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The Boy Who Stole a Million
The Boy Who Stole a Million
Directed by	Charles Crichton
Written by	Charles Crichton; Niels West-Larsen
Produced by	George H. Brown
Starring	Maurice Reyna; Virgílio Teixeira
Cinematography	Douglas Slocombe
Edited by	Peter Bezencenet
Music by	Tristram Cary
Production; companies	Fanfare Films Ltd.; George H. Brown Productions
Distributed by	Bryanston Films
Release dates	22 December 1960 (USA); 2 July 1961 (UK);
Running time	84 minutes
Country	United Kingdom
Language	English
Budget	£115,802
Box office	£7,525 (UK)

The Boy Who Stole a Million is a 1960 British comedy thriller film directed by Charles Crichton and starring Maurice Reyna and Virgílio Teixeira.^[3]

Plot

When he learns that his father needs to find 10,000 pesetas (approximately £60) to finance repairs to his taxi, or face losing his business and livelihood, naïve young Paco decides to "borrow" a million pesetas from the bank where he has a small part-time job after school.

He is forced to hide around the city when he starts to be pursued not only by the police, but also seemingly by all the criminal low-life of the city, all eager to get their hands on the cash. Paco finds himself on the run all through Valencia, from the most elegant quarters with their wide streets and squares in the midst of fiesta time, to the city's most squalid and dangerous slums.

Paco has no concept of money in the adult sense. When he is hungry he tells a street vendor that he "has no money" and has to beg for the food.

Hiding beside a blind beggar the man leads him to an abandoned basement and attacks him, as he too has heard of the child and missing money but the boy escapes.

The package of money gets thrown in a garbage truck and Paco ends up scraping through piles of rubbish with local street urchins who do this to survive. He finds it and spends some time with the group. Meanwhile his father drives around the city with two friends, also searching for him.

When his father eventually finds him Paco explains that he heard his father say he would disown him if he ever stole. After one final fight with the pursuing thugs they take the cash back to the bank. The bank manager is very understanding and merely charges Paco 168 pesetas interest for the 24 hours he had the money. They agree the bank will take this interest charge out of Paco's wages at the rate of 2 pesetas per week.

Cast

Maurice Reyna as Paco
Virgílio Teixeira as Miguel
Marianne Benet as Maria
Harold Kasket as Luis
George Coulouris as bank manager
Warren Mitchell as Pedro
Tutte Lemkow as Mateo
Edwin Richfield as commissionaire
Bill Nagy as Police Chief
Barta Barri as gang leader
Paul Whitsun-Jones as Desk Sergeant
Robert Rietti as Detective
Cyril Shaps as bank clerk
Xan Das Bolas as knife grinder

Production

The film was originally budgeted at £100,000 – £49,500 coming from Lloyds Bank/Barclays, £49,500 coming from Paramount and £1,000 deferred from Paramount. The film went over budget and the rest was made up by the guarantor, Film Finances.^[4]

The film was shot on location in the Spanish city of Valencia.

Crichton called the film "pretty simple."^[5]

Reception

Box Office

The film recorded a loss to Bryanston of £52,330.^[6]

Critical

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "A perfunctory attempt at a British Bicycle Thieves [1948], packed with clichés both in script and in Charles Crichton's direction. The boy, the dog and the father have charm, but the story never comes alive, and the supporting roles – apart from one or two sinister Spanish bit-players – are flatly portrayed."^[7]

Kine Weekly wrote: "The picture is soon off he mark and gathers widely varied, yet apposite characters as its actionful, if artless, tale develops. ... The fiesta scenes provide local colour, while the fight between the crooks and Paco, Miguel and Maria, which takes place on a sea wall, puts a real kick into the climax. ... Star values are negligible."^[8]

Leslie Halliwell said: "Half-hearted attempt at a British Bicycle Thieves, oddly set in Spain and never quite managing to convince or interest us."^[9]

The Radio Times Guide to Films gave the film 1/5 stars, writing: "Not even the drab photography or the rundown locations can increase the authenticity of the protracted pursuit by some sniffy bank officials and a gang of sneaky criminals. A cloying and unconvincing disappointment."^[10]

References

^ Petrie, Duncan James (2017). "Bryanston Films: An Experiment in Cooperative Independent Production and Distribution" (PDF). Historical Journal of Film, Radio and Television: 7. ISSN 1465-3451.
^ Petrie p 8
^ "The Boy Who Stole a Million". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 30 April 2024.
^ Petrie p 8-9
^ "Charles Crichton Interview" (PDF). British Entertainment History Project. 14 December 1988. p. 24.
^ Petrie p 8
^ "The Boy Who Stole a Million". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 28 (324): 22. 1 January 1961 – via ProQuest.
^ "The Boy Who Stole a Million". Kine Weekly. 529 (2802): 19. 15 June 1961 – via ProQuest.
^ Halliwell, Leslie (1989). Halliwell's Film Guide (7th ed.). London: Paladin. p. 136. ISBN 0586088946.
^ Radio Times Guide to Films (18th ed.). London: Immediate Media Company. 2017. p. 124. ISBN 9780992936440.