They Act Like Magic

Charming fantasy adventure filmed by a prep schoolmaster and starring the pupils at the school. Schoolboys search for a fairytale princess.

Children's fantasy adventure filmed in 1938. Schoolboys search their village for a princess, giving each animal on their journey a ‘magic pill’, hoping to restore a princess to human form.

As well as recording local events, Anthony C. Wilson, a schoolmaster at a boys preparatory school, scripted and produced a number of short films starring his pupils. These thrilling stories would inspire his later work, scripting radio plays for the BBC’s ‘Children’s Hour’, and writing his own books featuring the popular characters, boy detectives Norman and Henry Bones.