A mixture of a psychological study of a ten-year-old boy, an English domestic comedy and a satire on psychologists finds young Johnny Brent, the only child of a pair of psychologists, trading an "invisible watch" to a much-younger child for a large magnet. His nurse/nanny accuses him of stealing and scolds him and he runs away. He soon convinces himself that the police are after him and following several unsuccessful attempts to get rid of the magnet, he presents it to an organizer of a fund-raising campaign for acquiring an iron-lung for the local hospital. The magnet is one of the auction items and finally is mounted on the iron-lung as a tribute to the unknown donor. Meanwhile, the father makes a completely inaccurate diagnosis for the mother of the boy's worries. In the end the boy meets the child he thought had died as a result of losing the magnet, and trades the boy back for the return of his "invisible watch" the gold medal the town mayor had given him for his part in the hospital campaign.

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A lot of the shooting of "The Magnet" was done locally on Seabank Road, New Brighton bathing pool, on the promenade, on the beach and in The Palace. Ealing Studios rented Seacombe Congregational Church in Liscard Road in 1950 and the walls were sound proofed and the lights, props and cameras arrived for the shooting. Stars of the film included Kay Walsh, William Fox (who later became James Fox), Stephen Murray, Thora Hird and James Robertson Justics as the tramp.

Below are samples taken from the film with the emphasis being on local interests.

	Opening scene of 'The Magnet' looking from Liverpool over to Seacombe		Opening scene of The Magnet showing the Pier
	View of New Brighton looking towards St. James Church.		The Pier and Tivoli
	View of the Pier and the landing stage		On the beach with the pier in the background
	View of the Pier and the landing stage		Running under the pier
	William Fox with the Pier Pavilion in the background		View of Fort Perch Rock.
	View of the Pier and Pavilion in the background		Scene of Fort Perch Rock and New Brighton beach
	The Pier		View of the Fort from the Promenade
	View of the Floral Pavilion in the background and Victoria Gardens		Outside The Palace
	Inside The Palace		Inside The Palace
	Advertisement for a Bathing Beauty Contest.		Views of New Brighton's Swimming Baths
	Miss New Brighton!		View of the landing stage at New Brighton.