A Boy, a Girl and a Bike

A Boy, a Girl and a Bike is a 1949 British romantic comedy film directed by Ralph Smart and starring John McCallum, Honor Blackman and Patrick Holt.[2] The film's art direction was by George Provis.[3] The film concerns the romantic escapades and adventures of a Yorkshire cycling club.

A Boy, a Girl and a Bike
British quad poster
Directed byRalph Smart
Produced byRalph Keene
Alfred Roome
Screenplay byTed Willis
Story byRalph Keene
& John Sommerfield
StarringJohn McCallum
Honor Blackman
Patrick Holt
Diana Dors
Music byKenneth Pakeman
CinematographyRay Elton
Phil Grindrod
Edited byJames Needs
Production
company
Distributed byGeneral Film Distributors (UK)
Release date
  • 23 May 1949 (1949-05-23) (London, UK)
Running time
92 minutes
CountryUnited Kingdom
LanguageEnglish
Box office£61,000 (by 1953)[1]

Plot

Young couple Sue (Honor Blackman) and Sam (Patrick Holt) are members of a Yorkshire cycling club, the ‘Wakeford Wheelers’. Romantic complications ensue when wealthy David (John McCallum) becomes smitten with Sue, and joins the club to pursue her, much to Sam's dismay.

The film is set in Wakeford and in the Yorkshire Dales. It features cycle sabotage and cycling tactics.

Cast

Production

The film was based on an original idea by Sydney Box, who was head of production at Gainsborough. Box came up with the idea while out for a Sunday drive, and gave the job of writing the script to Ted Willis, who had worked for Box on the scripts for Holiday Camp and The Huggett's Abroad and had the reputation for someone who could write for working class characters. The film was originally called Wheels within Wheels[4][5]

Richard Attenborough was meant to play a key role but was held up making The Guinea Pig; Patrick Holt played his part instead.[6]

In March 1948 Smart was scouting locations in Yorkshire.[7] Filming took place in September 1948. It happened on location in Yorkshire at places including Wakefield, Hebden Bridge, Skipton and at Gainsborough's studio in Shepherd's Bush.[8]

Critical reception

Variety called it "feeble... valueless for the US market."[9]

The Monthly Film Bulletin" called it a "simple unpretentious story enlivened by flashes of homely Yorkshire humour."[10]

The Radio Times gave the film two out of five stars, calling it, "A minor, good-natured British comedy romance."[11]

References
  1. Andrew Spicer, Sydney Box Manchester Uni Press 2006 p 211
  2. Spicer p.214
  3. "A Boy, A Girl and a Bike (1949)".
  4. Spicer, Andrew (2006). Sydney Box. Manchester University Press. ISBN 9780719059995.
  5. Ted Willis, Evening All: 50 Years Over a Hot Typewriter (London: Macmillan, 1991), pp. 11, 23.
  6. "U.S. ACTOR'S FIRST FILM IS BRITISH". The Sun (11948). New South Wales, Australia. 13 May 1948. p. 17 (LATE FINAL EXTRA). Retrieved 11 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  7. "They'll spend summer outside -- if it's fine". The Sun (2345). New South Wales, Australia. 21 March 1948. p. 35. Retrieved 11 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  8. "McCALLUM BACK AFTER HOLLYWOOD HOLIDAY". The Mail (Adelaide). 37 (1, 900). South Australia. 30 October 1948. p. 3 (SUNDAY MAGAZINE). Retrieved 11 July 2020 – via National Library of Australia.
  9. Review of film at Variety
  10. BOY A GIRL AND A BIKE Monthly Film Bulletin; London Vol. 16, Iss. 181, (Jan 1, 1949): 96.
  11. "A Boy, a Girl and a Bike - Film from RadioTimes".

Bibliography
  • Spicer, Andrew. Sydney Box. Manchester University Press, 2006.


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