Swallows and Amazons (1974) User Reviews

One of our family favorites

[CLCDrama · 7/10 · 9 November 2001]

Although no one would accuse this film of being great art, it is a delightful, wholesome and reasonably accurate (albeit simplified) rendition of Arthur Ransome's wonderful book. It is nearly impossible these days to find any movies where the children are kind to one another, the parents are loving and the adventures are free of violence. If you love sailing, old boats, and a pleasant easygoing story, Swallows and Amazons isn't a bad choice. It is one of our family favorites.

Natives!

[frankgaipa · 7/10 · 11 March 2005]

When this arrived, I'd finished reading all the Swallows and Amazons novels just a few months before. I'd also just seen the TV productions of the two Coots books (click on my name for that review) and read Roger Wardale's "In Search of Swallows & Amazons" which interpolates a fair amount of biographical data into a photographic search for the real Lakeland sites in which the fictions take place.

Much about this 1974 theatrical film is right, and two things -- both casting issues -- grievously wrong. Judging from Wardale's photos and Ransome's descriptions, the lake lands, Wildcat and Comorant Islands, and especially the two landing sites on Wildcat look perfect or nearly. Also right: the two boats of the title swishing across the lake with the camera set low so that the distances and land masses appear as they might in a child's eye. I like that tacking, so important throughout the series, happens clearly and instructively without anyone ever stopping to explain it, whether Roger running otherwise bizarre switchbacks up a lazily sloping lawn, or John doing a hundred-count to tack in the dark. (Believe me it's clear when you see, especially if you know any of the books.) John and Susan, the one groping toward becoming a natural leader, the other painstakingly matronly yet able to break in an instant into a child's sprint, seem well cast and anchor the group. Able seaman Titty's the best cast. She has the most active imagination in the group, always seems more actively and willingly to believe, while the two older children have to work just a little at pretending. Roger, to me, looks a little two Alfred E. Newman, but does no real harm to the film.

The most horribly miscast is Nancy, the older Amazon. Though a bare year older in the books, here she towers over the others. I think she's at least as tall as the other miscast character, her uncle "Captain Flint," and even has a figure with which she could pass for eighteen or twenty. But worse than that, she's not wild enough. Not until the very end does she utter a single grudgingly weak "Shiver me timbers," or if she did before they were too limp to notice. She seems nearly as "native" as the Swallow's mother, while she should have been a driving force, the most vivid pretender, or equal at least to Titty. I'm not sure how to describe to who haven't read. Maybe the closest I can come is Charles Shultz's Peppermint Patty but with a lot more confidence. Reading, I always heard Nancy's "Shiver me timbers" as raucous as a parrot's cry.

Bird-faced actor Ronald Fraser's Uncle Jim, or "Captain Flint," looks like a fifty-year-old petty magistrate. He could never sincerely belong with these kids against the Natives. He IS a native, irredeemably. (Natives are adults, shore people, or in general anyone not in on the frame of mind out of which the term Native comes.) Ransome's Captain Flint is fat and knowledgeable, playful but seldom or never silly. Ronald Fraser condescends in a way that's anathema not just to the real fictional Flint but to Ransome.

But please take the good of all I've said, and do see this film.

Still worth watching

[julian-344 · 7/10 · 25 August 2008]

Yes, pretty wooden acting from the children, but I think that was pretty common 34 years ago! However, it's still a good film.

Regarding the likelihood of any parent allowing their children to do what the Walkers did, even at the time - my uncle aged 14 was allowed to take his two younger brothers (10 and 8) overnight camping in a very similar boat on the Solent in 1926 - a far more dangerous place to sail! They were all "not duffers, didn't drown".

I think the film still appeals to younger kids. I took my god-daughter and a friend (8 and 6) to the island in a small dinghy with tan sails, and we lit a fire at the camp ground and filled a kettle from the lake, just as the Walkers do in the film. That was in 2005, and they loved it!

It is like the book but.....

[adam-quinan · 1 February 2004]

I have loved the Swallows and Amazons books since I was a child and first saw this movie years ago. It is a reasonably faithful adaptation, though large parts of the book are missing. I enjoyed seeing the film recreation which mostly matched my vision.

Susan is very well played by Zannah Hamilton and really improves on the book character. Roger is a bit gormless and is not as interesting as the book character. Titty, John, Nancy and Peggy work pretty well. Ronald Fraser as Captain Flint is a total disaster and completely misplays the role. The sailing scenes are not well done. The boats are continuously gybing to and fro without really going anywhere.

In conclusion, this film is a good taste of the book, and it would be fun to see more movies of the other S&A books made. The BBC did Coot Club and Big Six quite well some time ago.

Yet another family favourite -flawed but charming.

[TheLittleSongbird · 7/10 · 13 July 2009]

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 Ransome's superior book, but personally I would have liked more narrative entwined into the story. Consequently, because the film wasn'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.

Kind of awful and wonderful at the same time

[mcmrbt · 7/10 · 10 July 2005]

Like many of the other reviewers of this film, I read all the Arthur Ransome books when I was young, and also saw the film when I was around 12 years old.

It's interesting to read some of the reviewers wondering if the film could appeal to today's children in the age of Shrek and the Incredibles. Well, my two daughters just watched it this afternoon (too young to have read the books) and they were both glued to it and the oldest enthusiastically grabbed the books when I pulled them down from the shelf.

Of course, the acting is awful. You ask yourself what on earth Virginia McKenna is doing in it, and Ronald Frazer (on paper) should be a good Captain Flint, but isn't. The children are almost universally awful. The Walker children's received RADA/Children's Film Foundation pronunciation is just about forgivable, but Kit Seymour as Nancy Blackett is so, so wrong, talking like some posh bird instead of the tomboy Northerner she should have been.

But, ah, Kit Seymour where are you now? I had such feelings for you when I was 12. Your posh accent didn't matter to me then, and I carried a flame for you for a long time...

Sail into yesteryear with Ransome's classic story.

[RJBurke1942 · 7/10 · 20 January 2010]

Wishes do come true, after all...

When, as a boy, I read through every one of Arthur Ransome's novels, I dreamily wished that somebody would adapt them to film. It took longer than I'd hoped, but at least today's children can see something of Ransome's stories, even if they don't read any of his books (although, that is a shame).

Sure, the plot has been shortened significantly but you expect that when four hundred pages of novel are adapted for the screen. Still, the screenplay even manages to include the charcoal makers, Old and Young Billy (Jack Woolger and John Franklin-Williams), which surprised me.

In short, the story is about the four Walker children (John, Susan, Titty and Roger) holidaying on Coniston Water, sailing on the lake, camping on Wildcat Island (Peel Island, actually), meeting and clashing with the Blackett sisters (Nancy and Peggy), and finally performing a valuable service for Captain Flint, uncle to the Blacketts. It's nostalgic; it's inoffensive; it's family fun for families; it's a perfect story for all children.

For myself, I thought Kit Seymour (playing Nancy) lacked the strength of character evident in the stories; looked a bit too old for the part, also. The Walker children were well cast and acted their parts beautifully, I thought. Virginia McKenna, appearing only briefly as Mother, was suitably adult for the times. Reginald Fraser as Captain Flint was okay; Robert Morley would have been a better choice, I think.

Being somewhat of a purist, I would have preferred black and white cinematography as a better mood setter. However, the colour print certainly enhanced the beauty of the lake and surrounding area. Overall, I can't complain. I'm looking forward to experiencing the TV stories of the Coots on the Norfolk Broads. And, with fading hopes, I'm wondering when a benign producer will put the money up to adapt Peter Duck or Missee Lee for the screen. Hope never dies, however...

Recommended for all children from seven to one hundred and seven.

Inconsequential kids film from a popular classic book.

[barnabyrudge · 5/10 · 27 December 2011]

Arthur Ransome's much loved children's' book is brought to the screen in this faithful, albeit rather inconsequential, film from Claude Whatham. The book is a gentle tale about vacationing children in 1920s Lake District who make camp on an island in the lake beside their holiday home, and spend the entire summer getting in and out of adventures along the water. The biggest drawback in the book is the lack of real conflict among the characters. Everyone gets along absurdly well, Coral Island-style, and the book cries out for some fire and spice to stir things up a bit. However, Ransome overcomes this problem with his engaging writing style and his loving attention to local detail. The same cannot be said of the film which, stripped of Ransome's evocative prose, ends up being merely pleasant and genteel for its entire duration. Not that it's unwatchable or anything, and there are definitely sufficient points of interest to warrant a look.

Four young children – John (Simon West), Susan (Suzanna Hamilton), Titty (Sophie Neville) and Roger (Stephen Grendon) – arrive in the Lake District with their mother (Virginia McKenna) for a summer break. Their father, a sea captain, is away on a voyage at the other side of the world. Their holiday home is right beside a long lake and the children immediately find their attention drawn to a large uninhabited island in the middle. They are allowed to use a small wooden sailing boat, the Swallow, to explore the lake and the island, and soon they come up with the idea of setting up a camp on the island. Two other girls, Peggy (Lesley Bennett) and Nancy (Kit Seymour) – a.k.a The Amazons – arrive on the scene and challenge the Swallows to a test of courage and cunning to decide the true masters of the lake.

Swallows And Amazons, like any family film peopled by kiddie characters, relies on its child cast to hold things together. In this case, most of the children are rather wooden and struggle to create convincing characters. Grendon as Roger is particularly weak and turns one of the best characters from the book into an irritating buffoon, while Seymour is far too old and far too girly for the part of Nancy. There's not enough help from the adults either, with Ronald Fraser embarrassing himself quite dreadfully as Captain Flint. On a positive note, the film manages to capture the spirit of adventure and exploration rather nicely, and is a treat to look at throughout. Individual scenes work quite well, such as the bit with the charcoal burners, and the night-time sortie in which the Swallows attempt to steal the Amazons' boat. Overall, this is a fair-to-middling adaptation of the book – a nice, undemanding 92 minutes if you're in the right frame of mind.

A classic childhood adventure

[miss_chanandler_bong · 10/10 · 27 May 2006]

A classic childhood adventure set in English Lake District in 1929. Four pre-teens travel by train with their mother for a weeks holiday in the Lake District. The children spend their time exploring in a rowing boat & camping on a small island. They befriend two sisters & become involved in an intrigue with their uncle; having adopted a pirates view of their world. The children enter a world of magic & adventure, where their freedom & imagination are the special effects. A charming tale, with exquisitely rendered period detail in a timeless landscape that will have you aching for a simpler age. Do not miss - your inner child will thank you for it.

An insight to another era

[cosmic_quest · 7/10 · 29 April 2004]

I watched this over the Easter hols and found myself surprisingly engaged in a film which had no major plot beyond two groups of siblings befriending each and just enjoying their summer. It was a nice insight into how people, in particular children, were in the early 20th century and, at times, I was almost envious of them to be living in a time without the pressure of exams, employment, the threat of nuclear war, terrorism, etc. It does leave you wondering if the price we paid for the joys of technology and advancement in general was a bit too steep.

Still, I found it hard to believe a mother would just let her four children sleep on some island for nights on end; at one point the youngest of the girls, aged no more than nine, was left alone and the mother, when finally checking up on the children, didn't seem that bothered. I also thought the eldest of the Swallow boys and the two Amazon girls were a tad too old to be playing pretend games, particularly when at times they honestly seemed to believe there were pirates lurking around a river in the middle of England. And after about forty minutes, I was wanting more action than some make-believe game the children were playing of invading pirates.

On the whole, it is a decent fare and an enjoyable way to spend a couple of hours if there is nothing else on TV. I think it would appeal to older people in their sixties, who might easily identify their own childhoods with to children and their 'adventures', compared to younger people who want a bit more action and excitement in their films.

A really terrible film

[pma97dr-2 · 1/10 · 8 March 2001]

This film is an object lesson in how to take an excellent children's book and ruin it. The child acting is dreadful, especially Titty and Roger, and the whole film is an embarrassment to watch. If you liked the book please don't watch this.

A difficult story but translated to film almost perfectly.

[Yellit · 8/10 · 14 September 2001]

A difficult story but translated to film almost perfectly.

It is not easy to meet the expectations of thousands of readers of these popular adolescent novels once they have grown up. But this is an excellent try.

Spoilt to a certain extent my unspectacular casting of the children, but Ronald Fraser more than compensates!

Needless to say for a UK film of the period the lighting etc. is professional to the extreme.

A middling film of an alien world.

[HenryHextonEsq · 6/10 · 14 August 2002]

I certainly went into this wanting to like it; I am the kind who can be pray to the odd bout of nostalgia... For days I have seen and for those I have not. I may have seen this film as a child, but I have no strong recollection of it. It can certainly be said, however, that childhood memories are in some sense evoked by watching it, seeing as "Swallows and Amazons" deals with childhood; a decidedly different childhood, of course, but there is a link. I enjoyed mine, as the fine "fellows" here seem to; but it is an oddly regimented, conservative ideal that is espoused by the film, despite the tag of "adventure" and the promise of exploration.

I have not read any of the Ransome series of books based around these children's adventures, so I'm in no position to comment on them as fiction. I can certainly comment, though, on the merits of this film as entertainment. It is perhaps with a degree of sadness that I sense that it could not really appeal to much of today's child population. Times have obviously changed very much. But books like "Cider with Rosie" and "Carrie's War", less oppressively traditional perhaps, may still have a good chance.

The photography is unquestionably very alluring; capturing enough of the visual beauty of a golden English summer of times past. The more metaphorical sides of the "golden summer", or of childhood, are sadly never really delved into. I can see Ransome's work would perhaps read a lot better than this film plays, in this regard. The acting here, of the children, is okay for what it is. The youngest chap is the most amusing; a hapless old chap of a buffer... Roger. And I quote the "I can't see anything!" bit as prime evidence of his endearing, if not all that well played, haplessness. Titty is probably the most endearingly and memorably played, otherwise. The adults make little impression. Not enough of Ronald Fraser's "Captain Flint" figure perhaps... He does engage a bit when on screen. Interesting and perhaps amusing to see that "Zanna" Hamilton, is the same girl who went on to play Julia in "1984" as Suzannah Hamilton...

Anyway, I shouldn't be harsh on this film, but it really is flawed. It has its pleasures, and is inoffensively watchable, but one would have to be very indulgent to fully endorse it as a film. It doesn't have enough, frankly, of the wistful complexity that we all know childhood to be composed of. The past is indeed a foreign country, whereas here it is a rather enclosed, parochial and familiar one.

Rating:- ***/*****

Bland adaptation of a children's book

[Prismark10 · 4/10 · 3 January 2019]

Set in 1929, the four Walker children go with their mother for a holiday in the Lake District of England.

They sail a dinghy called named Swallow and form a rivalry with the Blackett girls who have a dinghy named Amazon.

The Walker children camp on a small island in the lake where they engage in a pirate adventure with the Blacketts.

The Blacketts' Uncle Jim accuses the Walker's of stealing his chest although one of them noticed some strange men hanging about.

This is a slight children's tale which now looks listless, nothing much exciting happens. Ronald Fraser's Uncle Jim is just all wrong in his characterisation. It looks like Arthur Ransome's book was gutted in the adaptation.

Quaint but enjoyable version of the popular books

[davidlitchfield · 18 March 2001]

I read the Swallows and Amazon books about 40 years ago, but waited until now to see the film! I felt the film perfectly captures the quaint atmosphere of the books and the times in which they were set. The film may not be to modern taste, but it must be considered as a faithful rendition of the original writing, and viewed in that light. Not for the unsophisticated viewer.

Snapshot of a forgotten world

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 21 July 2015]

SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS is the best-remembered film adaptation of the classic Arthur Ransome novel. The plot is simplicity in itself: in 1929, a group of siblings and their mother go on holiday to the Lake District, where they are given the freedom to spend their days boating around the lakes and setting up a camp on a wooded island. While there, they meet up with some rival adventurers and a rich man who lives on a house boat at the edge of the lake.

I've never read the book, so I can't comment on how close an adaptation this is, but as a film it's serviceable enough. It ably captures the spirit of a bygone era, where children were left to their own devices in the great outdoors and all the better for it. It's hard to dislike a movie where much of the time is spent on minor intrigue and plotting the intricacies of getting one over on rivals.

There's a small adult sub-plot in the film, involving the belligerent house boat owner (played by the affable Ronald Fraser), and this sub-plot particularly reminded me of the writings of Enid Blyton. SWALLOWS AND AMAZONS might be slimly-plotted and rather simplistic in tone, but for its depiction of a forgotten world it's hard to beat.

Swallows and Amazons

[CinemaSerf · 7/10 · 27 May 2023]

This is a lovely story that those of us (of a certain age) will look back on with a simple fondness. A family go on holiday to the English Lake District where they set up a camp on an island. Soon they are under attack from the "hostiles" - two girls from nearby. After a parley, they agree to join forces with the "Swallow" and the "Amazon" (their boats) signing articles to wage war on the girls' grumpy uncle "Jim". Virginia McKenna and Ronald Fraser play the grown ups fine; but this is essentially as gentle an adaptation as the water on the lake - with some fine performances from the six children who create just enough of a sense of derring-do to keep this engaging little version of the Arthur Ransome story bobbing along nicely.

Dont bother

[malcolmgsw · 2/10 · 9 February 2020]

This film only seems to appeal to people who read the book in their youth.I didn't.I found the film a bore and the acting truly appalling.Vastly inferior to any CFF production of the same vintage.

Exceptional!

[ray-theron · 8/10 · 1 September 2020]

While it is extremely rare for a film to capture the essence of the work of fiction it is based on, the 1974 film version of Swallows and Amazons comes close. Yes, we do not have that wonderful part of the novel: the narrative. Arthur Ransome's storytelling is inimitable, which is perhaps partly the reason why the film makers shied away from bringing a narrator into the mix.

Yes, the actors were children of the 1970s, and amateurs, not polished modern child actors, and yes, the film has aged compared to modern films as regards technique and direction, but any true lover of Arthur Ransome's novels will find the characters and their portrayal more than acceptable.

The book is so full of events that any film version would, of necessity, have to be somewhat truncated in order to not have a five-hour epic. People also forget that the film's primary audience is children, not adults, and children are less likely to be fussed by minor events in the novel being omitted from the film.

Clearly the film is NOT the book. But it stands very well on its own feet.

A Classic in my view

[barrencreekfarms · 10/10 · 13 March 2008]

Greetings, I ordered this film from Amazon UK and if you and your children enjoy boating and sailing like mine do, then this will be an excellent movie for them.

This film will expose your child to a cast of charming and intelligent children who lived in a time when innocence, resourcefulness, and self reliance were valued virtues.

My wife and I both felt that this film taught valuable lessons to young children.

We found it nicer than the other movies Koot Club and Big Six, which do share some of the same themes as this movie.

I truly wish I could find out more about the late 60's British television show of the same name.

Reasonable, but not fantastic, film of a great book

[avjones · 18 July 2004]

I read all the Arthur Ransome books as a child, and re-read them recently as an adult, but until today had not seen this film.

It's well filmed, with only minor plot adaptations (although large chunks are missed out), and the scenery and period details are especially well done. The boats look good!

The chunks missed out from the original story do give the film a slightly "chopped" feeling - it's difficult sometimes to work out how the characters got where they are.

The acting lets the film down a bit, I think. The best of the Swallows is Titty by quite a long way - Susan is OK, but nothing special, and the boys are both awful - the worst kind of declamatory child acting. The Amazons are pretty good, but as they feature less in the book the bad acting of John and Roger really does spoil the film a bit. Odd that of these actors, John seems to have gone on to have the best career!

The thing which the film lacks most, perhaps inevitably, is the narrative. Watching the film made me realize just how the skillful prose of the books draws you into another world - something the film doesn't quite manage.

Innocent times

[neilwoodman-29184 · 8/10 · 13 September 2022]

Absolutely love this gentle film, of innocent times, when children actually went out and had adventures. Set in the stunning surroundings of The Lake District, and features a young cast, who truly bring that innocence to the parts they play, overseen by their mum, played by Virginia McKenna.

Always a "must see"' when on tv, and a wonderful way to while away a Sunday afternoon. Why, oh why, are there so few films made, like this, anymore? Relaxing, innocent, and a tale of a different, slower, life, we all secretly yearn for. One thing is definitely for sure..the Health and Safety Brigade would be having a meltdown, watching the antics of the children !

Always in my top 10 of films to watch, and always will be.

As familiar as an old patchwork quilt

[peterwillis-91510 · 8/10 · 31 August 2020]

A period piece twice over - made in 1974, 46 years ago now, and set in 1929, 45 years previously, it's a relatively faithful adaptation of Arthur Ransome's classic chidren's book, and well-made, with decent performances coaxed from the child actors and some of the adults too, gorgeous scenery and well-shot sailing sequences. Familiarity breeds fondness and its frequent appearances on TV are always welcome - though the recently re-mastered cinema version is worth seeking out. And even Ronald Fraser's stilted Captain Flint becomes forgivable with time. A comfort-blanket of a film

Love this film!

[helenevlm · 10/10 · 31 August 2020]

It's not scary, or gruesome, or full of battles. Just the story of a summer holiday, a lake, two sailing dinghies and the children who crew them. Beautiful scenery, good wholesome fun - although 'very nearly duffers' and a great score. Perfect viewing for any time and any age.

Swallows and Amazons Forever

[canadasteve-18264 · 10/10 · 10 January 2021]

If you are a fan of Arthur Ransomes books about children in the early 1930s enjoying life and adventures with boats etc. then you will love this film. It evokes memories of childhoods gone by where imagination was key to having fun. The film is pretty close to the book, as any good film can be as some bits have to be missed out but in this Sophie Neville has done a sterling job as it does not detract from the original story in any way. Watch it and then be like me and wish they had made films of more of his books. Three Million Cheers.