Soapbox Derby (1958)
The Battersea Bats are a gang of four kids who have their den in an abandoned building near the Thames, and they have a plan of action in mind because in about a week there is a soapbox derby being held, a contest they mean to win.
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This is How Movies Should Be Made
Boring, long, and too preachy.
This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama
By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.
In Soapbox Derby, which runs a hair more than an hour, we get 15-year-old Michael Crawford as head of a "gang" (more a club) called the Battersea Bats. They are keen to enter a soapbox derby and work hard on designing and fabricating a car. But a rival gang also wants to win. But they decide to steal the plans and copy the design rather than do their own work. More sophisticated and realistic than the US "Our Gang" shorts, the film shows the triumph of good work over those who steal and lie. Very watchable. The on-location shooting is excellent. Although the film ends with the bad boys losing the race (of course) and falling into mud (for a good belly laugh) it also has its dramatic moments as when one boy's little sister gets run over by a truck.Crawford is especially spunky and shows his prowess at knockabout comedy. Cast also includes Mark Daly as Grandpa, Jean Ireland as the mother, and Denis Shaw as the odious Mr. Lender.Also of interest in Soapbox Derby is a truly ugly little car called an Isetta, almost a 3-wheeled car with the single door on the front of the vehicle.