A Cry from the Streets

Synopsis by Hal Erickson

Max Bygraves, a popular British comedian who once in a while entertained thoughts of a dramatic career, is costarred with Barbara Murray in A Cry from the Streets. The two play a pair of ingenuous social workers, assigned to one of the grubbiest neighborhoods in London. They join forces to help a group of castoff orphan children. The episodic structure of Cry from the Streets gave the film a semi-documentary feel, even though every incident herein was carefully written and rehearsed beforehand. Based on the novel The Friend in Need by Elizabeth Coxhead, the film was filmed in 1957, released in 1958, and reissued in some markets as Cry from the Street (singular) in 1959.

Biography by Sandra Brennan

British actor Max Bygraves began his professional career after getting out of the British armed forces following WW II. On the London stage, he was a popular Cockney entertainer in many revues and other shows. In film, he was known as a versatile character actor.

Filmography

	Title	Year	Editors' Rating	User Rating
	Against All Odds Participant	1994		(0)
	Spare the Rod Product Details Actors: Geoffrey Keen, Donald Pleasence, Jean Anderson, Max Bygraves, Betty McDowall Directors: Leslie Norman Producers: Spare the Rod Format: Import, PAL Language: English (Dolby Digital 2.0) Region: All Regions Number of discs: 1 Rated:   Unrated   Not Rated Run Time: 93.00 minutes Actor SYNOPSIS: New teacher Max Bygraves (Family Fortunes) arrives at a tough East London school to find that his modern education methods are not welcome. Sadistic master Geoffrey Keen (The Spy Who Loved Me, Octopussy) grabs the rod and thrashes pupils at the slightest sight of trouble, supported by hesitant Headmaster Donald Pleaseance. Bygraves eventually makes good progress with the pupils but is fired after a school riot caused by Keen's brutality. Also starring a young Jeremy Bulloch (The Empire Strikes Back) and Richard O'Sullivan (Dick Turpin, Man About the House). ...Spare the Rod	1961	6	(0)
	Bobbikins Actor	1959	2	(0)
	A Cry from the Streets Actor	1958	7	(0)
	Charley Moon Actor	1956	6	(0)
	Tom Brown's School Days Actor	1951	8	(1)
	Bless 'em All Actor	1949	2	(0)
	Skimpy in the Navy Actor	1949	2 Synopsis by Hal Erickson Spare the Rod is a British juvenile-delinquent picture set in a tough East End school. Comedian Max Bygraves plays straight as a new teacher, faced with a classroom full of hostile, defiant punks. It would be simple enough to use force on the kids, as their parents have, but Bygraves wants to win their hearts and minds. He manages to establish communications with the students; the next step is to bypass the outmoded educational bureaucracy. Spare the Rod falls somewhere between the gutsiness of Blackboard Jungle (55) and the lyricism of To Sir With Love (68). Synopsis by Hal Erickson Spare the Rod is a British juvenile-delinquent picture set in a tough East End school. Comedian Max Bygraves plays straight as a new teacher, faced with a classroom full of hostile, defiant punks. It would be simple enough to use force on the kids, as their parents have, but Bygraves wants to win their hearts and minds. He manages to establish communications with the students; the next step is to bypass the outmoded educational bureaucracy. Spare the Rod falls somewhere between the gutsiness of Blackboard Jungle (55) and the lyricism of To Sir With Love (68). Synopsis by Hal Erickson Tom Brown's Schooldays was the second film version of Thomas Hughes' semiautobiographical novel. John Howard Davies, who'd previously essayed the title role in Oliver Twist, stars as first-year Rugby student Tom Brown. In his efforts to adjust to boarding-school life, Tom must contend with the calculated cruelties of all-around bully Flashman (John Forrest). One of the boy's few allies is new schoolmaster Doctor Arnold (Robert Newton), who believes that discipline can be tempered with kindness, a "radical" notion so far as his colleagues are concerned. Despite the authenticity of its British surroundings, the 1951 version of Tom Brown's Schooldays isn't quite as good as the 1940 Hollywood adaptation.	(0)