Rent The Boy Who Stole a Million (1960)

Steals Time As Well. - The Boy Who Stole a Million review by NC

Anybody familiar with the Children's Film Foundation (CFF) productions of the '50's and '60's may think themselves treading over old ground. Boy 'borrows' money from the bank he works at as a messenger, and finds himself pursued not only by the police force, but by the town's heavies. Many of the CFF films worked because at just an hour in length they seldom outstayed their welcome. 'The Boy Who Stole A Million' could certainly have benefitted from being a judicial twenty minutes shorter. There are only so many times one can see crowds of police and crooks so dim they can hardly stand crashing and falling over one another, while the boy squeezes himself out of the melee and dodges away.

There is a perfunctory spotlight on the rich/poor divide. Only the rich can borrow money from the bank because they have collateral. The poor, the ones who NEED to borrow money, can't. There is a short scene at a rubbish dump, with scavengers picking at what others have thrown away. The boy should be at school, rather than having to work for money. But all that gets lost as the chase overshadows all.

One of those films you'll probably wish you hadn't wasted your time on, but compensations include a small army of familiar faces, the location of the old part of Valencia - and Pepe the dog.