I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.

The biggest problem with this movie is it’s a little better than you think it might be, which somehow makes it worse. As in, it takes itself a bit too seriously, which makes most of the movie feel kind of dull.

I think this is a new genre that they're all sort of working their way through it and haven't got all the kinks worked out yet but it's a genre that works for me.

It doesn't seem that long ago when I saw this on the big screen complete with an intermission and a glossy programme.As a matter of fact it was the height of the "Swinging Sixties" and perhaps not the most obvious time to make a musical set in Edwardian times with an ex-fifties pop star in the lead role.The words "British" and "musical" are of course antithetical,the list of disasters and near disasters in this bastardised genre too long and too well-known to recount here.Presumably the producers hoped that by bringing in George Sidney they could breathe life into an already mouldering corpse.Sadly "Half a sixpence" was not a Lazarus-like project. The best Mr Sidney could do was to give it a semblance of life,even his considerable talents could not provide that vital spark to set the heart beating and the blood pulsing. Mr Tommy Steele,a decade earlier the archetypal cheeky cockney pop singer who was the best Britain could do in the rock n' roll industry's birth-pangs,had gamely fought his way from guitar-slinging to "family entertainer"status via pantomime and Variety bills.Shrewdly managed,he did not try to compete with the emerging "Beat Group" generation but capitalised on his broader appeal and toothy charm.Sadly it was not enough to smile and shake his blond hair a lot when it came to making a big movie, you needed that special quality that forces people to look at you rather than those round you,and he didn't have it. Watching "Half a Sixpence" is like indulgently watching your favourite nephew perform after Christmas dinner.While he chirps away merrily your eyelids droop and every so often when he gets extra loud you wake up with a start and pretend to be enjoying it. It isn't actually bad - it's just totally non-involving.The songs are blandly - if competently- performed,the dances likewise.The "Big Number","Flash,Bang,Wallop" neither flashes,bangs nor wallops. Miss Julia Foster has clearly been instructed to reign in her effervescent personality(and dye her hair so as not to rival Mr Steele's)but she still manages to be the best thing about the film. A lot of talented people did their very best to make "Half a sixpence" work.It must have been heartbreaking for them to put in so much effort to so little avail.Opening out the production from the relatively modest confines of the theatre destroyed it's warmth and intimacy.Replacing those attributes with brassiness and wide grins was,I'm afraid a retrograde step.

I remember seeing this movie alot when I was little. They used to show on Tv here in NY in the late 60s and early 70s. I think the first time I first saw it was like in 67 or 68 I was like 5 or 6. The music is great most of the numbers are uplifting and Tommy Steel delivers them wondefully and so does the rest of the cast, especially the the ones with all the dancing like when they sing Money to Burn and Flash Bang Whallop. The one thing I didn't like about this movie was it had a great storyline that should of been developed stronger. The whole thing about the love between Artie and Ann and how it was almost destroyed because of new found wealth and the way it changed him and caused a rift between them and also between him and the boys he worked with could of been emphasized a little stronger. Other than that this movie is a gem, a wonderful, romping musical that you can watch with your whole family because theres's no excessive violence, sex or crude humor o

Not the kind of story one would think of when thinking H G Welles, but this rags to riches to rags love story is fascinating, well constructed and features one of England's preimere talents, Tommy Steele. The tale of the oprhan Kips who aquires an amazing inheritance and nearly throws away true love after tasting the luxury of high society. Fantastic score too, includes "If the Rains Going to Fall". Great fun.

A fabulous musical which I first saw at the age of 11 (back in 1967). In fact I saw this film at least 5 times back then. As a young lad I was also very struck by the appearance of Julia Foster, she was, my first heart throb! (along with Hayley Mills).This film has great songs, great acting (if a little over the top by Mr Steele, great sets and locations, and great colour. It's very well directed to boot! A must see for all musical lovers and admirers of Miss Foster!A uniquely English film. Terrific!