Bronco Bullfrog review

Improvised and touching love story between an apprentice welder and a schoolgirl

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Made in 1969 with an entirely non-professional cast by its then 25-year-old director Barney Platts-Mills, this amusing and poignant study of disaffected East End youth is one of the forgotten films of post-war British cinema, and fully justifies this digitally restored re-release.

Borstal escapee ‘Bronco Bullfrog’ (Sam Shepherd) isn’t the principal character: the focus instead is on the gentle love affair between an apprentice welder and a schoolgirl.

The director’s sympathetic angle and the largely improvised performances imbue this black-and-white slice of social realism with a real freshness and charm.

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