After reading several other reviews I was amazed to find out how many other folks had a profound effect from this film. This movie has been embedded with me for 49 years. I first saw this movie when I was 7 years old. I remembered how intrigued I was with the Sammy before, during and after I first saw this film. I vividly remember the movie poster and the black and white ad in the movie guide in the newspaper. I think that this movie's affect as a young boy was the bond I felt for the character and how as a young boy I could relate to his character. Somehow I felt empowered from all of it. In retrospect what this movie had done was to transform and transport me into this character and take me on a journey to a different time and place that was strange, exciting and different. If you ever saw me when I was 7 I looked and acted very like Sammy. I guess thats one reason why over the years why I've traveled some much and enjoy meeting and interacting with different people who we normally don't interact with. Also if you notice Syammy embraced being alone (sign of strength) and yet he was instinctive about certain people he could trust and care for and others he was very suspicious of their motivation. I was the perfect demographic for this movie. I definitely have a soft spot for this flick both then and now.They say a good movie is when you remember it a day later, but a great movie you'll always remember, well The Boy Ten Tall was one of those. There was something special about this movie that stayed with me so many years. Over the years I have viewed this movie twice and tonight I found this movie online and watched it with great excitement. I just can't believe that this wasn't mainstream more...it should be.

I saw this movie only once when I was somewhere between the ages of 7 and 10 years old. I remember this movie vividly and somehow feel that it has affected my life in a subconscious manner, as some other people have written on here.As I read the other reviews of this movie, I find it strange to see how many people also had the same impression of this film. I don't remember it as Sammy Going South or A Boy Ten Feet Tall, but as The Ten Foot Tall Boy. Funny that I remember it that way. I have mentioned this movie, with the title I remembered it by, to many people (many of whom are movie buffs) but no-one seems to remember it at all.I did a search online and found nothing and nowhere to purchase it. But, fortunately, I am a UCLA alumnus and did a search of The UCLA Film Archives and found it there. I think it is the American edited version, but I would be very glad to be able to see even that version (which is probably the one I did see about 35 years ago, once).It's amazing to see how many people have had the same experience with this film, having seen it only once. This movie must be released on DVD. How does one go about doing that? Who does one need to contact to have this done?

On one level it is a straight adventure story -- an orphaned boy's adventures in trying to cross a continent to find an aunt he has never met.At another level it is more complex, as it shows his relationships with the different adults he meets. Some are uncaring, while others try to exploit him, and leave him hardened by the encounters so that when he meets people who help him with no ulterior motive, he remains detached and withdrawn from real human contact. At first sight Fergus McClelland seems to have a rather wooden performance as the boy, Sammy Hartland, but in fact this is part of the character in the story.Eventually it is a diamond smuggler, played by Edward G. Robinson, who breaks through his reserve, and begins to bring him out of his shell.

We saw this movie (A Boy Ten Feet Tall) almost forty (40) years ago and have never forgotten it. Edward G. Robinson is fantastic in one of his best, yet least known roles. The boy Sammy (Fergus McClelland)is a hard worker and shows character growth throughout in his rugged adventure. The story line holds the viewer's attention from beginning to end. Although this has been described as a great children's movie, it is also definitely a movie for adult viewers. There is some violence, but it is pertinent to the story. I would recommend this movie highly to everyone. I have been searching for it for many years and recently obtained a video which I now prize among my favorites. I understand that it has been shown infrequently on television and would hope that more people would have the opportunity to see it!