Swallows and Amazons (1974)

Swallows and Amazons: Directed by Claude Whatham. With Virginia McKenna, Ronald Fraser, Simon West, Sophie Neville. Set in 1929, and based upon Arthur Ransome’s immortal children’s novel, “Swallows and Amazons” is the story of a group of children who man two sailing dinghies,’Swallow’ and ‘Amazon’, and plan mock ‘sea-battles’.

“Swallows and Amazons is a very pleasant film, it is nowhere near perfect, but it is very enjoyable. The film does look absolutely beautiful, with lovely views of the Lake District. What the film does lack is a narrative, it is a lovely story, based on Arthur Ransomeu0026#39;s superior book, but personally I would have liked more narrative entwined into the story. Consequently, because the film wasnu0026#39;t to be that, despite some undeniably charming scenes, the film is a little shallow. What also let the film down was some of the casting. I had no problem with Virginia McKenna as the mother, she was lovely, and most of the children were very well done, especially Titty and Susan(a very young Susanna Hamilton). The two exceptions to this rule is Roger and Nancy, Roger being too gormless for my liking, and Nancy perhaps too old. Ronald Fraser as Uncle Jim was another problem. I liked his scene at the end with the children, when he plays the accordion, but on the whole he did overact, so I found it difficult to relate to his character. On a positive note, there are some really charming scenes with the children, like any scene on the water. Also the music score was lovely, and was careful not to overshadow the action. I had no problem with the script either, and on the whole the story made the film as charming as it actually is, despite its flaws, but there could have been more narrative. Overall, I really liked it, certainly not the best family film, but one worth looking out for. 7/10 Bethany Cox.”