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Smiley (1956)

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clip 'One penny per tintinnabulation’

This clip chosen to be G

Clip description

Reverend Lambeth (Ralph Richardson) stops to top up his overheating car radiator and is greeted by Smiley (Colin Petersen) and his best friend Joey (Bruce Archer). Smiley has a bruised cheek from a fight; the Reverend approves of what he calls Old Testament justice. He is pleased to hear that Smiley has not yet squandered the money he has been saving – unlike Joey – so he offers Smiley a new position, as bell ringer for the church.

Curator’s notes

There’s great charm in both the writing and playing of this scene. Ralph Richardson was a giant of the English stage and screen, and a great favourite with English audiences. Putting him opposite a natural actor like Colin Petersen, a Brisbane schoolboy with no fear of Richardson’s grand reputation, makes for a very natural comedy. Petersen was a large part of the film’s success, although he was replaced in the sequel by another actor, because Petersen was already working on another film in Britain when the sequel was made. Colin Petersen went on to become a drummer with the Bee Gees.

Richardson’s ability to make much out of his character is clear here: he gives a sense of great moral authority to the eccentric reverend, who wears a patched cassock and drives a vintage bomb. He is not a stuffy kind of cleric, but a man of the world. We can see a very steely resolve in the way he talks to Smiley, as well as great good humour, in the savouring of the arcane word ‘tintinnabulation’. The dialogue avoids the obvious – the boys don’t ask what the word means. They already know, because they have probably grown up hearing it from him. In that kind of subtle detail, a sense of community and reality is created.

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australianscreen is produced by the National Film and Sound Archive. By using the website you agree to comply with the terms and conditions described elsewhere on this site. The NFSA may amend the 'Conditions of Use’ from time to time without notice.

All materials on the site, including but not limited to text, video clips, audio clips, designs, logos, illustrations and still images, are protected by the Copyright Laws of Australia and international conventions.

When you access australianscreen you agree that:

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  • You may download materials for your personal use or for non-commercial educational purposes, but you must not publish them elsewhere or redistribute clips in any way.
  • You may embed the clip for non-commercial educational purposes including for use on a school intranet site or a school resource catalogue.
  • The National Film and Sound Archive’s permission must be sought to amend any information in the materials, unless otherwise stated in notices throughout the Site.

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ANY UNAUTHORISED USE OF MATERIAL ON THIS SITE MAY RESULT IN CIVIL AND CRIMINAL LIABILITY.

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