|
One of the last films made by the Children's Film Foundation (by now the
Children's Film and Television Foundation), Terry on the Fence tries to suggest
sympathy for the villain, a snotty youth from London's rundown docklands who's
been scarred both physically and mentally by his abusive mother. It might seem a
long way from the days of black and white bad guys, bungling bank robbers on the
run, but despite its rougher edges it still attempts to demonstrate the
"intimacy with good example" intended of the 1950s output, the moral of the
story being that Terry should appreciate all that his 'decent' family do for
him. The 'fence', as seen near the film's close, represents the dilemma faced by
Terry, with a life of crime on one side and authority, honesty and decency on
the other.
There had been 'gritty' CFF films before, but there was definitely a relative
air of menace in this entry, much of it suggested by the grim, oppressive
atmosphere of the decaying docklands - the location work in and around
Greenwich, Southwark, and Shad Thames, Bermondsey took place just before the
area was redeveloped and regenerated. One omission, however, is the knife that
the original novel has Les use to threaten Terry.
Further evidence of the CFF's growing sophistication and the move away from
stories that played to the stalls, this was nonetheless an adaptation of a
ten-year-old novel. Bernard Ashley specialised in stories about the rougher side
of young life; the BBC had previously serialised his Break in the Sun (BBC,
1981), and in 1986 adapted his junior crime thriller Running Scared. Such
quality adaptations of similar work, funded by the licence fee and seen in the
dominant medium made it increasingly difficult for the CFTF to claim financial
backing for its no longer unique output. Completed in 1985, the film would have
been screened to very small audiences - if at all - as CFF attendances
evaporated. The film received far wider exposure when it finally received its TV
premiere on BBC1 (tx. 20/5/1988).
Alistair McGown
|
1. Terry runs into trouble (3:32)
