK-film-stub