I was 9 when I read my first Famous Five book, which I borrowed from a friend. It was "Five have a Wonderful Time", the adventure of the scientist being held kidnapped in the old castle and the Five's troubles with the fairground people. From that day on I became an addict. Enid Blyton certainly had the knack for creating interesting stories with a great deal of suspense that kept you in tenterhooks. In a little over four years I managed to gather the entire collection of the FF books, 1980s hardback Spanish editions which I still own today. This series was first broadcast in Spain in 1978 -I was too young at that time but I remember it-, and then again in the summer-autumn of 1987, when I was 14 and had read all of the books many times. I loved it right away, although I found the original 1940s and 50s settings converted into contemporary 1970's with bottom-bell trousers, long-haired boys and the Ford Fiestas and Cortinas a little funny. Still, the kids' acting is all right, and they had talent: George is the always stubborn tomboy but quite likable, Anne is a lot more mature than in the original stories and a lot less whining -fortunately!-, Julian is the same I-know-everything bossy type but fine and always in charge as expected, and Dick -always my favourite- is very much like in the books too, mostly in the background and always under Julian's authority, but always gentle, very smart, and he saves the day quite a few times. Also, the adults are very well played. German actor Michael Hinz makes an excellent Uncle Quentin, since he brings to the character a maturity he very seldom has in the books where he is prone to sudden tantrums, is always absent-minded and also bit of a fool. Sue Best is also very good as Aunt Fanny, very much like in the books. And then we have Rogers, the gardener, instead of Joan the cook as a servant, but I like him all right and his scenes are often comical, like rolling his eyes every time the Five come home for holidays -oh blimey, tranquility is over!- and chasing Timmy out of his beloved flower beds. And then what a cast of guest actors to play the baddies: Ronald Fraser, Peter Jeffrey, David Rappaport, Patrick Troughton, Brian Glover, the always posh James Villiers... You will never see a cast like this in a children's series nowadays.
Review of The Famous Five
