Emil and the Detectives
Erich Kästner’s beloved novel has been adapted for film or television six times since its 1929 publication. This 1935 British version marked the first English-language adaptation. Thought lost for decades, the film was recently rediscovered by the BFI and has been restored. The story relocates the action from Berlin to London, where Emil travels to stay with his grandmother and cousin. What follows are Emil’s adventures with a gang of streetwise London children, faithfully aligned with the original plot.
Director(s)
Milton Rosmer
Details
Reviews
CinemaSerf
John Williams is "Emil", a young lad who is the victim of a robbery whilst travelling on a train to visit his grandmother. Suspicious of the "Man in the Bowler Hat" (George Hayes) it falls to him and group of London street urchins to recover this quite substantial amount of cash. Some British cinema-goers may recall the Children's Film Foundation films, and this comes across very much as they do. Essentially for children, this adventure gives a collection of youngsters the chance to have some fun on screen and for the Saturday morning audience to join in. The oddly placed audio effects spoil it rather, but it is still a well produced little effort with a solid cast, a little scripted humour and Williams and Clare Greet as his grannie manage to keep this moving along quite well. Not really for the grown ups, but as an example of what kept us all amused almost a century ago, it is still worth a gander
Emil and the Detectives FAQs
Milton Rosmer is the director of Emil and the Detectives.
The cast of Emil and the Detectives includes Robert Rietti as Professor, Clare Greet as Grandma, George Merritt as PC, Derek Blomfield as Jerry, John Singer as Thesday, George Hayes as The Man in The Boeler Hat, Mary Glynne as Mrs. Blake, Marion Foster as Polly, Donald Pittman as Gussy, and John Williams as Emil.
The duration of Emil and the Detectives is 1h 10 mins.
Emil and the Detectives was released on 05 Feb 1935.
Emil and the Detectives is listed under Comedy and Crime on Fanbiz.
Emil and the Detectives has 1 review on Fanziz, with an average rating of 6.0/10. One reviewer wrote: "John Williams is "Emil", a young lad who is the victim of a robbery whilst travelling on a train to visit his grandmother. Suspicious of the "Man in the Bowler Hat" (George Haye..."
