The Birthday Present
6.2 /10 1 Votes
Genre Drama Duration Running time 1h 40m Screenplay Jack Whittingham | 6/10 IMDb Writer Jack Whittingham Director Pat Jackson Music director Clifton Parker | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Initial release October 31, 1957 (United Kingdom) Cast Tony Britton (Simon Scott), Sylvia Syms (Jean Scott), Jack Watling (Bill Thompson), Walter Fitzgerald (Sir John Dell), Geoffrey Keen (Colonel Wilson), Howard Marion-Crawford (George Bates)Similar movies Sylvia Syms appears in The Birthday Present and My Teenage Daughter | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
the birthday present out on dvd 01 09 2014
The Birthday Present is a 1957 British drama film directed by Pat Jackson. It stars Tony Britton as Simon Scott, a top toy salesmen returning from a business trip to Germany with a watch hidden inside a toy, intended as a birthday present for his wife Sylvia Syms. He is caught by customs, arrested, and the following day sentenced to four months imprisonment. The film explores several complex issues: problems in finding legal representation, the lack of competence and insensitivity of some solicitors, the day to day reality of prison life, as well as the financial and other practical difficulties in making an appeal against a relatively short sentence. Scott decides to drop the appeal and serve his time. After his release he loses his job, as his prison sentence has become widely known owing to a gossiping colleague. However, Scott rebuilds his life, with support from a loyal line manager, played by Geoffrey Keen.
Contents
The film also featured Thorley Walters and Ian Bannen in small roles.
Critical reception
The Radio Times dismissed the film as "this doleful, overlong slice of surburban life": while Allmovie called it "a bitter half-hour anecdote stretched to 100 minutes...Intended as a slice of raw realism, Birthday Present plays more like a cautionary social studies film"; but TV Guide concluded, "All-around fine technical efforts add a sense of authenticity."
References
The Birthday Present WikipediaThe Birthday Present IMDb The Birthday Present themoviedb.org