Ever-resourceful, the Children's Film Foundation learned about the educational cruises run by the British India Steam Navigation Company (destined to become P&O in 1972). CFF regular Patricia Latham wrote an adventure around a cruise on the SS Uganda to Spain, Portugal and Morocco. Around a thousand children plus other passengers and some of the crew, including the captain, played themselves. I can imagine that children of all ages were thrilled by the exciting story, which involves a false smuggling lead and then a real villain, an art thief played by the reliable Norman Bird. His attempts to deal with the child heroes with the aid of his wicked crony (the equally reliable Marne Maitland) are surprisingly well done for such a minor children's film, and a stuntman's effort to climb the ship's funnel provides a climax that wouldn't disgrace a large-scale action adventure. There's colourful location shooting in all three destinations, OK comic material throughout, and, as other reviews have pointed out, Edwin Astley's score amusingly references the James Bond theme. A Moroccan boy who can only say one word of English ("hello") is poignant. Too bad about the British child actors, who are mostly pretty useless. But otherwise this is worth catching. It's back on British TV at the moment. (Adults will marvel at how it was once fine for children to wander off alone, even through the back streets of Tangiers. Sadly the SS Uganda was scrapped in 1992).
2 Reviews
Poor CFF film
malcolmgsw12 April 2020
I can't believe that this film would have gone down well with Saturday matinee audiences.A very silly story awful acting and lacklustre direction make for one of the poorest CFF films that I have viewed.In fact it seems more like a travelogue at times.
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