Film

Movie theaters, reviews and showtimes in New York, plus articles, trailers and more

 

What Next? (1974)

Director: Peter Smith

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

Presumably it was the plot of this Children's Film Foundation adventure that led one American critic to call it the teenies' Chinatown: blustering right-wing property developer of eminent respectability (Cossins) is uncovered by three kids as the man behind the Great Plane Robbery. Rather, we're back in the world of the Dandy and Beano, where a hit on the head means a sudden acquisition of prophetic powers, where kids become super-sleuths moving through a world of half-disguised names (Pentonmarsh Prison, Whittlewoods Pools) and get their picture on the front page of the local paper. What's more, the kids actually look as though they were thought up by a DC Thompson artist. The film develops a refreshingly conspiratorial attitude to grown-ups, and a healthy irreverence towards figures of authority. Just the right amount of laughs and a scary sequence in the Ghost Train for kids. Excellent use of London locations, natural performances, and enough wit for attendant adults.

  • Print this page
  • Send to a friend

What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Features

God save the queen

God save the queen

Terence Davies recalls pleasure and pain in Of Time and the City.

War is cel

Ari Folman uses an unconventional format to unearth repressed memories in Waltz with Bashir.

The best (and worst) of 2008

Our critics' picks.

That '70s show

Michael Sheen re-creates one half of a cunning TV conversation.

From here to maternity

Catherine Deneuve, belle maman, reigns in A Christmas Tale.