The plot is centered around a young baby being kidnapped and the parents David Knight and Julia Arnall plus Detective David Farrar's efforts to find the missing infant. Knight is the token American that seemed to be the staple of any British film of that time, you just gotta have a Yank in this Rank. Julia Arnall is a stunner; a German model signed by Rank but unfortunately not the best of actresses her contract didn't last long. A shame because with her looks she was almost in the Grace Kelly class. The tension builds nicely and there is a virtual parade of character actors and actresses that appeared in so many British films of the period. I was a boy of 11 when this film was made and it adds to the enjoyment to see cars, trucks and buses of that time in colour instead of the usual black and white.
27 Reviews
Tears For Simon
robertconnor20 March 2007
When a baby is snatched from outside a high street pharmacy, the police begin a painstaking search for clues and information whilst also trying to deal with the child's distraught parents.
Green's film is very much of its time, and there's nothing wrong with that in 1956 Britain we thought nothing of leaving a baby in its pram outside a store. Small shops ran library services, small grocers and bakeries thrived, large supermarkets were a thing of the future and London's parks were awash with uniformed armies of perambulating nannies
In the lead, Farrar is a little dull but this is perhaps more the fault of the script, which leaves little space for character development. As the baby's parents, Knight and Arnall both struggle with the challenges their parts bring, although certainly the script serves them better than Farrar, exploring the different emotional impacts a lost child can bring with both characters reacting differently. Green is better served by a delightful array of supporting character actors, each of whom savours the few lines they are given. This was a hallmark of British cinema in the 40s, 50s and 60s, where so often the supporting and bit players were much more believable and entertaining than the leads witness Joan Hickson's amusingly patronising tone with her teenage customers (one of whom is Barbara Windsor!) in the chemist shop, or ice cream seller Joan Sims' hilarious gossiping about keeping her hairdo intact in an open top car. Thora Hird is hysterical as a caustic landlady, disapproving of plain-clothes policewomen, whilst Everley Gregg offers a sublime turn as a 'no nonsense' Viscountess in oily overalls.
All in all an enjoyably episodic story, coloured with fascinating location shooting and wonderful cameos, and a treat for anyone interested in Britain or British cinema in the 1950s.
Green's film is very much of its time, and there's nothing wrong with that in 1956 Britain we thought nothing of leaving a baby in its pram outside a store. Small shops ran library services, small grocers and bakeries thrived, large supermarkets were a thing of the future and London's parks were awash with uniformed armies of perambulating nannies
In the lead, Farrar is a little dull but this is perhaps more the fault of the script, which leaves little space for character development. As the baby's parents, Knight and Arnall both struggle with the challenges their parts bring, although certainly the script serves them better than Farrar, exploring the different emotional impacts a lost child can bring with both characters reacting differently. Green is better served by a delightful array of supporting character actors, each of whom savours the few lines they are given. This was a hallmark of British cinema in the 40s, 50s and 60s, where so often the supporting and bit players were much more believable and entertaining than the leads witness Joan Hickson's amusingly patronising tone with her teenage customers (one of whom is Barbara Windsor!) in the chemist shop, or ice cream seller Joan Sims' hilarious gossiping about keeping her hairdo intact in an open top car. Thora Hird is hysterical as a caustic landlady, disapproving of plain-clothes policewomen, whilst Everley Gregg offers a sublime turn as a 'no nonsense' Viscountess in oily overalls.
All in all an enjoyably episodic story, coloured with fascinating location shooting and wonderful cameos, and a treat for anyone interested in Britain or British cinema in the 1950s.
Time Capsule
vitessepulsar12 January 2006
Very underrated, little seen film. Interesting for the extensive location filming and of course all the period cars, clothing etc. All the better for the high quality colour film used. Julia Arnall is beautiful and so 'of her time'. Shame she didn't do many other films and is virtually unknown today. The story is of course very dated now but this doesn't detract from the overall enjoyment. In fact the film is now best viewed as a rare colour historical record of Britain in the mid. 50's. A DVD copy would be excellent for producing 'stills', especially if interested in classic cars or period fashions, even pictures of the lovely Ms. Arnall! I will be recording this film the next time it's on. Recommended.
Fascinating British Thriller
markcampbell15 February 2001
'Lost' is rather like one of those old 1950s public information films - the acting and dialogue are crisp and stylised, real emotion is kept in check, and the boys in blue will always uncover your man (or woman). Brilliant use is made of UK locations (mainly in London), and the slice of life in 1955 is fascinating. Technicolor is also superb, and the whole thing looks great. It's dated sure - sometimes hilariously so - but then it is half a century old, and anyway that's half its charm. Red herrings litter the plot, and the clifftop climax is suitably atmospheric. Look out for a very youthful Thora Hird and Joan Sims. Recommended.
Old Fashioned Police Procedural
JamesHitchcock14 February 2015
In Britain, as in America, there seemed to be an unwritten convention in the fifties that certain film genres were more suited to colour and others to black-and-white, and crime dramas fell firmly into the latter category. This was true both of films directly influenced by the American film noir tradition, such as "The Man Between", "The Long Memory" and "Tread Softly Stranger", and of other British crime dramas of the era such as "The Blue Lamp","Town on Trial" and "Stage Fright", Hitchcock's only British film of the decade. "Lost", however, is one of the exceptions, being made in vivid Technicolor, possibly because it is not primarily a film noir or a suspense thriller but a police procedural.
Simon, the infant son of Lee Cochrane, an American diplomat, and his Austrian-born fashion designer wife Sue, is kidnapped when his nanny leaves him in his pram outside a London shop. (Younger people may find this hard to believe, but in the fifties and sixties it was common practice for mothers and others having charge of young children to leave them outside in their prams while they were shopping). Detective Inspector Craig of Scotland Yard is charged with investigating the crime.
With his aquiline features, David Farrar would have made an excellent Sherlock Holmes, and he plays the patient, methodical, unemotional Craig very much as a detective of the Holmes school. He is a far cry from the rough, tough, Dirty Harry types we have become used to ever since the sixties. His method of solving the crime is to examine all the discarded items- a button from an expensive coat, a paper bag from a baker's shop in Slough, a torn page from a library book- which he finds in the vicinity of Simon's pram in Hyde Park and to trace them back to their source with the help of the Yard's forensic department. His colleagues- and Simon's distraught parents- are sceptical about this methodology, but Craig is vindicated when one of these objects does indeed prove to be the vital clue.
The other cast member who stand out is the lovely Julia Arnall as Sue. Julia (who like her character was Austrian by birth) was one of the most beautiful actresses the British film industry during this period, with the looks of another Grace Kelly, but never seemed to become a major star. In Britain, as in Hollywood, looks alone have never been a cast- iron guarantee of stardom.
I said earlier that this is not primarily a suspense thriller, but the final scene, a literal cliffhanger set on Beachy Head near Eastbourne, is clearly influenced by Hitchcock. (Similarly, "Town on Trial" also has a very Hitchcockian finale, in that case set on a church steeple). It is not, however, a film which one would watch today for thrills. If one watches it at all- and I can appreciate that to some modern film fans it would seem very slow and dated- it is for its historic interest as an example of an old-fashioned type of crime drama and as a nostalgic view of the now-vanished Britain of the fifties. 6/10
A goof. Craig states that an abduction can only legally be called a "kidnapping" when it is followed by a demand for money with menaces. This is not true today and was not true in 1956. In English common law, kidnapping is the unlawful taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, whether or not a demand for money with menaces is made. The making of such a demand constitutes the separate offence of blackmail.
Simon, the infant son of Lee Cochrane, an American diplomat, and his Austrian-born fashion designer wife Sue, is kidnapped when his nanny leaves him in his pram outside a London shop. (Younger people may find this hard to believe, but in the fifties and sixties it was common practice for mothers and others having charge of young children to leave them outside in their prams while they were shopping). Detective Inspector Craig of Scotland Yard is charged with investigating the crime.
With his aquiline features, David Farrar would have made an excellent Sherlock Holmes, and he plays the patient, methodical, unemotional Craig very much as a detective of the Holmes school. He is a far cry from the rough, tough, Dirty Harry types we have become used to ever since the sixties. His method of solving the crime is to examine all the discarded items- a button from an expensive coat, a paper bag from a baker's shop in Slough, a torn page from a library book- which he finds in the vicinity of Simon's pram in Hyde Park and to trace them back to their source with the help of the Yard's forensic department. His colleagues- and Simon's distraught parents- are sceptical about this methodology, but Craig is vindicated when one of these objects does indeed prove to be the vital clue.
The other cast member who stand out is the lovely Julia Arnall as Sue. Julia (who like her character was Austrian by birth) was one of the most beautiful actresses the British film industry during this period, with the looks of another Grace Kelly, but never seemed to become a major star. In Britain, as in Hollywood, looks alone have never been a cast- iron guarantee of stardom.
I said earlier that this is not primarily a suspense thriller, but the final scene, a literal cliffhanger set on Beachy Head near Eastbourne, is clearly influenced by Hitchcock. (Similarly, "Town on Trial" also has a very Hitchcockian finale, in that case set on a church steeple). It is not, however, a film which one would watch today for thrills. If one watches it at all- and I can appreciate that to some modern film fans it would seem very slow and dated- it is for its historic interest as an example of an old-fashioned type of crime drama and as a nostalgic view of the now-vanished Britain of the fifties. 6/10
A goof. Craig states that an abduction can only legally be called a "kidnapping" when it is followed by a demand for money with menaces. This is not true today and was not true in 1956. In English common law, kidnapping is the unlawful taking away or transportation of a person against that person's will, whether or not a demand for money with menaces is made. The making of such a demand constitutes the separate offence of blackmail.
Well made & suspenseful 1950's British thriller!
liammurphy113 August 2003
This movie is very well made & is very enjoyable it also keeps you guessing until the very end.
The Plot: A nanny takes a 18 month old boy called Simon for a walk in at the park in the city of London, she leaves him in his pram just outside the Chemist she is visiting for less than a minute & when she comes out the pram and Simon have disappeared seemingly into thin-air as none of the passers by see anything.
The Script: The movie is well written it has many red herrings and manages to keep you guessing to the very end.
The acting: The performance by the main actors is supberb especially by Julie Arnell as the Mother of the toddler and David Farrar as the policeman in charge of the investigation.
It's Full of wonderful Bit parts by well know British stars who were not so well known in the mid 1950's
You have Joan Sims who went on to make several Carry on movies who tragically died a couple of years ago.
Barbara Windsor who also became a regular on the Carry on's and is still a regular actress on British Television
Thora Hird who went on to make many more Britsh films and comedy series 'last of the summer wine' who tragically died earlier this year at the age of 92.
all in all a treat for fans of British Tv and Cinema as well as crime drama's
My vote 7/10
The Plot: A nanny takes a 18 month old boy called Simon for a walk in at the park in the city of London, she leaves him in his pram just outside the Chemist she is visiting for less than a minute & when she comes out the pram and Simon have disappeared seemingly into thin-air as none of the passers by see anything.
The Script: The movie is well written it has many red herrings and manages to keep you guessing to the very end.
The acting: The performance by the main actors is supberb especially by Julie Arnell as the Mother of the toddler and David Farrar as the policeman in charge of the investigation.
It's Full of wonderful Bit parts by well know British stars who were not so well known in the mid 1950's
You have Joan Sims who went on to make several Carry on movies who tragically died a couple of years ago.
Barbara Windsor who also became a regular on the Carry on's and is still a regular actress on British Television
Thora Hird who went on to make many more Britsh films and comedy series 'last of the summer wine' who tragically died earlier this year at the age of 92.
all in all a treat for fans of British Tv and Cinema as well as crime drama's
My vote 7/10
Unusually plotted, and always engaging
Leofwine_draca10 March 2018
Warning: Spoilers
LOST is an interesting, unusually-plotted crime film to come out of Britain in 1956. The electric opening sequence has a nanny taking the baby in her care to the park. She pops into a shop and comes back outside to discover that both baby and pram are missing. So begins a race-against-the-clock investigation as a dogged detective and the missing baby's parents do their very best to follow the clues and attempt to discover just what has happened to the baby. LOST is one of those films that provides a neat snapshot of everyday life during the era, with an endless array of characters introduced and subsequently questioned as the running time goes on. The suspense builds effectively to an action climax, then a twist, and another climax even more exciting. Overall, it's a nicely made little movie, one with plenty of spirit, and an exceptional number of familiar faces in supporting roles, from Thora Hird to CARRY ON stars Joan Sims and Barbara Windsor and plenty more besides.
A good snapshot of 50's Britain
lin-black14 January 2010
I have seen this film a number of times on television. I find it quite pleasant and nostalgic as I was a young boy in the UK in the 50's and the images bring back so many pleasant memories. It is good to see so many actors in supporting roles who went on to become major stars in the UK like Barbara Windsor and Thora Hird, and a host of other well known British characters.
It is a typical British 50's film and is well made and well acted, although albeit quite stiff upper lipped and somewhat wooden, especially from the leading actors like the child's mother. In fairness to her the lines that were given to her were pretty weak, and it is a shame that her movie career did not go as well as it could of - she was certainly a quite stunning girl.
It is a typical British 50's film and is well made and well acted, although albeit quite stiff upper lipped and somewhat wooden, especially from the leading actors like the child's mother. In fairness to her the lines that were given to her were pretty weak, and it is a shame that her movie career did not go as well as it could of - she was certainly a quite stunning girl.
Excellent and well shot British mystery-thriller
chris_gaskin12330 May 2006
Warning: Spoilers
I taped Lost when Channel 4 screened one afternoon recently and is a well shot mystery-thriller.
A nanny who is looking after an American couple's 18 month old son leaves him outside a shop and finds him gone when she returns. Police are informed and so are the mum and dad. The search takes them all over London and then onto the South coast where we find out who the kidnapper is and worse still, is planning to jump off a cliff...
Lost is beautifully shot in colour and on location, around London and on Beachy Head. We also get to see the old types of transport, especially the old London RT-type double deck buses and the coach station sequence features old coaches of famous and long disappeared names such as Southdown and Midland Red. We see some old Southern Region electric trains too. I wished time machines really existed.
A good cast too: David Farrar, Julia Arnall, David Knight, singer Eleanor Summerfield, Thora Hird (Last of the Summer Wine) and bit parts from Joan Hickson (Miss Marple), Shirly Anne Field and Robert Brown (who replaced Bernard Lee as M in the Bond movies).
Lost is an excellent way to spend an hour and half one afternoon or evening. A treat.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5.
A nanny who is looking after an American couple's 18 month old son leaves him outside a shop and finds him gone when she returns. Police are informed and so are the mum and dad. The search takes them all over London and then onto the South coast where we find out who the kidnapper is and worse still, is planning to jump off a cliff...
Lost is beautifully shot in colour and on location, around London and on Beachy Head. We also get to see the old types of transport, especially the old London RT-type double deck buses and the coach station sequence features old coaches of famous and long disappeared names such as Southdown and Midland Red. We see some old Southern Region electric trains too. I wished time machines really existed.
A good cast too: David Farrar, Julia Arnall, David Knight, singer Eleanor Summerfield, Thora Hird (Last of the Summer Wine) and bit parts from Joan Hickson (Miss Marple), Shirly Anne Field and Robert Brown (who replaced Bernard Lee as M in the Bond movies).
Lost is an excellent way to spend an hour and half one afternoon or evening. A treat.
Rating: 4 stars out of 5.
Fate Of The Juggler.
hitchcockthelegend30 September 2008
When a 18 month old baby disappears from outside a chemist in London, Detective Inspector Craig only has a gathered bunch of park rubbish from which to work from. Coming under increasing pressure from the parents and feeling a certain affinity with the case, Craig is desperate to crack this mystery.
Coming from a time when the kidnapping of a child was a rare old thing, this 1956 film is something of a rude awakening to just how the world has changed for the worst. Here we find half of London's police force on the case of a missing baby, sadly now you would be lucky to have one high ranking officer working on your behalf. So with that in mind it has to be said this is an engrossingly important time capsule of a movie, that the story is emotive and permanently involving is also a major bonus.
We follow this case from origin to it's nail biting cliff top conclusion, we witness the many avenues that the detectives have to go down just to write off a prospective clue, false leads and broken hearts are heavily thrust forward, this picture is a procedural delight, but it also should have been a parents nightmare, fleshed out with maximum impact from the actors involved, that that doesn't come across hurts the picture far too much.
As a film and story, Lost is highly recommended, but the acting on show outside of a solid turn from David Farrar as Craig is very poor. Julia Arnall as the Mother of the lost child is as about convincing as coco the clown doing Shakespeare, over egging the grief one minute and then forgetting she's in turmoil the next, it's very distracting and hurts the film. David Knight as the father fairs a little better, but really his interplay with his on screen wife is reduced to auto cue responses. That said i still wouldn't hesitate to recommend this film to fans of 50s British cinema, it has much going for it on an intriguing and suspenseful level, if only the budget had allowed for actors who knew how to act within the emotive story. 6.5/10
Coming from a time when the kidnapping of a child was a rare old thing, this 1956 film is something of a rude awakening to just how the world has changed for the worst. Here we find half of London's police force on the case of a missing baby, sadly now you would be lucky to have one high ranking officer working on your behalf. So with that in mind it has to be said this is an engrossingly important time capsule of a movie, that the story is emotive and permanently involving is also a major bonus.
We follow this case from origin to it's nail biting cliff top conclusion, we witness the many avenues that the detectives have to go down just to write off a prospective clue, false leads and broken hearts are heavily thrust forward, this picture is a procedural delight, but it also should have been a parents nightmare, fleshed out with maximum impact from the actors involved, that that doesn't come across hurts the picture far too much.
As a film and story, Lost is highly recommended, but the acting on show outside of a solid turn from David Farrar as Craig is very poor. Julia Arnall as the Mother of the lost child is as about convincing as coco the clown doing Shakespeare, over egging the grief one minute and then forgetting she's in turmoil the next, it's very distracting and hurts the film. David Knight as the father fairs a little better, but really his interplay with his on screen wife is reduced to auto cue responses. That said i still wouldn't hesitate to recommend this film to fans of 50s British cinema, it has much going for it on an intriguing and suspenseful level, if only the budget had allowed for actors who knew how to act within the emotive story. 6.5/10
Not as well - known as it should be - the height of 1950s chic..........
ianlouisiana14 November 2008
Warning: Spoilers
After a long and successful career as a cinematographer this was Guy Green's second effort as a director and he approached "Lost" in a straightforward narrative manner,adopting an almost documentary style not unlike a Rank "Look at Life"episode featuring the workings of the Met Police.To some extent the involvement of the missing baby's parents is almost a side issue to the police procedural - type exposition of the plot.Mr D.Farrar is excellent as the senior detective to whom the kidnap is but one of a number of parallel enquiries.Dedicated,pains-taking,a stickler for protocol,smartly dressed and articulate,he is the type of copper that has disappeared from the radar in the last thirty years or so since "The Sweeney" made it fashionable for detectives to grunt,sniff and swear at everyone in between taking great gulps from the office Scotch. His sidekicks Mr A.Oliver and in particular the lovely Miss E.Summerfield also shine and are spick and span and clearly clean in thought,word and deed. Miss Julia Arnall is very beautiful,exquisitely dressed and a better actress than she has been given credit for.She is eminently believable as the distraught middle - class mother repressed by her own upbringing. Mr D.Knight as her husband is slightly less satisfactory.Presumably included as the token American presence he plays as very much second fiddle to the formidable Miss Arnall. My personal favourite Miss Shirley Anne Field makes her first credited movie appearance as what in the 1950s was known - disgracefully - as a "lumpy jumpered petrol pumper", posh daughter of yokel taxi driver Mr G.Woodbridge. For those who remember bomb sites,Booklovers' Libraries and paper bags with shop names on them,"Lost" is a positive feast of nostalgia. Judged on it's own merits it is a highly competent piece of work with a splendid cast right down to the wines and spirits.I can thoroughly recommend it to lovers of well - paced Britsh crime dramas just a little out of the main stream.And those clothes,those cars...the height of 1950s chic.
a baby disappears in London
blanche-215 December 2021
A very good, not well known film, 'Lost' or 'Tears for Simon' is from 1956 and stars David Farrar, David Knight, Julia Arnall, Joan Hickson, and Joan Sims.
In London, the nanny of 18-month old Simon Cochrane goes into a chemist's to make a purchase, leaving Simon in his pram outside the store. Apparently this was a common practice at one time; it isn't any longer. When she comes out, the baby and the pram are gone.
The couple, U. S. Embassy employee Lee Cochrane (Knight) and his wife, Sue (Arnall) are frantic and desperate for the police, led by Detective Craig (Farrar) to come up with some leads. Sue actually goes out trying to find her son herself. The police meanwhile have found some clues in a nearby park.
This film is the second British film I've seen that goes through the procedure the police follow - the small details they investigate, what that leads them to, the interviews, the travel - all quite interesting. You can see how a case comes together and when the dominoes fall.
Julia Arnall, who was introduced in this film although having made six previous films, is a Grace Kelly clone. Most of the time I felt as if I was watching Grace Kelly. Her hair and hairstyle were the same, she wore the same type of clothing, and she was very beautiful and a good actress. She was under contract to Rank, who dropped her eventually. She continued to work in television.
Outstanding in the cast, besides the showy roles of the parents is David Farrar as a determined, tough detective.
The movie is in color, and I noticed on another site Brits enjoyed this film for a look at London of the '50s. I enjoyed the location sites also, but I didn't have the same nostalgic feeling since I never lived there.
This is a good, well-acted, well-photographed film.
In London, the nanny of 18-month old Simon Cochrane goes into a chemist's to make a purchase, leaving Simon in his pram outside the store. Apparently this was a common practice at one time; it isn't any longer. When she comes out, the baby and the pram are gone.
The couple, U. S. Embassy employee Lee Cochrane (Knight) and his wife, Sue (Arnall) are frantic and desperate for the police, led by Detective Craig (Farrar) to come up with some leads. Sue actually goes out trying to find her son herself. The police meanwhile have found some clues in a nearby park.
This film is the second British film I've seen that goes through the procedure the police follow - the small details they investigate, what that leads them to, the interviews, the travel - all quite interesting. You can see how a case comes together and when the dominoes fall.
Julia Arnall, who was introduced in this film although having made six previous films, is a Grace Kelly clone. Most of the time I felt as if I was watching Grace Kelly. Her hair and hairstyle were the same, she wore the same type of clothing, and she was very beautiful and a good actress. She was under contract to Rank, who dropped her eventually. She continued to work in television.
Outstanding in the cast, besides the showy roles of the parents is David Farrar as a determined, tough detective.
The movie is in color, and I noticed on another site Brits enjoyed this film for a look at London of the '50s. I enjoyed the location sites also, but I didn't have the same nostalgic feeling since I never lived there.
This is a good, well-acted, well-photographed film.
Engrossing 50's thriller
jimsimpson19 August 2003
Well acted and directed, this is a highly enjoyable mystery about the abduction of a baby in Central London. Much of the movie is shot on location giving a fascinating look at the city in the mid fifties. Julia Arnall is outstanding as the distraught mother and one wonders why Rank dropped her contract after one subsequent film. Future stars Shirley Anne Field, Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims all have bits while there are cameos from stalwarts like Thora Hird, Marjorie Rhodes, Joan Hickson, Everley Gregg and a lovely supporting performance from Eleanor Summerfield as a policewoman.
As English as Mrs Dale's Diary
alexgreig19 December 2012
An evocative snapshot of England in the 50s as seen by filmmakers but about as close to the real thing as Mrs Dale's Diary. Accents are split into regal cut glass, chirpy cockney and Farmer Giles. As it is in colour, it is redeemed somewhat by the vivid images of London and the suburbs. However, the acting and dialogue are occasionally dire. David Farrar is OK as the chief cop, although probably wishing he was in Hollywood. David Knight, token Yank, has all the charisma of a wet haddock and Julia Arnall, pretty as she is, has the acting talent of the Woodentops. The exchanges between them almost ruin the film. However, worth a viewing to spot some famous character actors and for the unravelling of the convoluted plot. And it is good to see that the police had so much resource available those days that they were able to assign a detective inspector to the child's disappearance within an hour of it happening
Entertaining who's who of British film making
karl-a-hughes13 July 2018
I really enjoyed this film, especially being able to spot so many character actors in small roles. Early appearances for Barbara Windsor and Joan Sims, and appearances by Joan Hickson, Marianne Stone and Dandy Nichols (all would appear in Carry On films). Seeing Marianne in this film makes me realise it's a shame that she never went on to have larger comedy parts.
This film might have been better if the parents had been played by British character actors rather than American, and it leaves me wondering who I'd have chosen as the well-to-do parents if I was able to cast. Dirk Bogarde and Julie Christie maybe?
As others have said, despite the subject matter this film is carried off quite light heartedly, and the colour photography is lovely. Well worth 90 minutes of your life.
This film might have been better if the parents had been played by British character actors rather than American, and it leaves me wondering who I'd have chosen as the well-to-do parents if I was able to cast. Dirk Bogarde and Julie Christie maybe?
As others have said, despite the subject matter this film is carried off quite light heartedly, and the colour photography is lovely. Well worth 90 minutes of your life.
A boy vanished.
ulicknormanowen24 November 2020
It's an interesting twofold investigation on the disappearance of a toddler ; that of the police,represented by detective David Farrar and his colleagues,based on clues, on an almost scientific approach ; in parallel ,the parents, father (David Knight) and mother -who first appears as frivolous , leaving her child in the servants ' good hands -, who do not really trust the police, investigate on their own , often haphazardly , which leads them to very strange situations (the "baby" on the farm)or to be swindled (the so called kidnappers).
The ending is a little predictable ,and perhaps too spectacular for its own good, but it is a gripping thriller.
The ending is a little predictable ,and perhaps too spectacular for its own good, but it is a gripping thriller.
Tears for Simon
CinemaSerf13 February 2023
I kind of wished that this had been in black and white - it would certainly have helped inject a bit more suspense into this quite quirky tale of the investigation into the kidnap of a young child from his pram outside a chemist's shop. The parents - David Knight and Julia Arnall give reasonable performances as the despairing parents and David Farrar is effective, if not exactly exuberant, as "Insp. Craig" leading the team on the case. It's got a few underlying storylines aside from the obvious ransom theory and we do actually get some sense of just what these (or any) parents might do to recover their child. The ending is actually a little sad adding an extra layer of authenticity to it and we even get a very early glimpse of Shirley Anne Field, too.
Stiff upper Lips all round
Andrew_S_Hatton4 November 2004
This was when us Brits still had stiff lips and knew "our place".
It is no wonder Yanks get such a false picture of the Brits from this sort of stuff.
Nonetheless it reeks of nostalgia. You can almost smell the leather on the car seats!
I particularly liked the view of all the 1955 coaches lined up at Victoria Coach Station, London. That coach station is still there in the hub of west London, awkwardly located for any of us on the east of the country but the place that remains the hub of coaches throughout the UK.
I spotted a very young and almost good looking Dandy Nichols, I suppose this must be what she looked like when Alf Garnett (Till death us do part!) fell for her!
One senses they were trying to be trendy and "with it" with the female CID officer who was a sergeant already.
A very enjoyable time was had by all even though the main characters were unfamiliar, even to an oldster like me.
It is no wonder Yanks get such a false picture of the Brits from this sort of stuff.
Nonetheless it reeks of nostalgia. You can almost smell the leather on the car seats!
I particularly liked the view of all the 1955 coaches lined up at Victoria Coach Station, London. That coach station is still there in the hub of west London, awkwardly located for any of us on the east of the country but the place that remains the hub of coaches throughout the UK.
I spotted a very young and almost good looking Dandy Nichols, I suppose this must be what she looked like when Alf Garnett (Till death us do part!) fell for her!
One senses they were trying to be trendy and "with it" with the female CID officer who was a sergeant already.
A very enjoyable time was had by all even though the main characters were unfamiliar, even to an oldster like me.
"Born with a banana skin under her feet"
hwg1957-102-26570416 June 2020
Warning: Spoilers
A baby is abducted from outside a shop and the police investigate helped and hindered by the distraught parents which are the two strands of the film, the police procedural and the emotional effect on the said parents, Lee and Sue Cochrane. The Cochranes are played by David Knight and Julia Arnall but the film would have been more affecting with stronger actors playing the Cochranes one feels.
As the painstaking police David Farrar, Eleanor Summerfield and Anthony Oliver are excellent in their roles and they are supported by a stupendous cast of British character actors, too numerous to mention, who give real depth to the film. With Harry Waxman's cinematograpy in Eastman Colour and Benjamin Frankel's music score to enhance the film this is a gem of a movie.
As the painstaking police David Farrar, Eleanor Summerfield and Anthony Oliver are excellent in their roles and they are supported by a stupendous cast of British character actors, too numerous to mention, who give real depth to the film. With Harry Waxman's cinematograpy in Eastman Colour and Benjamin Frankel's music score to enhance the film this is a gem of a movie.
A lost baby ends up a cliffhanger
clanciai30 July 2017
Well made but not much of a story. You suspect from the beginning that there is some innocence involved or some mistake or some misunderstanding, but the following of the police work is terrific, the systematical persecution of the smallest clues, some buttons leading to a story of its own, a shred of a torn page from a book, and of course many mistakes and red herrings on the way.
My only difficulty was with Julia Arnall, the mother, who was only allowed to make one more film and then sent home. She overdoes it all the way, and no wonder her husband loses patience with her. Of course, any mother in a similar situation would react in the same way, wailing on the brink of constant hysteria, but she is overly lackadaisical and therefore not quite convincing, repeating herself more than actually acting, trying desperately to seem like Grace Kelly; but Grace Kelly was beautiful and could act, while Julia Arnall is just a faint copy. Well, that's how I found her acting. Fortunately there is David Farrar, reliable as always for the supreme suspense. All the others are perfect, and the finale is worth waiting for.
My only difficulty was with Julia Arnall, the mother, who was only allowed to make one more film and then sent home. She overdoes it all the way, and no wonder her husband loses patience with her. Of course, any mother in a similar situation would react in the same way, wailing on the brink of constant hysteria, but she is overly lackadaisical and therefore not quite convincing, repeating herself more than actually acting, trying desperately to seem like Grace Kelly; but Grace Kelly was beautiful and could act, while Julia Arnall is just a faint copy. Well, that's how I found her acting. Fortunately there is David Farrar, reliable as always for the supreme suspense. All the others are perfect, and the finale is worth waiting for.
SERIOUS
giuliodamicone17 June 2022
Warning: Spoilers
The film is good, well acted and holds the tension. The series of false alarms scattered throughout the narrative, including a gang of false kidnappers, is interesting. But don't miss the ending, a bit too long, where the mother of the kidnapped child runs up a windy cliff to pick up her son without forgetting her purse!
A nostalgic look at London as it was in the 1950's
joshea9814 March 2003
Filmed in color, this film, which is concerned with the hunt for a baby snatched from its pram in a London street, is replete with well-known British character actors of the 1950's including Joan Sims, Eleanor Summerfield, Joan Hickson, Thora Hird and Marjorie Rhodes. It represents a marvelous look at London and its people as they were in the 1950's and is sure to evoke many memories for those who lived there at that time. Highly recommended.
into thin air
myriamlenys4 March 2023
Warning: Spoilers
A well-off couple have hired a nanny for their adorable baby boy called Simon. All goes well until the nanny leaves the baby carriage unattended outside a chemist's. When she returns from her small errand, only a few minutes later, both the carriage and its tiny occupant have disappeared. For the parents it's the beginning of a nightmare, for the police it's the beginning of a wide-ranging and meticulous investigation...
"Tears for Simon" is well worth a watch, although it's a bit of a pity that the ending feels so melodramatic and clichéd. (The finale is set on top of a literal cliff.) For the viewers, much of the viewing pleasure derives from making the acquaintance of the many citizens from all walks of life who get drawn into the search for Simon. They're all there - the kind, the sly, the weird, the sweet, the oblivious, the nosy. Sometimes these random citizens provide the movie with a welcome note of levity which counteracts the pathos. For instance, there's the middle-aged lady who "solves" the case with one determined word : "Russians !" Another funny character is a female aristocrat grand enough to afford exclusive custom-made coats. It turns out that she likes tinkering with cars, as a mechanic.
While I wouldn't call the movie a feminist manifesto, it does make an important point about the way in which even the most loving of mothers can be accused of inadequate parenting. Here the unfortunate mother, who has been a wreck since the disappearance of her baby, discovers that a much-read newspaper has published her picture next to the question : "Can a career woman be a mother as well ?" Nice ! Now this one is a classic - people have been shaming working mothers since Amenhotep II - but other sticks with which to hit women can be found too. Mothers can be called out over everything and anything - having a hobby, buying a puppy, saying hello to the plumber, liking a glass of wine with the Sunday roast. To certain minds every grief-stricken mother has been culpably negligent, even if the child was snatched from her arms by green-skinned gryphon assassins from the planet Xilpu.
"Tears for Simon" is well worth a watch, although it's a bit of a pity that the ending feels so melodramatic and clichéd. (The finale is set on top of a literal cliff.) For the viewers, much of the viewing pleasure derives from making the acquaintance of the many citizens from all walks of life who get drawn into the search for Simon. They're all there - the kind, the sly, the weird, the sweet, the oblivious, the nosy. Sometimes these random citizens provide the movie with a welcome note of levity which counteracts the pathos. For instance, there's the middle-aged lady who "solves" the case with one determined word : "Russians !" Another funny character is a female aristocrat grand enough to afford exclusive custom-made coats. It turns out that she likes tinkering with cars, as a mechanic.
While I wouldn't call the movie a feminist manifesto, it does make an important point about the way in which even the most loving of mothers can be accused of inadequate parenting. Here the unfortunate mother, who has been a wreck since the disappearance of her baby, discovers that a much-read newspaper has published her picture next to the question : "Can a career woman be a mother as well ?" Nice ! Now this one is a classic - people have been shaming working mothers since Amenhotep II - but other sticks with which to hit women can be found too. Mothers can be called out over everything and anything - having a hobby, buying a puppy, saying hello to the plumber, liking a glass of wine with the Sunday roast. To certain minds every grief-stricken mother has been culpably negligent, even if the child was snatched from her arms by green-skinned gryphon assassins from the planet Xilpu.
Have you looked down the back of the sofa? What about the fridge? Where did you have it last?
JoeytheBrit21 October 2008
Lost is a decent little British film that pretty much covers all bases regarding the search for a kidnapped baby. David Knight and Julia Arnall are the American couple whose baby is snatched from under the nose of their nanny when she parks his pram outside a chemists shop in London. A frantic search ensues, led by the reassuringly gruff Detective Inspector played by David Farrar, who has to wade through a mass of red herrings before his dogged investigation finally leads him to the culprit.
Lost is a rare example of a mid-fifties British drama filmed in colour, and its most fascinating aspect is the location shots of familiar London streets populated by people either now long-gone or in the sunset of their lives. The story is quite absorbing, although a little uneven, and everything is much more polite than it would be today. Having said that, the story's subject matter is probably more relevant today than it was when the film was made, and it wouldn't take much tweaking to be brought up to date and slotted into an ITV Sunday night drama schedule.
A few familiar faces make unexpected appearances: one of the girls in the chemist shop is an 18-year-old Barbara Windsor, and the flirtatious seller of ice creams in Kensington Park is her Carry On co-star, Joan Sims. Mona Washbourne, Dandy Nichols, Thora Hird, Joan Hickson, Percy Herbert and Shirley-Anne Field are also in there somewhere, largely in blink and you'll miss them roles.
Lost is a rare example of a mid-fifties British drama filmed in colour, and its most fascinating aspect is the location shots of familiar London streets populated by people either now long-gone or in the sunset of their lives. The story is quite absorbing, although a little uneven, and everything is much more polite than it would be today. Having said that, the story's subject matter is probably more relevant today than it was when the film was made, and it wouldn't take much tweaking to be brought up to date and slotted into an ITV Sunday night drama schedule.
A few familiar faces make unexpected appearances: one of the girls in the chemist shop is an 18-year-old Barbara Windsor, and the flirtatious seller of ice creams in Kensington Park is her Carry On co-star, Joan Sims. Mona Washbourne, Dandy Nichols, Thora Hird, Joan Hickson, Percy Herbert and Shirley-Anne Field are also in there somewhere, largely in blink and you'll miss them roles.
Pleasant Surprise
lucy-195 November 2004
This film really is as good as people say. It's worth watching for the locations, the photography and that gallery of British stars. As soon as I saw Joan Hickson chatting to Barbara Windsor about lipstick shades I was hooked. The script is often funny, despite the harrowing subject matter (every parent's nightmare), but I can't help feeling it would have been much better directed if made 10
years earlier. Films of the 40s had a comic snap that the 50s lost. In fact, it sometimes looks like a 40s script made in the 50s. It's just that opportunities for comedy are lost. A film with this structure is picaresque - it's an excuse to get your foot in the door and nose around other people's front rooms and meet a lot of people you wouldn't otherwise. More could have been made of the
encounters with Thora Hird ("Take the door with you, dear, as far as it will go.") and the fat lady in the newsagents who blames the Russians. Why the
Russians? "Well, if we knew that we'd know everything." The boy on the bike
could have been more of a character. And the girl at the garage (gas station to you) is just a Rank starlet with her painfully refined accent and crisp summer dress (for dispensing petrol?). Some of the best bits are back at the police
station with the excellent David Farrar and the sergeants who have to read a
pile of trashy novels as part of the investigation. Well worth a look.
years earlier. Films of the 40s had a comic snap that the 50s lost. In fact, it sometimes looks like a 40s script made in the 50s. It's just that opportunities for comedy are lost. A film with this structure is picaresque - it's an excuse to get your foot in the door and nose around other people's front rooms and meet a lot of people you wouldn't otherwise. More could have been made of the
encounters with Thora Hird ("Take the door with you, dear, as far as it will go.") and the fat lady in the newsagents who blames the Russians. Why the
Russians? "Well, if we knew that we'd know everything." The boy on the bike
could have been more of a character. And the girl at the garage (gas station to you) is just a Rank starlet with her painfully refined accent and crisp summer dress (for dispensing petrol?). Some of the best bits are back at the police
station with the excellent David Farrar and the sergeants who have to read a
pile of trashy novels as part of the investigation. Well worth a look.
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