Boy Wanted

Two boys wander aimlessly through the streets of Dublin (heading down South King Street towards the old Mercer’s Hospital) when they see a sign outside Traynor’s Grocers shop saying, ‘Boy Wanted’.  The bigger boy barges in and gets the job as a bicycle messenger. He heads off with a box of groceries to the leafy neighbourhood of Grosvenor Square, Rathmines, where he finds an empty house and a tantalisingly unlocked window!

This is the only known surviving film made by the Junior Film Society, a branch of the Irish Film Society (est 1936).  The IFS was primarily engaged in exhibiting classic and international cinema but also coordinated film production projects for adults and children. Boy Wanted is a short, silent story told with great skill and economy, capturing a crisp black and white snapshot of 1940s Dublin city and suburbs. The camerawork and editing may have been inspired by classics of European silent cinema. 

This film is part of Children on Film. To see more from this collection, click here.

IFI recommendation: 8+