This film is part of Rentals

Peril for the Guy
In the run up to November the 5th, kids collecting coins for their living Guy foil a dastardly plot to steal an amazing new oil detection machine.
Director: James Hill
Overview
The thoroughly irresponsible activities of adults and children involving fireworks seen in this 1956 film would not meet with anybody's approval today. But the past is very much another place, and this fast-paced Children's Film Foundation thriller now offers a fascinating window into another era, where attitudes to incendiary entertainments were very different indeed.
A keen cast approach their roles with gusto in this slick tale of adventure from top-notch director James Hill, a film hugely revealing of just how much attitudes to children and fireworks have changed over the decades. Among the juvenile leads, Frazer Hines (later of Doctor Who and Emmerdale Farm fame), Amanda Coxall and Chris Warbey are all excellent, but special honours must go to young Ali Alleney, surely the greatest, grumpiest Guy Fawkes impersonator ever to grace the silver screen.
Related

The BFG The BFG
Children's 2016 117 mins Director: Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg’s luminous Roald Dahl adaptation boasts an enchanting performance from Mark Rylance as the Big Friendly Giant who befriends a little girl (Ruby Barnhill).

Runaway Railway Runaway Railway
Children's 1970 55 mins Director: Jan Darnley-Smith
A pre-Porridge Ronnie Barker plays a dim-witted train robber up to no good in this steam-era comedy adventure for kids

Do Not Adjust Your Set (Series 1 episode 5) Do Not Adjust Your Set (Series 1 episode 5)
Children's 1968 25 mins Director: Daphne Shadwell
With the series in full flow, the fifth episode showcases some splendid interplay between the team – plus some sumptuous mugging from David Jason.

Do Not Adjust Your Set (Series 1 episode 12) Do Not Adjust Your Set (Series 1 episode 12)
Children's 1968 25 mins Director: Daphne Shadwell
As the series nears its conclusion everybody in the cast seems thoroughly at ease with each other, delivering both slapstick and cerebral sketches with smooth efficiency.

Do Not Adjust Your Set (Series 1 episode 11) Do Not Adjust Your Set (Series 1 episode 11)
Children's 1968 25 mins Director: Daphne Shadwell
Highlights in this episode include the terrific ‘Art Gallery’ sketch, with a Gumby-esque Terry Jones exhibited as a living art work.

Do Not Adjust Your Set (Series 1 episode 13) Do Not Adjust Your Set (Series 1 episode 13)
Children's 1968 25 mins Director: Daphne Shadwell
The last show of the first series sees everybody larking about somewhat.

High Treason (sound version) High Treason (sound version)
Science Fiction 1929 68 mins
Extravagantly-mounted futuristic sci-fi, now with added sound, although still with the world's two power blocs at loggerheads.

High Treason (silent version) High Treason (silent version)
Science Fiction 1929 75 mins Silent
A terrorist plot plays out on a backdrop of towering skyscrapers, bullet-railways and silver lamé in this vintage vision of London's future.

The Tunnel The Tunnel
Science Fiction 1936 93 mins
The construction of a transatlantic tunnel linking Britain and America hits trouble in an entertaining slice of speculative fiction.

Together Together
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1956 48 mins Director: Lorenza Mazzetti
Two deaf-mute dock workers eke out a humble East End existence in Lorenza Mazzetti's striking and poetic example of Free Cinema.

The Private Life of Don Juan The Private Life of Don Juan
Comedy 1934 87 mins
Husbands lock up their wives when the renowned Romeo returns to Seville; but the man wooing the city’s ladies is not what he seems.

A Message from Mars A Message from Mars
Science Fiction 1913 60 mins Location: London
Britain's first full-length science fiction feature has been restored by the BFI National Archive and given a new score by composer Matthew Herbert, commissioned by the BFI and the BBC.

The Belstone Fox The Belstone Fox
Drama 1973 103 mins Director: James Hill
Based on David Rook’s 1970 novel, The Belstone Fox tells the heartwarming and funny story of Tag, a fox saved from the woods and raised by huntsman Asher.

The Man from Nowhere The Man from Nowhere
Children's 1976 59 mins Director: James Hill
Victorian orphan Alice Harvey - arriving to live at her great uncle's spooky house - is frightened by a mysterious, dark-clad intruder.

Lunch Hour Lunch Hour
Drama 1962 63 mins Silent Director: James Hill
Shirley Anne Field stars in this stylish, highly enjoyable story of simmering tensions and sexual conflict in the work place.

A New Kind of Wilderness A New Kind of Wilderness
Documentary 2023 84 mins Director: Silje Evensmo Jacobsen
A tragedy shatters the idyllic world of a family living off-grid in the Norwegian wilderness.

Riefenstahl Riefenstahl
Documentary 2024 115 mins Director: Andreas Veiel
Captivating insight into the controversial filmmaker Leni Riefenstahl, who became world-famous for her Nazi propaganda.

Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story Blue Road: The Edna O'Brien Story
Documentary 2025 100 mins Director: Sinéad O'Shea
A candid portrait of a literary sensation that’s as enchanting as O’Brien’s wonderful novels.

The Penguin Lessons The Penguin Lessons
Drama 2025 112 mins Director: Peter Cattaneo
Steve Coogan is superb as a disillusioned teacher whose life is turned upside-down when he rescues a penguin in turbulent 1970s Argentina.

Cloud Cloud
Drama 2024 124 mins Director: Kiyoshi Kurosawa
An online scam leads to deadly consequences in Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s chilling tech thriller.

La Cocina La Cocina
Drama 2024 139 mins Director: Alonso Ruizpalacios
Tensions rise in a frenzied New York diner, in this loose reworking of Arnold Wesker’s 1957 play.