Mr Forbush and the Penguins - Lobby Cards (1971)

Now if my memories are correct then this film was one shown during the six weeks summer holidays, either that or on a Saturday morning.  While the details were lost, or probably never fully absorbed, I did recall it was John Hurt, going slowly bonkers while observing penguins.  The desolate landscape stayed with me, as did its effects upon our Mr Forbush.  As a kid I found these two aspects deeply fascinating and became drawn to them in other films such as Walkabout and  Sands of the Kalahari.

Having watched Mr Forbush and the Penguins again today, for the first time in decades, I have to say that the film has lost none of its appeal (or I haven't changed all that much!) and I remained as transfixed by Hurt's performance and the Antarctic location as I ever was.  Interestingly, the first half an hour of the film, which is set in London prior to the expedition, had not been stored away in the old memory banks at all and seemed amusingly adult in its revelations that Forbush only embarks upon the six month trek down south after Hayley Mills knocks back his persistent attempts to; get his leg over! -to use the vernacular of the day.

Being a man of a certain age, one might understand the need to go to some very extreme lengths in order to win such favours were it not for the fact that Forbush has bedded and walked away from the delightfully lovely Sally Geeson almost before the opening credits have rolled.

Steve