Emil and the Detectives

No-one who grew up on Enid Blyton books or has read Emil And The Detectives could fail to be endeared by this restored 1935 film about Emil, a small boy from Kent who has his money stolen on the train to London and joins with a gang of other boys to get his own back on the thief. It was a charming view of a time when everyone was well spoken, adults were trustworthy – apart from the obvious baddie – and children could run free and ride their bikes down the middle of the road in central London. There were a few technical problems, and the sound remained so crackly that it was difficult to make out some of the dialogue, but there was a good dramatic score and you could still follow the plot even if you hadn’t read the book.

Duke of York’s Picturehouse, 12 May 2013

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