''The Boy Who Turned Yellow'' (1972) is the last film collaboration by the

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

filmmakers Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, and the last theatrical film directed by

Michael Powell Michael Latham Powell (30 September 1905 – 19 February 1990) was an English filmmaker, celebrated for his partnership with Emeric Pressburger. Through their production company The Archers, they together wrote, produced and directed a serie ...

. The film was made for the

Children's Film Foundation The Children's Film Foundation (CFF) was a non-profit organisation which made films for children in the United Kingdom originally to be shown as part of childrens' Saturday morning matinée cinema programming. The films typically were about 55 ...

Plot

John (Mark Dightam) loses one of his pet mice, Alice, whilst on a school trip to the

Tower of London The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...

. Upset back in class, he is sent home by his teacher for not paying attention during a lesson on electricity. Later that day on the

London Underground The London Underground (also known simply as the Underground or by its nickname the Tube) is a rapid transit system serving Greater London and some parts of the adjacent ceremonial counties of England, counties of Buckinghamshire, Essex and He ...

, the train and everyone in it suddenly turns bright, vivid yellow. John's doctor (

Esmond Knight Esmond Penington Knight (4 May 1906 – 23 February 1987) was an English actor. He had a successful stage and film career before World War II. For much of his later career Knight was half-blind. He had been badly wounded in 1941 while on active ...

) declares that the condition is harmless and should wear off soon, but that evening John hears noises from his television set and meets the eccentric yellow-coloured Nick (short for Electro''nic'') (

Robert Eddison Robert Leadam Eddison, OBE (10 June 1908 – 14 December 1991) was an English actor, who despite his lengthy career as a classical stage actor, is probably most widely remembered in the role of the Grail Knight in '' Indiana Jones and the Last ...

). The pair return to the

in an attempt to find Alice, but they are menaced by

Yeoman Warders The Yeomen Warders of His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress the Tower of London, and Members of the Sovereign's Body Guard of the Yeoman Guard Extraordinary, popularly known as the Beefeaters, are ceremonial guardians of the Tower of London. ...

and John is threatened with execution. When John is finally reunited with his pet, he awakes in class. Was his adventure actually all just a dream?

Cast

* Mark Dightam as John Saunders *

as Nick * Helen Weir as Mrs. Saunders * Brian Worth as Mr. Saunders *

as Doctor Ward *Laurence Carter as Schoolteacher *

Patrick McAlinney Patrick Andrew McAlinney (9 November 1913 – 22 August 1990) was an Irish character actor who starred in many British dramas and sitcoms. His most memorable roles included a brother on the hit sitcom '' Oh, Brother!'', which starred Derek Nimmo ...

as Supreme Beefeater *

Lem Dobbs Lem Dobbs (born Anton Lemuel Kitaj; 24 December 1958) is a British-American screenwriter, best known for the films '' Dark City'' (1998) and ''The Limey'' (1999). He was born in Oxford, England, and is the son of the painter R. B. Kitaj. The pen ...

as Munro *Nigel Rathbone as Schoolboy *Peter Schofield as Beefeater

Production

The film was the last collaboration by

and

Emeric Pressburger Emeric Pressburger (born Imre József Pressburger; 5 December 19025 February 1988) was a Hungarian-British screenwriter, film director, and producer. He is best known for his series of film collaborations with Michael Powell, in a collaborat ...

. They also brought in some of their old colleagues from ''

The Archers ''The Archers'' is a BBC radio drama on BBC Radio 4, the corporation's main spoken-word channel. Broadcast since 1951, it was famously billed as "an everyday story of country folk" and is now promoted as "a contemporary drama in a rural sett ...

'', such as cinematographer

Christopher Challis Christopher George Joseph Challis BSC, FRPS (18 March 1919 – 31 May 2012) was a British cinematographer who worked on more than 70 feature films from the 1940s onwards. Career After working as camera operator on several films for Michael ...

and actor

. Location shooting took place at sites around London:IMD
Filming locations
/ref> *Tower of London, Whitechapel *

Holborn tube station Holborn ( ) is a London Underground station in Holborn, Central London, located at the junction of High Holborn and Kingsway. It is served by the Central and Piccadilly lines. On the Central line the station is between Tottenham Court Road ...

, Aldwych branch platform (as

Chalk Farm tube station Chalk Farm is a London Underground station near Camden Town in the London Borough of Camden. It is on the Edgware branch of the Northern line between Belsize Park and Camden Town stations. For ticketing purposes, Chalk Farm falls in Travelcar ...

and

Hampstead Hampstead () is an area in London, which lies northwest of Charing Cross, and extends from Watling Street, the A5 road (Roman Watling Street) to Hampstead Heath, a large, hilly expanse of parkland. The area forms the northwest part of the Lon ...

stations) *Hampstead tube station, Hampstead (exterior only) *Christchurch Hill, Hampstead *Hampstead Heath, Hampstead *Willow Road, Hampstead

Awards

The film won a "Chiffy" award from the Children's Film Foundation. The "Chiffy" award was voted for by CFF audiences.

Notes

External links

* * * . Full synopsis and film stills (and clips viewable from UK libraries).
Reviews and articles
at th
Powell & Pressburger Pages
{{DEFAULTSORT:Boy Who Turned Yellow, The 1972 films British children's films Children's Film Foundation Films directed by Michael Powell Films by Powell and Pressburger Films set in London 1970s children's films 1970s English-language films 1970s British films