The Unicorn of London
Young Joe (Jonathan Ashmore) lives with his mum, Joanna (Celia Johnson), above Kandinsky's tailor shop where she also works as does body builder Sam (Joe Robinson) who is dating Sonia (Diana Dors). And everyone in the area be it in the shops or the market stalls which line the streets, know Joe and his love of animals. But it is Mr. Kandinsky (David Kossoff) who tells Joe all about unicorns which with their one horn can grant wishes and of course Joe decides to get himself one. When he comes across a man selling a little one horned goat Joe mistakes it for a unicorn and buys it after bartering him down. Suddenly things Joe starts to wish for comes true and he believes his unicorn is behind these miracles.
"A Kid for Two Farthings" starts with a couple of shots of London as we follow a pigeon which then takes us to the street when Joe lives and plays amongst the market stalls where everyone knows him. And whilst this was made before I was born there is undoubtedly a nostalgic appeal about it from those London streets not being filled with vehicles to the bustling nature of the market. Of course that wasn't the case when "A Kid for Two Farthings" was released but for those like me it adds some thing to other wise what is an okay movie with a busy nature which can be a bit head ache inducing.
Now that busy nature certainly means we have a lot going on there is Joanna missing her husband who is in South Africa, Joe's relationship to Sonia, another girl who has the hots for Joe, Python the wrestler and so much more including Mr. Kandinsky who would like a steam press. Yet ironically for everything which goes on "A Kid for Two Farthings" the real story is of the innocence of youth with young Joe believing about unicorns and then believing his new pet is behind a series of wishes coming true, well of sorts, and there is a simple charm to it.
What this all boils down to is that "A Kid for Two Farthings" is a nice movie, a beautifully coloured movie with a busy atmosphere and a charmingly innocent tale of youth.
