SYNOPSIS: After hearing his father’s political and economic rhetoric one morning over breakfast, 11-year-old William Brown decides he too has issues that need to be addressed by British Parliament.  William forms his own political party along with his pals, Douglas, Henry and Ginger.  But before William and his gang of Outlaws can get to London to see the Prime Minister, they must raise 10 shillings.  So begins William’s journey to London and his quest to secure more pay and shorter hours for schoolboys everywhere: a quest that ends up being better than expected for everyone involved.

EDITORIAL REVIEW:  This absolutely delightful and clever film is based on the series of British-made children's short stories called Just William.  William Brown is a sharp-witted 11-year-old with an envious imagination who chums around with his equally clever mates, Douglas, Henry and Ginger: a gang called The Outlaws.  In William at the Circus (alternatively called William Comes to Town), young William sets out to have Parliament enact a new law that pays schoolboys at least 1 shilling per week in pocket money, and banish school in the afternoon (so, as one boy puts it, "let the schoolmasters teach each other - it will serve them right!").  This will inevitably save the country - according to William!  This endeavor ends up getting some Press around the country after the lads sneak into 10 Downing Street to present their idea to the Prime Minister himself (for those who don't know, 10 Downing Street is the residence and office of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom).  Instead, they end up bumping into the Minister of "Econominic" Affairs, who, in the words of William, is "better than the Prime Minister."  This chance meeting sets off a series of events and adventures for William and his buddies, and nothing but headaches for William's father and every adult the boys come in contact with.

This is a movie filled with sharp, smart dialogue.  For those non-English speaking visitors to this site, you may want to avoid this one.  For everyone else, it's a cute story that will have you chuckling often and maybe even a few LOL's will come out of your viewing experience.  When watching, keep in mind the era in which this was produced - a time in British history commonly knows as the Austerity Years (the years immediately following the end of WWII).  William at the Circus was an attempt to inject some fun in a time when there wasn't a lot of people smiling.  One may say it is even timely right now.

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* This DVD will play WORLDWIDE.  This is NOT a DVD-R.

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STARRING: William Graham, James Crabbe, Brian Roper, Garry Marsh.
AVAILABILITY: In stock! Ships within one business day.
LENGTH: 87 minutes.
LANGUAGE: English.
SPECIAL FEATURES: 1.33:1 (4:3 Full Screen); 2.0 Mono audio; 1 disc; Uncut.
VIEWER DISCRETION: No objectionable content.
PICTURE QUALITY: Good to very good picture quality. (what's this mean?)
COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK (1948).
ALSO KNOWN AS: William Comes to Town.
DATE ADDED TO OUR LIBRARY:  November 14, 2008.
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