Made film acting debut, billed as 'William Fox' in "The Miniver Story", Played most prominent feature role as a child in "The Magnet", Returned to feature films after a ten-year absence to act in a small role in "The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner", First adult leading role in film, "The Servant", First American film since "The Miniver Story", "King Rat", Left acting for a time to join an international Christian missionary sect, the Navigators, One-shot return to acting, the religious drama, "No Longer Alone", Returned to acting regularly; appeared in the film, "Country", Played Waldorf on the PBS biographical miniseries, "Nancy Astor", Played Angus Meikle on the "Masterpiece Theatre" miniseries, "A Perfect Hero", Starred in Jonathan Glazer's "Sexy Beast", Cast as the King of Denmark in "The Prince and Me", Played Mr. Salt in Tim Burton's adaptation of Roald Dahl's classic tale "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory" starring Johnny Depp as Willy Wonka. User Ratings He auctions the magnet to the crowd and sells it for 40. A classic Ealing comedy in which a young boy steals a magnet and becomes a hero. (2015), The Double BAFTA Guru is BAFTAs content hub for career starters packed full of inspirational videos, podcasts and interviews. Sound recording: Len Hammond. [2][3][5], Fox was an officer in the London Irish Rifles. It is very amusing having Fox listen to adults having conversations that have nothing to do with him and getting more guilt-ridden with every adult boys he hears. director of photography Film Editing by Bernard Gribble Casting By (1986), The Old Curiosity Shop Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. While the storyline of The Magnet can become a bit too unbelievable at times, on the whole, it is a fine morality story with a solid leading performance from a young James Fox (credited as William Fox). [3] Leslie Halliwell similarly described it as a "very mild Ealing comedy, not really up to snuff". director. The grey jacket and short trousers he wears in THE MAGNET are exactly the same early 1950s style that Andrew Ray wore in The Yellow Balloon, which was made two years later in 1952.THE STUDIOCANAL DIGITALLY RESTORED DVD, OPTD2823. Gentle Ealing comedy about childhood, guilt and half-truths starring a young James Fox (then known by his real name, William Fox) as Johnny Brent, a mischievous boy who tricks a younger boy (Keith Robinson) into giving him his magnet in return for an 'invisible' clock. He saves the life of one boy who had fallen through a disused pier. Letterboxd Limited. The Magnet (1950) Full Cast & Crew See agents for this cast & crew on IMDbPro Directed by Charles Frend Writing Credits T.E.B. Pre-war career. Assistant director: Norman Priggen. Johnny Brent (a young James Fox - billed as William Fox), a 10 year old wanderer, cons a younger boy into giving him his magnet. Organize, control, distribute and measure all of your digital content. Successfully venturing to Hollywood, Fox essayed similar characterizations in "King Rat" (1965), as a POW under the influence of a schemer (George Segal), and in "The Chase" (1966), as Jane Fonda's wealthy but spineless Texas husband. Right. William Fox Thursday, 26th January 1911 - Saturday, 20th September 2008 Manila Philippines. Customer Reviews, including Product Star Ratings, help customers to learn more about the product and decide whether it is the right product for them. It's not that Ealing were scared of accents, they ventured into Wales and Scotland, but for the most part they didn't stray out into the Provinces and if they wanted to imbue their characters to with, err character, they gave them a touch of the Cockney. Brooke Shields Actress | The Blue Lagoon The iron lung maker, rather bizarrely demonstrating his equipment in the middle of a seaside beauty contest, tells the story of the magnet at various fund-raising events, exaggerating wildly and portraying Johnny as everything from a spoiled brat to a Dickensian ragamuffin. In 'The Magnet,' resourceful youth Johnny Brent (William Fox) cheats another boy out of an expensive magnet, before realising that this sin might eventually catch up to him. (1978), The Arp Statue Directed by Charles Frend. The Daniels handpicked the 61-year-old actress to appear in the cover spread - dubbed 'Coolidge vs. Haute Squad 5: Attack on Neo Runway City - and coincidentally all three attended Emerson College He wins them over by convincing them he is a fugitive from the police. (2009). And be careful buying your son or daughter a large magnet. Wed 24 Sep 2008 19.01 EDT. (1990), She's Been Away William Hubert Fox TD (26 January 1911 20 September 2008) was a British character actor and writer. living now in New Brighton,where the film is set and mostly filmed,and being at an age the be able to remember the 50's well,I was actually born the year this film was made,but it was a total delight to watch,seeing the overhead railway again,the beach,the Perch rock,the indoor fairground,I spent half my youth in there,and spotting all the locations around was wonderful,every person over 50 living on the Wirral should see this little film,not many real "scouse" accents though !did anybody spot the businessman on the Overhead railwaysurely that was Arthur Lowe but not mentioned in the credits,wonderful wonderful film. (1996), The Old Curiosity Shop The Getty Images design is a trademark of Getty Images. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 6 April 2021. By joining TV Guide, you agree to our Terms of Use and acknowledge the data practices in our Privacy Policy. The British have an understated way of delivering these kind of gems to the screen; whereas Hollywood always goes for the big production values and star power most of the time. Music by William Alwyn. Country: Filmed on location in Birkenhead; New Brighton; Liverpool and Wallasey. William Fox is a 97 years old British actor from Manila, Metro Manila. Robin Fox was born in the parish of St George Hanover Square, Westminster, the son of Hilda Louise (Alcock), an actress, and Arthur William Fox, the son of industrialist Samson Fox. Their next two comedies - A Run for Your Money and The Magnet - had none of the same impact and are often left off the. Lanky blond British lead of the 1960s who began as a child actor in the early 50s. (1988), The Whistle Blower Essentially a feature length Just William story, this very minor effort from the Ealing Studios is a comparatively toothless and uninteresting release from the studio. Fox left acting in 1973 when he joined a Christian missionary group, the Navigators, though he did act in the story of a suicidal woman saved by religion, "No Longer Alone" (1978). Fearing that he has caused the death of the boy, Johnny runs away. He often wrote under a pseudonym, for he did not wish his fellow actors to know he was the writer and sometimes made casting decisions. After a six-year interruption for military service in the Second World War, his acting career did not reach the heights of his early years. Entitled De Magnete, Magneticisque Corporibus, et de Magno Magnete Tellure ("On the Magnet, Magnetic Bodies, and the Great Magnet of the Earth"), the work . Birth Place: Manila, Metro Manila. The pier and ferry are no longer there but the Floral Pavilion and Wilkie's fairground (where they try to influence the pinball machine with the magnet) are. On stage his charm and . , Stephen Murray, Kay Walsh, Meredith Edwards, Thora Hird, Gladys Henson, Studio This was so fun and charming, painting a vivid and strange picture of Johnny's interior life. William Fox, the character actor who died on Saturday aged 97, was for some 60 years an elegant exponent of high English comedy; his captains and kings, judges and generals, counts and. Its as if everything is reset in a cultural medium and tastes need to be rediscovered or even reinvented. (2013), Bunny and the Bull , Is Discontinued By Manufacturer To learn more about how and for what purposes Amazon uses personal information (such as Amazon Store order history), please visit our Privacy Notice. Millions of high-quality images, video, and music options are waiting for you. - Read William Fox's Guardian Obituary The man tells the story of the little boy and the magnet at various fund-raising events, but each time exaggerating wildly about the boy to gain sympathy from the people at the auctions and portraying Johnny as everything from a rich, spoiled brat to a Victorian mudlark and ragamuffin to a penniless street urchin who gave all he had in the worldthe magnetto help those even worse off than himself. A lot of the film was shot in New Brighton, and I have added this to the database as a location. Production manager: L.C. Though The Magnet oozes middle-class wholesome 1950's family values, which can be seen these days as starchy and very straight-laced, this unusual offering from the Ealing Studios works well on many levels. We also use these cookies to understand how customers use our services (for example, by measuring site visits) so we can make improvements. (2001), Lover's Prayer The comparison of the affluent, comfortable, public school lifestyle of the main character to that of the boys he meets when he crosses the river to Liverpool, is very well drawn and brings an excellent sense of realism to the film. The modern RSC was formed in 1960. The actor William Fox, who has died aged 97, was also a soldier, playwright, wine-merchant - and connoisseur of the civilised life. [4] A Chinese boy (played by Geoffrey Yin) appears in this scene, which was unusual for the time in film, although there had been a significant Chinese community in Liverpool since the 1860s, but when he is called home by his mother in Chinese, explains this to his friends in a fluent Liverpool accent. 1934 was Fox's busiest year to date; he performed in five stage plays in the West End. His guilt sparks a chain of misplaced assumptions that lead to a search being mounted for the boy, who has run away after becoming convinced that he is wanted for murder. (1998), Jinnah The film moves at a solid pace and, although it's not always successful, it's certainly never dull. William Hubert Fox TD (26 January 1911 - 20 September 2008) was a British character actor and writer. The other boy's nanny is not happy with the swap. Metacritic Reviews. (1965), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines; or How I Flew From London to Paris in 25 Hours and 11 Minutes Fox was a member of the Garrick Club, and often spent time there in the company of Kenneth More and Kingsley Amis.[2][3]. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 11 April 2013. i was bought up in the area this film was made and this was made 25 years before i was. [4], The film was a box office disappointment.[10]. As Johnny carries on to feel bad for taking the boy's magnet, he goes off to Liverpool, where the magnet comes back to him in a surprising way. This jars and the film is not strong enough to survive it. Versatile actor and connoisseur of the civilised life, Original reporting and incisive analysis, direct from the Guardian every morning, William Fox as Caesar in George Bernard Shaw's play Caesar and Cleopatra. There's one or two chuckles to be had in some of the more satirical jabs, and there's sometimes a bit of ambition to the directing, but it's a very tame and bland film that isn't captivating or energetic enough to carry off its far fetched narrative. Dr. Brent. Fox's father agreed to fund Fox's studies only on the basis that Fox would complete what was normally a two-year course in a single year. Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile, Red Riding: In the Year of Our Lord 1980 (28-Feb-2009), Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (13-Jul-2005), Beryl Markham: A Shadow on the Sun (15-May-1988), Greystoke: The Legend of Tarzan, Lord of the Apes (30-Mar-1984), Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (16-Jun-1965), Submit a correction or make a comment about this profile. Anyway that is what father psychiatrist says and while saying that looks as if he needs one of his own. (2011), The Kid There was an error retrieving your Wish Lists. Alright kids adventure, fleeing from the law and getting into a decent amount of trouble along the way. The fashion-timing is wrong, as it's supposed to be 1958, but still the breakout moment for Suzette (Patsy Kensit), wardrobe assistant turned instant sensation, at the London runway show by "Henley Od" (James Fox), Anita Morris the reporter on the spot, in, Thoroughly Modern Millie - (Wide release trailer), When she comes to New York, Julie Andrews becomes, Lavender Hill Mob, The - (Original Trailer), An overlooked gold transporter with twenty years service plots to steal a million pounds of gold in the comedy, A convict's escape ignites passions in his hometown in. An Ealing Studios film, The Magnet is a lesser known Ealing comedy. Every time this cuts to something ten year old Johnny likes doing in his spare time, I lost it practicing writing with his toes, squatting on the fireplace to see if he can get around his room without touching the floor, befriending a sailor shaving his legs with a cut-throat razor, electrical experiments, melancholy donkey petting. Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 December 2018. Fox makes for a great child actor I loved how he uses his arms to signal panic or mischief, particularly when running away from the law throughout. He cheats a smaller boy for a powerful magnet and gets into all sorts of trouble after that. When I went to Liverpool I didn't understand a thing, wish I had met these people. He was born as the middle son in the family of three children and grew up alongside two brothers in their London mansion. Jinnah (1998) -- (Movie Clip) Divide The Country In Two? More conventional leading man duties came with "Thoroughly Modern Millie" (1967) and as one of the lovers of "Isadora" (1968) in that biopic of the dancing Duncan. Available for both RF and RM licensing. He meets an eccentric iron lung maker who is raising funds for the local hospital, and gives him the magnet to be auctioned for charity. Set in London it would have been boringly believable but further North it just imposes London snobbery. He manages to con a younger boy out of a large horseshoe magnet by trading it for an "invisible watch". It was in the early 1950's, and there was a polio epidemic happening in real life. 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