Erich Kästner’s beloved novel has been adapted for film or television six times since its publication in 1929; this 1935 British version was the first in English. Believed lost for decades, it was recently rediscovered by the BFI and has now been restored. The film moves the action from Berlin to London, where Emil goes to stay with his grandmother and cousin. Thereafter, the tale of Emil’s adventures with a gang of streetwise London children faithfully follows the original plot.
Production
Stunning pre-war London locations, miraculously preserved.
Acting
Non-professional kids stealing every scene—literally.
Direction
Rosmer trusts children to carry the whole film.
Director
Milton Rosmer
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
The BFI found this 'lost' film in 2013 inside a mislabeled can at a BBC archive.
Kästner's novel was banned and burned by the Nazis in 1933—making this British adaptation oddly defiant.
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