The Monster
of Highgate Ponds

(1961, U.K.) black and white 59 minutes
Children's Film Foundation / Halas and Batchelor Cartoon Films
U.S. Distribution: the Walter Reade Organization
Screenplay: Mary Cathcart Borer
Story: Joy Batchelor
Produced by John Halas
Music: Francis Chagrin
Cinematography: Frank North
Animator: Vic Hotchkiss
Produced by John Halas
Directed by Alberto Cavalcanti

With: Rachel Clay (Sophie), Michael Wade (David), Terry Raven (Chris), Ronald Howard (Uncle Dick), Frederick Piper (Sam), Michael Balfour (Bert), Roy Vincente (Monster), Beryl Cooke (Miss Hagerty), Philip Latham (Schoolmaster), Douglas Robinson (Youth)

***

SYNOPSIS: Young siblings Dave and Sophie live with their parents at Willow Cottage in London. One day, their friend Chris joins them at home. Soon, their Uncle Dick, a scientist, arrives, and asks the kids if they want to help him at the Museum of Natural History. The kids, all budding scientists, readily agree.

At the museum, the children muse over the rare artifacts brought back from Dick's latest archeological expedition, to Malaya. Dave goes through a crate of rare eggs; one of them is unlabelled. Dick tells the young lad that the museum can't use that unknown specimen, and offers it to the child for his collection. David and Sophie take the strange egg back home, noting how warm it is.

Next morning, David and Chris take a morning swim before breakfast. A cranky old woman and her dog join them. When David returns, the egg is hotter than ever. David has unwisely taken the egg to school, and he checks it periodically. Another child has brought in a hamster, and the schoolmaster catches the kids playing with it. To David's horror, his egg begins to hatch! Soon, a little dragon head pops out, and starts crying for its mommy!

David tries to keep the creature's wails a secret, but it isn't easy; he dashes out of school at the bell. Outside, David shows his friend his new pet. The boys meet Sophie, and go home.

David and Sophie have afternoon tea with their mother; David steals some cake for his little dragon. Sophie and her mother go shopping, and David feeds his pet, whom he has dubbed "Beauty". Beauty falls fast asleep after his first solid meal. Chris arrives.

That night, Sophie is awakened by horrible screams - it is Beauty, crying for his mother! Sophie's parents try to comfort the child, but Sophie is sure her poor brother has been murdered! Meanwhile, David tries valiantly to quiet Beauty, and manages to fool his parents, who think he sleeps peacefully.

The next day, David and Chris stop by the grocer's for dog biscuits. The grocer is speaking with Sam and Bert, two seedy characters who run the local fair; they lament the lack of any interesting new animals to attract the paying customers...

Back at home, Sophie finally sees Beauty, and helps the boys hide the precious beast; she puts it into her doll pram, like a baby! The kids wheel Beauty out to nearby Highgate Pond, and the creature, who has grown considerably, really takes to the water.

At Supper, the kids wrap some fish to take to Beauty, who enjoys the fish immensely. Returning to the pet store, the kids ask for some fish food; Sam and Bert are still bemoaning the state of their sad animal menagerie.

Soon, Beauty has become a full-grown dragon, prancing happily about the countryside! The kids all do chores around town to earn money to feed Beauty's appetite, which has become voracious!

The kids return to the pet store, to purchase yet more fish feed for Beauty. Both the owner, and Sam and Bert, are becoming curious as to this strange "pet" which has such a huge appetite!

The kids go to Highgate Pond and feed Beauty, who is even bigger than they last remember him; they hope they can keep the dragon a secret one day longer, until Uncle Dick returns from Vienna.

The next day, the kids are swimming with Beauty when the old lady and her dog show up; they are both horrified by the weird beast, and run to tell the local constable. The officer doesn't see anything, however, and bids the old lady adieu.

Elsewhere, Sam and Bert are setting up their carnival, "Hawkins Wonderful Menagerie & Aquarium". The old lady happens upon them, and mentions seeing a monster in the mixed bathing pool. Sam and Bert think they may have found their star attraction!

Back at home, the kids anxiously await Uncle Dick; the old lady informs them that she has informed everyone about the monster. The kids, now worried, rush back to the "Pond", but unfortunately, Sam and Bert spot Beauty first, and plan to capture it for their fair.

The kids try to get Beauty to hide in a drainpipe, and lie in a ditch until the danger passes.

Sam and Bert return with a fishing net, but discover that Beauty has disappeared. Meanwhile, the kids frantically await Uncle Dick's arrival. Finally, Dick arrives, and the kids tell him the whole fascinating story of Beauty. They all go to see the magical creature, while Sam and Bert vainly try to capture him in their net.

Dick and the kids spy Beauty far away, and run towards him. Unfortunately, Sam and Bert see them, and follow. Dick is astounded by the rare creature, who soon eludes them, and scares some bathers. Dick and the kids give chase, as do Sam and Bert.

Dick and the finally corner Beauty, and decide the best thing is for Dick to take him back to Malaya with him on his next trip. Now, all they have to do is get him safely to the shipping docks. They rent a wagon from a local man, and begin to cart him towards the docks, but Sam and Bert have other plans.

Dick and the kids cart Beauty through town, feeding him kippers along the way, with Sam and Bert not far behind. Finally, the gang reach the edge of Regent's Canal. All Beauty must do is successfully swim under the canal bridge, to freedom. Unfortunately, Sam and Bert wait at the bridge, to net the poor creature. However, the mistakenly net a passing barge!

Sam and Bert try to catch up, by hitching a ride on a passing barge, and lure Beauty ashore with some lovely kippers. They lure the naive beast into a nearby van, and start to head back to the carnival. Dick and the kids spot the theft, and report it to the authorities, with some difficulty.

Sam and Bert seem to be making good headway, but the cops and the kids are soon close behind. A group of schoolchildren soon join in the chase, as well as a Bobby whose hat was stolen!

Finally, the cops pull the van to a stop. Sam and Bert attempt to escape on foot, but are soon caught. Beauty is let out of the van, and Dick and the kids escort him to safety. A police escort helps Beauty get to the docks.

On board Dick's ship, the "Uganda", Beauty is given a sending-off celebration of kippers and champagne. Beauty takes his first taste of alcohol, rolls his eyes and hiccups!

THE END

***

THE MONSTER OF HIGHGATE POND is a delightful children’s fantasy, filmed in a no-nonsense high-dramatic style, and with an adorable title creature, seen both animated and as a “live” (suited) creature. What makes this dear little film so unique is that it is filmed in the streets and alleys of modern-day London, and has a look quite similar to adult film product of the day. This gives the film a curious sense of reality, making it in a sense a neo-realist monster movie for kids.

The human heroes of the piece are three delightful child actors, all of whom perform their roles with the intensity of adult thespians, conveying the seriousness needed to carry off such an improbably screenplay.

The film is by and large crudely-drawn and low-budget, yet it has frequent moments of sheer creative and dramatic brilliance which allow it to rise high above its humble origins. This is truly an art film for kids (what could be rarer?), and a fine example of the emerging British New Wave, so soon to take the world by storm.

The film is a visual feast, an extraordinary chronicle of industrial London circa 1960, with lorries and barges and steam trains chugging alongside our protagonists, in scenes which somehow look much older than they actually are; early 1960's London looks remarkably like one pictures Dicken's Victorian London.

The film is also enhanced by a breathy, light-hearted modern jazz score by Francis Chagrin.

The dragon "Beauty" has three stages. First, there is an animated baby, crude but effective stop-motion fotog reminiscent of early Ray Harryhausen. During Beauty's short adolescence, he is portrayed by a large hand puppet which features his head and neck. Finally, Beauty becomes a full-fledged dragon via a full-scale man-in-suit creation, a slightly ridiculous yet highly imaginative fantasy creature that looks like it stepped off the pages of a child's storybook. Seeing this curious beast flop its way down London streets is absolutely hilarious, and must have been a hoot to film as well.

The film's finale features a thrilling, and fairly bizarre chase scene, in which various members of the community get caught up in Beauty's plight. The centerpiece of this scene is one amazing shot, which features all the main characters, plus extras, including our full-scale dragon, running about in a highly theatrical scene with excellent choreography.

Afterwards, we are treated to an hilarious scene in which Beauty is escorted to the docks via a police escort; the beast's head sticks out of a sedan, and the scene looks amusingly like an under-attended parade for some low-level politico.

THE MONSTER OF HIGHGATE POND won Halas & Batchelor an award at the Venice Film Festival, one of many for the famed animation studio. This was also an early production of the British-based “Children’s Film Foundation” (a production company which we hope to research more fully in the near future).

Although it is certain that THE MONSTER OF HIGHGATE POND received theatrical distribution in the U.K., due to its sponsorship by the newly-formed Children's Film Foundation, it is unknown whether its enigmatic U.S. distributor, the Walter Reade Organization, released this film to Kiddie Matinees, or only to television. MONSTER was also a perennial for many years in U.S. schools and public library film collections (which is where the author first stumbled upon it).

Young audiences of today might find THE MONSTER OF HIGHGATE POND unbearable in its unabashed simplicity, yet despite this over-arching naivete, we think THE MONSTER OF HIGHGATE POND is a classic children's fantasy, as well as a little gem of the British New Wave.

Awhile back, Alan Stubbs contacted us with this fascinating personal information about the filming of THE MONSTER OF HIGHGATE PONDS! "The part of the film I remember was shot in the Gospel Oak area of North London, not far from Parliament Hill, and the Highgate Ponds. The lorry carrying the 'monster' emerged from Rochford Street, went round Lismore Circus, and then into Heriot Place, where the local children were asked to chase it up the road. My chums and me were on the pavement outside a sweet shop called "The Chocolate Box." I don't think I chased the lorry, but stayed outside the shop. I can't remember if we knew a film was being made, or just happened to be there. Rochford Street, Heriot place and most of the local area was demolished in the 1960's - 1970's, although Lismore Circus remains, a small circular park in the middle of acres of council flats, a shame really, as it was not a bad area. I am currently collecting photographs of the vanished area. Lismore Circus and Lismore Road also appear in SMASHING TIME with Rita Tushingham, and are supposed to be in GEORGY GIRL also, but I can't see any places I remember in it."

Video/DVD availability: VHS (oop)