1952 British film
| The Wonder Kid | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Karl Hartl |
| Written by | Gene Markey Karl Hartl |
| Produced by | Karl Hartl |
| Starring | Bobby Henrey Elwyn Brook-Jones Muriel Aked Oskar Werner |
| Cinematography | Günther Anders Robert Krasker |
| Edited by | Reginald Beck |
| Music by | Willy Schmidt-Gentner |
| Production company | London Films |
| Distributed by | British Lion Films |
| Release date |
|
| Running time | 85 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Box office | £79,912 (UK) |
The Wonder Kid is a 1952 British drama film directed by Karl Hartl and starring Bobby Henrey, Elwyn Brook-Jones and Oskar Werner. The film was completed in 1950, premiered in Europe in January 1951 but was not given a full release in Britain for a further year.
Plot
Sebastian Giro is a ten-year-old French boy and child musical prodigy found in an orphanage by Mr Gorik (Elwyn Brook-Jones) who exploits the youngster’s talent as a classical pianist and turns him into an international celebrity. He even tells everyone that the boy is only seven years old to make the boy wonder’s talent seem all the more remarkable.
But Gorik is also a crook who embezzles the takings so that he has almost all the money and Sebastian gets hardly any. Coupled with that, Gorik won’t allow Sebastian to enjoy the simple pleasures of being a little boy, like playing with other boys or even reading comic books, because, when Sebastian isn’t performing, Gorik isn’t making any money out of him. He works the over tired boy like a slave who must continually practice on the piano.
Sebastian’s elderly English governess, Miss Frisbie (Muriel Aked) is very concerned about the boy and confronts Gorik about his crooked activities. But he dismisses her from her post. Miss Frisbie then pays a gang of crooks to "kidnap" Sebastian and take him to stay in a remote lodge in the Austrian Tyrol, where the boy has never been so free and happy and Gorik won’t get him back until he’s paid over a huge ransom which is, in effect, all the money he has stolen from the boy.
Production
The Wonder Kid was filmed on location in Austria and at Isleworth Studios in England in late 1949 and early 1950, but not released until 1952. The film's sets were designed by the art directors Joseph Bato and Werner Schlichting.
Cast
- Bobby Henrey as Sebastian Giro
- Elwyn Brook-Jones as Mr. Gorik
- Muriel Aked as Miss Frisbie
- Oskar Werner as Rudi
- Robert Shackleton as Rocks Cooley
- Christa Winter as Anni
- Sebastian Cabot as Pizzo
- Klaus Birsch as Nik
- Paul Hardtmuth as Professor Bindl
- June Elvin as Miss Kirsch
References
- Vincent Porter, 'The Robert Clark Account', Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television, Vol 20 No 4, 2000 p498
- The Wonder Kid at BFI
External links
| The films of Karl Hartl | |
|---|---|
|
- 1952 films
- Austrian comedy films
- English-language Austrian films
- Films directed by Karl Hartl
- Films about orphans
- Films about pianos and pianists
- Films about child abduction
- Films shot in Austria
- Films set in Austria
- British black-and-white films
- Films shot at Isleworth Studios
- British comedy films
- 1952 comedy films
- 1950s English-language films
- 1950s British films
- Films scored by Willy Schmidt-Gentner