John and Julie is a 1955 British comedy film written and directed by William Fairchild.
Two Dorset children, young Julie (Lesley Dudley) and her best friend John Pritchett (Colin Gibson), hatch a plan to run away to London to see the Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in 1953. Together, they leave Dorset and travel to their destination by any means necessary, meeting many characters who help them along the way.
The supporting cast includes Noelle Middleton, Moira Lister, Wilfrid Hyde-White, and Constance Cummings. Peter Sellers has a small role as a police constable.
This film contains examples of:
- Anti-Hero: John and Julie to a certain extent, they run away from home without telling anyone, seek rides and accommodation with strangers, steal food and a bicycle, all for the purpose of going to see the Queen at her Coronation.
- Big Brother Instinct: John goes out of his way to make sure he doesn't lose Julie and keep her out of trouble. He doesn't always manage this but they are always reunited eventually.
- Foreshadowing: John stealing a bicycle after he is seperated from Julie. When they arrive in London, the bicycle is stolen by someone else and they become separated again.
- Free-Range Children: John and Julie though it takes several adult characters to help them to reach their destination.
- Gave Up Too Soon: Julie falls asleep just when the Queen passes by in the Royal Coach.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Part of Julie's motivation for going to see the Queen's coronation as her peer Mary-Rose is going there with her family.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: Mr Pritchett, it gets worse the more he finds out about the lengths his son and Julie have gone to.
- Hoist by His Own Petard: John steals a bicycle to follow the bus Julie is on, they lose the bicycle as well as each other when it is stolen in London.
- It's All About Me: Although, given her age, it's understandable but beneath Julie's status as The Determinator lies an insatiable desire to see the Queen at her coronation.
- Jerkass Ball: Julie's teacher. Julie may have deliberately hid herself away so that she'd be left behind, allowing her to reunite with John but that doesn't change the fact that her teacher willingly left a child unattended in the middle of the English Countryside for no reason other than needing to get to London as quickly as possible.
- Kind Hearted Cat Lover: Julie when she is comforted by a stray cat after losing John in London.
- Mistaken Identity: Julie's boarding school teacher mistakes her for her peer Mary-Rose who is going to the Coronation with her family.
- Must Make Amends: John is remorseful for stealing a bicycle, even though he wrote a note explaining everything. The American couple giving him and Julie a lift write a cheque on his behalf with which to pay for the bicycle.
- Nice Guy: Most of the adult characters.
- Obnoxious In-Laws: Inverted, Mr Pritchett doesn't approve of his brother-in-law Ben for joining the Army.
- Oh, Crap!: John when his train ticket blows out the window just as the ticket inspector arrives.
- Pet the Dog: John takes the family dog to bed with him the night before running away.
- Police Are Useless: Mr Pritchett expresses this many a time while trying to locate his son and Julie but it is somewhat justified in this case as the police have crowd-control at the Coronation to prioritise.
- Potty Emergency: Julie feigns one in order to intentionally have the bus leave her behind, allowing her to reunite with John.
- Stern Teacher: Julie's Boarding School Teacher.
- Tears of Joy: Julie is driven to this while watching the Coronation procession.
- The Determinator: John and Julie, the latter especially, will do anything to get to London and see the Queen's Coronation.
- The Reason You Suck: Mrs Pritchett to her husband when she finally tires of his grumpiness.
- Undying Loyalty: John and Julie are determined to stick by each other, even if it means being thrown off buses and trains, stealing bicycles and seeking help from strangers to find each other after becoming seperated.
- Vomit Discretion Shot: Julie taunts the girl sitting next to her on the bus about eating while travelling and then they come to a bridge...
- What the Hell, Hero?: John and Julie do this to one another after one of them steals a bicycle and the other, a little girl's food.
