Smiley *** (1956, Colin Petersen, Ralph Richardson, John McCallum, Chips Rafferty) – Classic Movie Review 9659

Smiley face: Colin Petersen.

Director Anthony Kimmins’s 1956 comedy drama Smiley is based on the 1945 novel by Moore Raymond, and narrates the sweet Australian Huckleberry Finn antipodean adventures of a naughty youngster who lives in the small country town of Murrumbilla (based on Augathella). He is determined to buy a bicycle for four pounds and unsuspectingly becomes part of a drugs racket when he helps the local publican to sell opium to aborigines living in a camp near their town.

The weight of this comic story rests on the slight but surprisingly capable shoulders of talented juvenile Colin Petersen, aged 10, as cheeky Smiley Greevins, with a delightful star supporting cast that includes Ralph Richardson playing a good-natured vicar, the Reverend Lambeth, and Chips Rafferty as the police sergeant, Sergeant Flaxman, and John McCallum as the local publican Jim Rankin, which helps to add a quirky patina of glamour to the proceedings.

Bruce Archer is good as Smiley’s best friend Joey, with Margaret Christensen and Reg Lye useful as Ma and Pa Greevins. Making full use of the natural splendour of the Australian outback in the impressive Technicolor, CinemaScope location photography, director Kimmins weaves a small but entertaining tale of childhood ambition.

It is filmed on location in New South Wales, Australia, but also in the studio for post-production work at Pagewood Studios, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia, and at Shepperton Studios, Surrey, England.

Moore Raymond co-wrote the BAFTA nominated screenplay with Anthony Kimmins.

The entire cast is Australian, apart from Ralph Richardson. Also in the cast are Margaret Christensen, Guy Doleman, Jocelyn Hernfield, Marion Johns, William Rees, Bob Sunin, Charles ‘Bud’ Tingwell, Reggie Weigand, and Chow Sing.

The film was a hit and Bruce Archer returns as Joey for the sequel: Smiley Gets a Gun (1958), also directed by Kimmins. Colin Petersen had moved to England and was replaced by Keith Calvert. Petersen had a successful career as a child actor, drummer and record producer.

Film rights were bought immediately in 1945 by Alexander Korda, who gave the direction to English director Kimmins, who had served in Australia in World War Two. Kimmins arrived in Australia September 1955 to begin pre-production. After interviewing more than 2,000 boys, he cast Colin Petersen as Smiley and Bruce Archer as Joey.

The town of Murrumbilla was built on an estate at Camden Park and Gundy, in New South Wales, Australia, and filming finished after eight weeks.

Part of the budget comes from 20th Century Fox, which had money frozen in Australia because of currency restrictions.

The film spawned a hit single, ‘A Little Boy Called Smiley’, composed by Clyde Collins after the film was made.

The novel inspired Smiley The Musical with music by Clyde Collins, David Cocker, Mark Jones and Lance Strauss.