Set against the backdrop of a rundown terraced street in London’s East End that’s been earmarked for redevelopment, actor/director David Hemmings’ gritty urban drama follows 17-year-old Reg (Jack Wild), the eldest of 14 orphaned children, as he struggles to keep his family together following the sudden death of their mother (June Brown).
When social workers take the youngest children into custody, Reg and his siblings go on the run, with one of their lot taking the family’s story to the newspapers.
After a stint at a Catholic reform school, Reg reunites with his girlfriend, single mother Reena (Cheryl Hall), before rounding up the children and returning to their mother’s boarded up home to spend what could be their last Christmas together as a family.
Most of the children, excluding Jack Wild – famous for H.R. Pufnstuf (1969 – 1971) and as the Artful Dodger in Oliver! (1968) – were non-actors, which gave the film a docu-drama feel.
Released in some markets as Existence and The Wild Little Bunch, the movie is based on the real story of a family of Birmingham orphans who were eventually relocated as a family to a Cornish farm.
Reg
Jack Wild
The Mother
June Brown
Sylvia
Liz Edmiston
Mr Sanders
John Bailey
Miss Field
Diana Beevers
Tommy
Alun Armstrong
Reena
Cheryl Hall
Mr Whitehead
Keith Buckley
Mrs Booth (“Aunty Rose”)
Anna Wing
Father Morris
Tony Calvin
Roy
Chris Kelly
Terry
Frank Gentry
Billy
Peter Newby
Freddy
Paul Daly
John
Richard Heywood
Mick
Terry Ives
Eugene
Christopher Leonard
Brian
Sean Hyde
Paul
Alfons Kaminsky
David
Wayne Brooks
Mario
Wayne Dyer
Alan
Mark Lee Hughes
Dog
Snowey
Mrs Gibbs
Anne Dyson
Mr Thomas
Brian Smith
Sister Irene
Jacqueline Hurst
Sister Dolores
Jane Wood
Nun in Shower
Judy Leibert
Mr Michael
Malcolm Tierney
Reporter
Matthew Guinness
Child Welfare Officer
Reg Thomason
Director
David Hemmings