''Smiley'' is a 1957 CinemaScope produced

comedy film A comedy film is a category of film which emphasizes humor. These films are designed to make the audience laugh through amusement. Films in this style traditionally have a happy ending (black comedy being an exception). Comedy is one of the ol ...

. It tells the story of a young Australian boy who is determined to buy a bicycle for four pounds. Along the way he gets into many misadventures. It was based on the 1945 novel of the same name by Moore Raymond who also co-wrote the film with Anthony Kimmins. Their screenplay received a Best British Screenplay nomination at the BAFTA awards.

Plot

Smiley (

Colin Petersen Frederick Colin Petersen (born 24 March 1946) is an Australian drummer, record producer and former child actor. He played as a member of the bands Steve and the Board, the Bee Gees and Humpy Bong. In August 1969, he left the Bee Gees and he wa ...

) is a mischievous boy who lives in the small country town of Murrumbilla (based on

Augathella Augathella is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. Geography Augathella lies on the Matilda Highway, is north of the town of Charleville, west of Roma and west of Brisbane (Queensland's capital). The ...

). His father is an alcoholic drover who is a poor provider for the family, his mother works as a laundress to make ends meet. Smiley is always getting into trouble with his best friend Joey (Bruce Archer). He decides to try to save up enough money to buy a coveted bicycle. Smiley takes on various odd jobs, showing enterprise, hard work, and persistence in slowly accumulating the considerable sum (four pound) needed, despite getting involved in a number of pranks, including getting into trouble with the local law enforcement in the figure of Sergeant Flaxman (

Chips Rafferty John William Pilbean Goffage MBE (26 March 190927 May 1971), known professionally as Chips Rafferty, was an Australian actor. Called "the living symbol of the typical Australian", Rafferty's career stretched from the late 1930s until his death ...

). Smiley unwittingly helps the local

publican In antiquity, publicans ( Greek τελώνης ''telōnēs'' (singular); Latin ''publicanus'' (singular); ''publicani'' (plural)) were public contractors, in whose official capacity they often supplied the Roman legions and military, managed th ...

, Jim Rankin (

John McCallum John McCallum (born 9 April 1950) is a Canadian politician, economist, diplomat and former university professor. A former Liberal Member of Parliament ( MP), McCallum was the Canadian Ambassador to China from 2017 to 2019. He was asked for ...

), sell opium to aborigines who live in a camp near the town. Smiley's father steals his savings and loses it playing two-up. Smiley accidentally knocks him out and runs away to the bush, where he is bitten by a snake. His life is saved by a boundary rider, Bill McVitty (

Guy Doleman Guy Doleman (22 November 1923 – 30 January 1996) was a New Zealand born actor, active in Australia, Britain and the United States. Early life Doleman was born in Hamilton, Waikato, New Zealand, later moving to Australia. Career During the 1 ...

). Rankin is arrested and the townspeople chip in to buy Smiley a bike. A romantic subplot involves Rankin and Sergeant Flaxman vying for the affections of Miss Workman the new local schoolmistress (Jocelyn Hernfield).

Cast

as Smiley Greevins * Alexander (Bruce) Thomas as Smiley on Horse * Bruce Archer as Joey * Ralph Richardson as Reverend Labeth *

as Jim Rankin *

as Sergeant Flaxman * Jocelyn Hernfield as Miss Workman *

Reg Lye Reginald Thomas Lye (14 October 1912 – 23 March 1988), was an Australian actor who worked extensively in Australia and England. He was one of the busiest Australian actors of the 1950s, appearing in the majority of locally shot features at th ...

as Pa Greevins *

Margaret Christensen Margaret Christensen (8 January 1921 – 30 November 2009) also credited as Margaret Caristensen and Peg Christensen, was an Australian radio hostess and character actress, who appeared in numerous TV series, primarily in guesting roles. Biog ...

as Ma Greevins *

Charles Tingwell Charles William Tingwell AM (3 January 1923 – 15 May 2009), known professionally as Bud Tingwell or Charles 'Bud' Tingwell, was an Australian film, television, theatre and radio actor. One of the veterans of Australian film, he acted in his ...

as Mr Stevens * Marion Johns as Mrs Stevens * Gavin Davies as Fred Stevens * Toni Hansen as Jean Holt * William Rees as Mr Johnson * John Fegan as Nobby *

as Bill McVitty *

Leonard Teale Leonard George Thiele AO (26 September 192214 May 1994), professionally Leonard Teale, was a well-known Australian actor of radio, television and film and radio announcer, presenter and narrator known for his resonant baritone voice. He is be ...

as doctor * Letty Craydon as lady at christening

Production

The film is based on the popular 1945 novel ''Smiley'' by Moore Raymond, who was born in Queensland but worked as a journalist in Britain. The book was hailed as an Australian

Huckleberry Finn Huckleberry "Huck" Finn is a fictional character created by Mark Twain who first appeared in the book ''The Adventures of Tom Sawyer'' (1876) and is the protagonist and narrator of its sequel, ''Adventures of Huckleberry Finn'' (1884). He is 12 ...

and film rights were bought immediately by Sir

Alexander Korda Sir Alexander Korda (; born Sándor László Kellner; hu, Korda Sándor; 16 September 1893 – 23 January 1956)Augathella Augathella is a rural town and locality in the Shire of Murweh, Queensland, Australia. Geography Augathella lies on the Matilda Highway, is north of the town of Charleville, west of Roma and west of Brisbane (Queensland's capital). The ...

for £100,000. However, after actually inspecting the site he doubted it would be useful and he was unable to find a lead actor he was happy with. Plans to make the movie were delayed again. Kimmins returned to Australia September 1955 to begin preproduction. After interviewing over 2,000 boys, he cast Colin Peterson as Smiley and Bruce Archer as Joey. Part of the budget was provided by

20th Century Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Dis ...

, who had money frozen in Australia due to currency restrictions. Apart from Ralph Richardson, the entire cast was Australian. Filming started in late October, with the township of Murrumbilla being created on an estate at Camden Park and Gundy NSW, and finished eight weeks later. Post production work was done at

Pagewood Studios Pagewood Studios was a film studio in Sydney, Australia, that was used to make Australian, British and Hollywood films for twenty years. Creation The studio was built in 1935 for National Productions by National Studios Ltd, it was originally know ...

Release

The film was very popular and led to a sequel, ''

Smiley Gets a Gun ''Smiley Gets a Gun'' is a 1958 Australian comedy-drama film in CinemaScope directed by Anthony Kimmins and starring Sybil Thorndike and Chips Rafferty. It is the sequel to the 1956 film Smiley (1956 film), ''Smiley''. Synopsis A young boy named ...

''. It also spawned a hit single, 'A Little Boy Called Smiley', composed by Clyde Collins after the film was completed. Colin Petersen moved to Britain and enjoyed a successful career as a child actor and musician, including being the drummer of

The Bee Gees ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

from 1967 to 1970.

Musical

The novel inspired ''Smiley The Musical'' with music by Clyde Collins, David Cocker, Mark Jones and Lance Strauss. The 2004 studio cast recording was performed by John Watson, Jason Barry-Smith, James King, Leisa Barry-Smith, Justine Anderson, Renae Bedford, Samantha Hardgrave, Gabriella Leibowitz, David Irvine, David Cocker, Darryl Weale and Simon Burvill-Holmes.

References

External links

''Smiley'' at the National Film and Sound Archive
*
''Smiley''
at Oz Movies
''Smiley''
at

TCMDB Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie-oriented pay-TV network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcasting campus in the Midtown business district of A ...

Review of film
at Variety * An abridged version of the novel was published in ''

The Sydney Morning Herald ''The Sydney Morning Herald'' (''SMH'') is a daily compact newspaper published in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and owned by Nine. Founded in 1831 as the ''Sydney Herald'', the ''Herald'' is the oldest continuously published newspaper ...

'' in 1947
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{{Alexander Korda American comedy films British comedy films 1956 films Films based on Australian novels London Films films Films directed by Anthony Kimmins Films set in Australia Films scored by William Alwyn 20th Century Fox films CinemaScope films 1950s English-language films 1950s American films 1950s British films