Whistle Down the Wind [Import]
by Bryan Forbes
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DVD Cover Information
Director: Bryan ForbesPrimary Contributor: Hayley Mills
Primary Contributor: Alan Bates
Primary Contributor: Bernard Lee
Primary Contributor: Diane Clare
Primary Contributor: Norman Bird
DVD: Region Code 0
Audio: English (Unknown); Spanish (Subtitled); Portuguese (Subtitled)
Format: Black & White, Import, NTSC, Widescreen
Running Time: 94 minutes
Audience Rating: PG (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: LW Editora
Movie Reviews of Whistle Down the Wind [Import]
Movie Review: Great film that should be better-known!
Summary: 5 Stars
Despite the Portuguese title on the box, this is a very British film that strangely is not available in Region 1 format. Although made in 1961, it's still well-known in the UK, and its three principal actors all had long careers on the screen. It's especially well-known in Lancashire, where the exteriors were filmed. I was fortunate to see it in the USA on PBS as a child, and instantly took to it. I've been looking for this video for decades!
Wire synopsis: A young girl (Hayley Mills) finds an escaped convict hiding, exhausted and sleeping, in a barn on her property. When she innocently asks, "Who are you?" she startles him awake. He sees that she's just a kid, mutters the imprecation "Jesus Christ," and goes back to sleep. She and her siblings are now under the impression that "Gentle Jesus" has returned and is in their barn, and treat their far-from-deserving guest accordingly. Meanwhile, a police dragnet is closing in. A good deal of suspense results from wondering what the children and the convict will do when things come to a head...
Director Brian Forbes handles the subject matter quite skillfully, avoiding didacticism without losing emotional impact. The convict is obviously a clever, desperate man with an agenda quite different from what the children think. The children come across as honest, displaying acting ability that would serve them well as their careers progressed. (If you've seen the film of "To Kill a Mockingbird," that should give an idea of what you'll see here as far as child acting is concerned.) And the Lancashire countryside is at once gritty and breathtaking, even in black-and-white.
I'd like to see this film become better-known in the USA than it is. It may be regarded as "too British," or perhaps the Lanky dialect may be thought to be too difficult for Americans to comprehend. (As an American kid who had never been to England, I had no trouble understanding the dialogue when I saw it on TV.) The premise is wonderfully clever in its simplicity, and despite the religious topics that arise (including some touches that those familiar with the Gospels will recognize immediately), it's not preachy at all, and should be enjoyable to all regardless of one's own religious convictions or lack thereof. Ultimately, it's a comedy of mistaken identity, and a powerful exploration of the desire to do right versus the need for self-preservation.
I'd like to close with a funny story I read that should have been included as an extra on the DVD. The convict is played by Alan Bates, whom Mr. Forbes (the director) wanted on the set at all times even if he wasn't in the scene, so he would know his character's motivation. Mr. Forbes provided him with a "director's" chair that matched his, only with the name "Alan Bates" printed on the back. One day the children arrived on the set, and the boy, a very young Alan Barnes, noticed the chairs and informed the director that "They spelt me name wrong." Mr. Forbes said they would fix it right away, and the next day there was a third, child-sized chair, with the name "Alan Barnes" on the back!
Summary of Whistle Down the Wind [Import]
Hayley Mills, Diane Holgate, and Alan Barnes, come across a bearded vagrant named Arthur Blakey (Alan Bates) sleeping in their barn. Upon awakening, the ill-tempered bum takes a look at the white-eyed kids and mutters the imprecation "Jesus Christ!" In their innocence, the children assume that Arthur is Jesus Christ, and they spread the word to their friends. In truth, he is an escaped killer. But when the authorities come around looking for him, the kids, remembering Christ's persecution, do their best to protect their far-from-deserving new friend. Though the material, based on a novel by Mary Hayley Bell (Hayley Mills's mother) could have been mawkish and obvious in other hands, Forbes handles the situation and the characters realistically; even the blatant New Testament symbolism is logically incorporated into the proceedings.