Whistle Down The Wind (1961)

A group of scruffy, adorable children, led by gumdrop-eyed Hayley Mills, discover injured escaped convict Arthur Blakey (Alan Bates) sleeping in their barn in Lancashire and think he’s Jesus Christ.

They hide him from the town in a manger, but news that Christ is living in the barn travels quickly to the other children in the village, they bring Blakey food and wine to earn his approval.

The kids try to keep the secret from their parents, but when the authorities come around looking for him, the children, remembering Christ’s persecution, do their best to protect their undeserving new friend.

When Blakey is betrayed by accident the police move in to arrest him, but by this time his attitude has softened and he surrenders peaceably rather than endanger the lives of any of the children.

This remarkable allegory by Bryan Forbes is the kind of thing the British do better than anyone else, and this is a rare, offbeat classic that deserves a wider audience than critics who are always praising it but who can never find it playing anywhere except film festivals.

Based on the novel by Mary Hayley Bell, Whistle Down The Wind was produced by Richard Attenborough with a screenplay by Keith Waterhouse and Willis Hall.

Kathy Bostock
Hayley Mills
Mr Bostock
Bernard Lee
The Man (Arthur Blakey)
Alan Bates
Eddie
Norman Bird
Auntie Dorothy
Elsie Wagstaff
Charles Bostock
Alan Barnes
Nan Bostock
Diane Holgate
Wilcox
Gerald Sim
Sunday School Teacher
Diane Clare
Salvation Army Girl
Patricia Heneghan
Vicar
Hamilton Dyce
Vet
Howard Douglas
Superintendent Teesdale
John Arnatt
PC Thurstow
Ronald Hines

Director
Bryan Forbes

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