More Interested In Preaching Than Storytelling

a present for sylvia syms causes a sacking

"If a Man Breaks the Law He Must Face the Consequences"

studio: made at Shepperton Studios, England

Shepperton Studios, Shepperton, Surrey, England, UK

David Brian and Marjorie Reynolds in The Great Jewel Robber (1950)

Gabriel Byrne in Defense of the Realm (1985)

Michael Craig, William Lucas, Françoise Prévost, and Billie Whitelaw in Payroll (1961)

Virginia Grey, William Terry, and Helene Thimig in Strangers in the Night (1944)

Paul Newman and Dominique Sanda in The MacKintosh Man (1973)

Tony Britton and Sylvia Syms in The Birthday Present (1957)

Sylvia Syms and Jack Watling in The Birthday Present (1957)

Tony Britton

Sylvia Syms

Jack Watling

Jack Whittingham

A top salesman with a U.K. toy firm foolishly brings an expensive watch back from a German trip for his wife&apos;s birthday. This is illegal in 1950&apos;s Britain and after Customs discover the watch, he is charged and, unusually, given a...

Pat Jackson

The Birthday Present

Excellent low-budget film

Another &quot;find&quot; on Talking Pictures TV channel, and one I greatly enjoyed. Early sightings of a few actors: Ian Bannen, an unlined Thorley Waters, Harry Fowler, a slim Geoffrey Keen, John Welsh with some hair and of course a young Sylvia Syms - 23 years old but in her ninth role.

Bannen&apos;s customs officer enthused a bit too much about the toys that Simon had brought back (no long queues in those days!), though it did build up the tension. Likewise the scene at the elderly solicitor&apos;s home, with the apparently unnecessary inclusion of the son on leave from National Service. (We only ever got to see the top of his head.) As another reviewer has noted, the court proceedings did seem a bit unusual, and surely in his subsequent job search he would have been required to produce references from his last employer? The depiction of Simon&apos;s time in prison had a documentary feel to it - this is not a criticism.

Acting honours must go to Geoffrey Keen as the compassionate managing director.

A very worthwhile film.

Another "find" on Talking Pictures TV channel, and one I greatly enjoyed. Early sightings of a few actors: Ian Bannen, an unlined Thorley Waters, Harry Fowler, a slim Geoffrey Keen, John Welsh with some hair and of course a young Sylvia Syms - 23 years old but in her ninth role.

Bannen's customs officer enthused a bit too much about the toys that Simon had brought back (no long queues in those days!), though it did build up the tension. Likewise the scene at the elderly solicitor's home, with the apparently unnecessary inclusion of the son on leave from National Service. (We only ever got to see the top of his head.) As another reviewer has noted, the court proceedings did seem a bit unusual, and surely in his subsequent job search he would have been required to produce references from his last employer? The depiction of Simon's time in prison had a documentary feel to it - this is not a criticism.

Acting honours must go to Geoffrey Keen as the compassionate managing director.

A very worthwhile film.

A top salesman with a U.K. toy firm foolishly brings an expensive watch back from a German trip for his wife's birthday. This is illegal in 1950's Britain and after Customs discover the watch, he is charged and, unusually, given a prison sentence. Not having the money to appeal, he has to serve his time hoping the details don't get out and that he won't lose his job.

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The Birthday Present

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