Emil on AllMovie

The British Emil was yet another adaptation of Erich Kastner's frequently-filmed children's novel Emil and the Detectives. John Williams (no relation to the British character actor of the same name) stars as 11-year-old Emil, who while en route to London to visit his aunt is robbed of his money-six pounds--by a shifty thief (George Hayes). Turning to a group of self-styled "junior detectives" for help, Emil manages to track down both the thief and his money, but not before experiencing a series of hair-raising adventures. Bobby Rietti costars as "The Professor", the leader of the juvenile sleuths. When Emil and the Detectives was filmed again by Disney in 1965, the story returned to its original Berlin setting.