The Yellow Balloon

In the immediate postwar East End, Frankie Palmer spots a large yellow balloon being sold on a ruined street and fixates on owning it. The bombed-out surroundings frame his simple wish against a backdrop of rubble and scarcity. The scene establishes the bleak, resilient mood of London just after World War II.

Frankie loses the sixpence his father gave him to buy the balloon. He searches the rubble-strewn streets and lampposts, but the coin and the balloon slip away from him in the same moment. The loss sets the stakes higher and forces him to improvise to obtain the balloon.

Frankie seizes the balloon and runs after it, grabbing it from his friend Ronnie Williams. Ronnie gives chase into a bombed-out house as the boy darts through the ruined rooms with the balloon fluttering behind him. The moment marks the beginning of a perilous pursuit.

Ronnie slips and falls thirty feet to his death in the dangerous ruin. Frankie scrambles down to help, but he realises there is nothing he can do to save his friend. The tragedy haunts him as the implications of the accident begin to unfold.

Hiding in the shadows, Len Turner—a criminal on the run using the ruins as a hideout—spots Frankie and realises a chance to exploit him. Len convinces Frankie that the police will arrest him for the death and that they must flee together. He preys on the boy's fear to gain his cooperation.

Len blackmails Frankie into stealing money from his parents to fund Len's escape. The boy becomes a reluctant accessory to a growing criminal plan, forced to cooperate under threat. The tension tightens as trust between them erodes.

Frankie is used as a decoy in a pub robbery that goes horribly wrong when Len murders the pub owner. The crime compounds Frankie’s fear and makes him a more desperate fugitive. Len's ruthlessness becomes clear as he values his freedom over any loyalty.

Realising Frankie is the sole witness to his crimes, Len resolves to kill the boy. The pursuit shifts to a terrifying game through the bomb-damaged streets and tunnels of London as Len closes in. Frankie races to escape with his life.

The chase culminates in a long, tense pursuit through a bomb-damaged London Underground station. A platform becomes a dangerous battlefield as Frankie desperately tries to outrun his pursuer. The environment amplifies the danger with crumbling arches and exposed tracks.

A tube driver speeding past the platform witnesses the pursuit and reports it at the next station, triggering a police alert. The driver’s observation becomes the turning point that shifts the chase toward capture. The chase draws the attention of the wider transit system.

Police arrive and rescue Frankie at the next station, ending the immediate danger. The boy is pulled from Len’s reach, though the trauma of the night lingers. The intervention restores a fragile sense of safety amid the ruins.

In the poetic finale, Len walks along a beam over a long drop and falls to his death. The killer’s punishment is swift and inevitable, underscoring the film’s moral balance. Frankie survives, but the nightmare leaves lasting marks.