They caught lightning in a bottle with the first one so got the band back together for this. It's not the same Smiley, they got a different actor, who is fun but not as good.
The action has softened. Reg Lye is not longer a layabout (though that means he did learn his lesson which was nice). There's no fat red head tormenting him.
Instead of Charles Tingwell there's Leonard Teale and instead of Ralph Richardson there's Sybil Thorndike. Guy Doleman is back but in a different role, this time a baddy (which is good because when he turned up as a writer getting the flavour of the country I started to fall asleep). They probably should have added a female friend for Smiley to get into escapades with.
The plot has Smiley trying to get a gun but that was common for country kids at the time and the film constantly reinforces good lessons - you can't point the gun at people, you need to be responsible, etc. "Proving yourself responsible" is a little vague - raising money for a bike was more definite.
Chips Rafferty is charming as the cop though again I note he isn't very good solving crimes. That's mostly done by Grant Taylor as a limping contractor called Stiffy who is fond of Smilley. A lot of adults stand around talking about Smiley in this one - in the first film you got more of a sense of the adult world.
Still the colours and locations are pleasant, the acting strong.
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