Pretty Good

Crappy film

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

ONCE A JOLLY SWAGMAN is a character drama about a young man who gives up his deadbeat factory job to become a motorbike racer instead. It's centred around the minor sport of Speedway and has some good on-track scenes of a sport we don't often we make it to the big screen. The story itself is rather light and straightforward, reminiscent a little of the later 'angry young man' movement but rather ahead of its time by a decade or so. Had it been made years later it might have done better. A decent cast makes this watchable, though, with a typically brooding Dirk Bogarde on protagonist duty, Bonar Colleano and Bill Owen as racing rivals, Sid James as the organiser, and James Hayter and Thora Hird as Bogarde's parents.

Okay I accept it was early in his career and they were still trying to find a niche for him but it was a real masterstroke to cast Dirk Bogarde as a speedway star and give him a Sid Field Slasher Green moustache. As long as they were playing silly buggers they gave Bonar Colleano a pipe. A pipe! As far as plots go this is Number 5b, the one about the poor boy who's determined to get to the top at any price - nine times out of ten he's a boxer (see: John Garfield, Body And Soul) though he can also be a musician (see: John Garfield, Humoresque, Kirk Douglas, Young Man With A Horn) - this time around he's a speedway rider, the only original thing in the whole movie and Dirk Bogarde is about as convincing as a biker as Arthur Mullard would be as James Bond. For Bogarde completists and novelty buffs only.

While I have no interest in motorcycle racing, I am a big fan of Dirk Bogarde and his very natural way of acting. So, despite this being the sort of thing that I'd normally not see, I gave it a look.Bill Fox (Bogarde) wants to be a professional motorcycle racer back in pre-war Britain. However, at the same time, it is very dangerous and the folks in charge don't do a lot to take care of the drivers if they become seriously injured. Neither of these things bother Bill at first--he just wants to win. However, after he gets married, this causes a huge problem in his marriage--one that corresponds with the beginning of WWII. What's to happen with Bill? Now he's a soldier and his wife has left him? This film seems to give Bogarde less of a chance to really act than his later films since his character has a rather restricted emotional range. But it's worth seeing--with an interesting plot, some decent race footage and some interesting character development through the course of the film. Not great but quite good.

Although the story line is pretty typical for movies of this period, formulaic, predictable, and with bits of romance, pathos, and patriotism thrown for filler, the film is an interesting, if too short, lesson in speedway history for us motorcycle buffs. Even though I have enjoyed speedway racing on the TV (when I can get it), I had no idea it was such a huge sport so early on. Another fascinating lesson is that it was held in such fascination and revulsion, being noisy, dirty, and dangerous. I guess motorcycle riding might always carry those cachets. This movie is what it is and I can't fault it a bit, except it needed more bikes!