Review of Angela Lansbury Disney Film Bedknobs And Broomsticks
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BEDKNOBS & BROOMSTICKS (1971)
HUMDRUM KNOB NEEDS POLISHING
By Bryn V. Young-Roberts
Bedknobs & Broomsticks (1971) Directed by Robert Stevenson. USA: U World War II London children Charlie, Carrie and Paul Rawlins (Ian Weighill, Cindy O’Callaghan and Roy Snart) evacuate to the village of Pepperinge Eye and are put in the care of apprentice witch Eglantine Price (Angela Lansbury). Casting a spell that enables a brass bed-knob to transport people anywhere they so desire, Eglantine instigates a journey that takes them all to London and then the magical animated island of Naboombu. Teaming up with con-man Emelius Browne (David Tomlinson) fashions a temporary family unit for the travellers as he joins them on a quest to find The Star of Astoroth, a medallion inscribed with magic words that will help Eglantine aid the war effort. The film climaxes with the apprentice witch conjuring up a ghostly army to repel a German invasion. Bedknobs & Broomsticks never really manages to be the Disney classic it sets out to be, aspiring to some great ideas but lacking commitment in execution. The story is intriguing but misses strong motivation, the film being driven simply by Eglantine’s ‘need’ to acquire a spell to aid the war effort somehow, although there is no real urgency and why and how she is involved is kept vague. It ties in with the German invasion at the climax, but like every new setting and sub-plot in the film, seems disjointed and plodding. |
Major sequences in the film, such as the time spent on Naboombu, don’t help progress the plot at all, and are even subverted by ridiculous deus ex machina later on, such as Paul’s revelation that the magic words they risked their lives going on a quest for were printed in his comic book all along, but ‘nobody ever listens to me’.
As a film set and made in Britain, with a mostly British cast and crew, at times Bedknobs & Broomsticks could easily be mistaken for a Powell and Pressburger affair. If they made films for children. Almost. Tellingly American however, is the casual use of the word ‘soccer’ during a football match and the unmistakable Broadway-style tunes. Fortunately, music is one of the stronger aspects of the film, the excellent Sherman Brothers delivering enjoyable songs such as The Beautiful Briny that seem to transcend time, although never quite matching the panache of their earlier works like Mary Poppins (1964). Particularly entertaining is Portobello Road, although it outstays its welcome and starts to grate after a while, stunting the pace of the film and lacking any respect for the main narrative (and unbelievably the original cut of the film has it go on a further six minutes).
As a film set and made in Britain, with a mostly British cast and crew, at times Bedknobs & Broomsticks could easily be mistaken for a Powell and Pressburger affair. If they made films for children. Almost. Tellingly American however, is the casual use of the word ‘soccer’ during a football match and the unmistakable Broadway-style tunes. Fortunately, music is one of the stronger aspects of the film, the excellent Sherman Brothers delivering enjoyable songs such as The Beautiful Briny that seem to transcend time, although never quite matching the panache of their earlier works like Mary Poppins (1964). Particularly entertaining is Portobello Road, although it outstays its welcome and starts to grate after a while, stunting the pace of the film and lacking any respect for the main narrative (and unbelievably the original cut of the film has it go on a further six minutes).
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Also jarring are the children’s exaggerated cockney accents, although it somewhat adds to the unintentional humour of Paul’s line ‘What’s that got to do with my knob?’ in reference to the eponymous bed-knob. While the child actors struggle to attain even an adequate performance, the charm and chemistry of Lansbury and Tomlinson keep viewers glued through the duller and more stunted portions of the film. Roddy McDowell as village minister Mr Jelk is criminally underused, while a guest appearance from chin-in-a-hat spiv Bruce Forsyth as crooked Mr Swinburne is a refreshing welcome at a point when the narrative was being lost, however his performance is cringingly painful.
Visual effects are an odd mixture of Oscar-winning attractive, inventive illusions and shoddy, uncharismatic cost-cutting devices. The magical travelling bed scenes resemble the stargate sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), while several animation mistakes on Naboombu are unforgivable. Scenes that involve mixing live action with animation generally fail to impress on the technical front, even for its era, but nonetheless prove an enjoyable romp. Unfortunately the more entertaining animated section of the film comprises too short a time of its total running length to redeem the movie of its other flaws, and ultimately leaves the viewer with buyer’s remorse as it proves a pointless disruption from the main narrative.
Visual effects are an odd mixture of Oscar-winning attractive, inventive illusions and shoddy, uncharismatic cost-cutting devices. The magical travelling bed scenes resemble the stargate sequence of 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), while several animation mistakes on Naboombu are unforgivable. Scenes that involve mixing live action with animation generally fail to impress on the technical front, even for its era, but nonetheless prove an enjoyable romp. Unfortunately the more entertaining animated section of the film comprises too short a time of its total running length to redeem the movie of its other flaws, and ultimately leaves the viewer with buyer’s remorse as it proves a pointless disruption from the main narrative.
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Overall the film is an amusing distraction with themes and action that appeal to children but may not be impressive enough to fully engage a more discerning viewer. In addition to this is the lack of technical proficiency in some of the effects and general style of the film, which make it seem much older than it is. As a product of the early sixties it may have been forgiven some of its misgivings, but as a cinematic experience of the 1970s it could easily be accused of being a TV movie with an inflated budget. While wonderfully quirky and original in many aspects, including the story, the film never manages to escape the shadow of its origins as a handful of left over ideas and songs from the immensely more successful, popular and impressive Mary Poppins.
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