Cosh Boy (1953)

Such a frustrating disappointment

Good movie but grossly overrated

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

I don't know what's odder about this expose on British juvenile delinquency issues in the 1950's: the strange helium voice of James Kenney as the lead delinquent, or the fact that Joan Collins' mother here is played by the cockney Hermione Baddeley. It's still a well made film, superbly photographed in what appears to be the oldest parts of London (remnants of Fagin's hideaway in "Oliver Twist") and crisply paced. It's obvious from the start that Kenney and his cohorts are up to no good when they stalk a drunk little old lady staggering home from a pub. They appear to have a knife, but no evidence of using it is ever given other than to threaten life or limb to get ahold of these poor old women's few valuables. For a Yank like me to get into this, it took many years of film research understanding various British dialects and catching onto little bits of British culture. But in my years of film study, I have realized one thing: British filmmakers seemed to take more chances from an early age and thus, many of their films seem far advanced over American movies of the same period.Joining Miss Baddley here (but unfortunately not in any scenes together) is the nearly unrecognizable Hermione Gingold, with platinum blonde hair and excessive jewelry, only identifiable when she speaks. Her characterization of a seemingly over the hill party girl is hysterical, but unfortunately other than become a victim of Keenan's mugging and later a witness, has little to do. Baddeley is more ferocious, confronting Keeney's parents when she finds out "scandalous" news about her precious daughter. Collins, very soft and feminine here, comes off closer to a young Jean Simmons or Audrey Hepburn rather than the vixens she played a few years later in biblical era epics like "Land of the Pharaohs" and "Esther and the King", and certainly as far from her "Dynasty" character of Alexis Carrington as you can imagine. This has some very tense moments, particularly Keeney's dealings with future stepfather Robert Ayres who has no hesitation of slapping him when Keeney sasses his mother (Betty Ann Davies). The final scene is a true shocker, showing the horrific truth in what lies beneath the surface of thugs like Keeney as they are brought down to their knees and forced to pay for their sins.

COSH BOY is an intriguing mix of social drama and crime thriller, released in Britain in 1953. It deserves credit for tackling the subject matter of juvenile crime and delinquency in a stark and realistic way, avoiding sensation for the most part in its depiction of unpleasant events that spiral out of control and affect the lives of those involved. The film was shot by future Bond director Lewis Gilbert, who exhibits a good control of his medium even at this early stage of his career.James Kenney gives a thoroughly believable turn as the film's protagonist, one of the most unpleasant in all of 1950s cinema. Through him, the viewer gets into the mind of the thug and sees just what makes him tick. The exasperated family members are all well and good, but it's the youthful figures who stand out: an impossibly young Joan Collins as the naive girlfriend and Johnny Briggs as a callow gang member. Even Sid James and Laurence Naismith show up as coppers. There aren't many laughs here, but the oddly gripping nature of the material will see you through right till the end.

This movie made when Western civilisation was going to be torn down by the outbreak of Juvenile Delinquents, and the pimply youth were building forces in the US as well, so follow Cosh Boy with "When Youth Runs Wild" (1945). The US film is not as funny as the UK one but still has all the traditional delinquent-syndrome markers.Cosh Boy is a real hoot, especially the strange pitch of their voices or, perhaps this is the what delinquency does to the vocal cords. Making their coshes in trade classes at school was a goody, what or where was the teacher while these illegal instruments were being turned out. Suppose the old prostitutes were lucky that the boys weren't doing metal work at school or they would have been done over with knuckle dusters. Loved the 50/50 split: ten bob for you and fifteen bob for me, and the cosh wielding drongo didn't notice the shortchange.Loved the fashion. The best was the bloke in the two-toned car coat with tied waist topped off with a Homberg hat. Sooo hip.

'Cosh Boy' was made at a time when society was preoccupied with youth. Many men died in the war leaving widows on their own to cope with family life. The fear of crime in the early post-war period was blown out of proportion. 'Cosh Boy' is a reflection of this moral panic and many newspapers carried stories about 'cosh boys' going out mugging old ladies.Lewis Gilbert's film follows the rise and fall of Roy Walsh a young thug from Battersea. The acting is dire. Ian Whitaker who plays Roy's educationally backward sidekick Alfie collins is staggeringly bad. The film follows the struggles of Roy's widowed mother Elsie who is unable to control her son supposedly because of the absence of a man in the house. The grandmother also lives with Elsie and knows that Roy is no good, she represents the older wiser generation that believed in discipline and family life with two parents. The film has a soapbox message in advocating law and order. It starts from an irrational premise, i.e. the country risks being over-run by youthful barbarians. It advocates that women should follow their prescribed gender roles as housewives and mothers, leave the hard stuff like discipline to men. The most nauseating line in the film comes from Grandma Walsh 'They don't know what hard work is these days. Eight hours a day, five days a week, makes me laugh'. So the working classes should be grateful for less exploitative working hours and conditions. Reactionary trash but a laugh a minute none the less.