Friday, October 19, 2012

Whistle Down The Wind

Just watched the new TV show, "Elementary" which is the American version of the modern day tale of Sherlock Holmes and Dr. Watson.  Thank goodness, they had the good sense to get Jonny Lee Miller, a real Brit to play Sherlock!

 Jonny Lee Miller's maternal grandfather was Bernard Lee,  who played "M" in so many of the Bond films.  Do you know what you might also know him from, especially if you are from England or if you know English films? Bernard Lee played the father of Hayley Mills in the movie, "Whistle Down The Wind."

 
What? You've never heard of that movie? Being from America, I hadn't either but I once worked with Maria, a girl from Rugby, England and when we were talking about good movies, she said her favorite was "Whistle Down The Wind" and it was from the early 60's.  The movie is based on the novel by Mary Hayley Bell.  (She is the mother of Hayley Mills and the wife of Sir John Mills, both names you should recognize). The story is about a man being found in a barn in the Sussex countryside by the Hayley Mills character, Kathy. When she asks him who he is, he says, "Jesus Christ", and she believes him to be so. She tells the other children and they all decide to keep it a secret and to take care of Jesus without telling any of the adults. If you ever get a chance to see this movie, please don't miss it. I found a clip from Youtube and it shows "our Charlie" (Kathy and Nan's brother) trying to keep the adults from discovering the man they believe to be Jesus that they have found in the barn. (Although the novel was set in Sussex, the movie was filmed in Lancashire and  some of the local children were used as extras.  The photo that I have here for you IS from Sussex, it is a barn that was just beside the wood that we we went to in 2010 on the lovely Bluebell Walk that we enjoyed).  The innocence of the children combined with their strong faith is something that is very moving to me.
 
"Whistle Down The Wind" was also a musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber, and my family and I were able to see it in London in 2006. While we were in London, we went to Foyle's, a famous bookshop on Charing Cross Road, and I looked for the book "Whistle Down The Wind" by Mary Hayley Bell.  Imagine my surprise when this book was not available!  It is an out-of print book and quite rare.
  
Please let me know if you love this movie as much as I do and also if you are familiar with the musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. Who knows, you might even own the book!

28 comments:

  1. I saw this movie on TV many, many years ago. We used to get a lot of British movies on CBC here in Canada in the old days. Never seen the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical though.

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    1. Hey Debra!
      We loved the musical although some of songs were a bit "Meatloaf-ish" (Steinman's influence), it was still such a special and moving show for us.

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  2. Dear Kay,
    I have never heard of any of the people you mention, nor the book or the film, but what you tell us here about it makes we want to find out more.

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    1. Dear Meike,
      I am sure you must have seen the movie, The Parent Trap, where the twins trade places to get their parents back together? It was from the 60's but has been on TV a lot, and it was remade in the 90's with Lindsay Lohan! Sir John Mills made so many movies (he only died in 2005 at the age of 97) but I remember seeing him as the father from the movie Swiss Family Robinson.
      I didn't want to say too much about the film since I don't want to spoil it for anyone! :-)

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  3. I haven't seen the movie. However I have a recording of Tina Arena singing the title song from the musical and I love it. I wish I'd seen the show.

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    1. I wish you could have seen the show too! In 2006, you could have sat beside us! We had seats very far back but because there were so few people there, they moved us towards the front and the theatre had recently been restored by Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber. What a treat it was to just to be inside this beautiful Victorian building, The Palace Theatre. I love the songs "Whistle Down The Wind" and "No Matter What".

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  4. I have never seen the movie. I do know who the mills are. The bookstore you mentioned...was it in a movie with Anne Bancroft??Smiles, Susie

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    1. Dear Susie,
      I hope one day you will see this movie and you will say, "That's the one that Georgia Girl, KAY, told me about!"
      You must look for a future post about Anne Bancroft, one of my favorite actresses, and also one about 84 Charing Cross Rd, which having married my pen-pal, you must know is very close to my heart!
      xx

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  5. Kay, I watched the video and it looks really interesting! I can just imagine children keeping a secret like this, and truly believing that some man is Jesus. I must say that I am intrigued now because I want to know what happens, and I'm curious as to who this man is. So, I'm going to have to learn more about this!

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    1. Hey Martha!
      I didn't want to say too much about the movie, I didn't want to spoil it for you!
      If you ever see it, let me know what you think.

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  6. Now i'm going to want to read the book!

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    1. The musical follows the book story except that instead of being set in the English countryside, it was in...wait for it...Louisiana!

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  7. Wow, I really love the concept of that movie---I'm definitely going to try to find it. I'll check Netflix the minute I finish typing this. Thank you for sharing that with us, Kay.

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    1. Dear Beth,
      I think you would really like it. When the children bring presents to the man in the barn, and give to him with such full and open hearts, it really made me cry.

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  8. I'd forgotten that I'd seen the movie but when you described it I realised that I had seen it many years ago. What has suddenly made me comment on your post though is my love of barns and photos of them. Your photo appeals to me very much.

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    1. Thanks for your comment, GB! Glad you like my barn photo, it looked so different from any barn I had ever seen before, that is why I snapped the photo.

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  9. Hi Kay,
    I'm not familiar with the book or movie, but the story sounds great. I loved the childhood Haley Mills movies, and I saw her as an adult, starring in South Pacific in Denver.

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    1. Dear Terry,
      Lucky you! To see Hayley Mills in that great Rodgers and Hammerstein musical, and did she really wash her hair right on stage? :-)
      Let me know if you ever see "Whistle Down The Wind".

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  10. While I haven't seen the movie, I now want to! I've always loved Hayley Mills because I was obsessed with Parent Trap when I was little. Obsessed. I'm sure I've seen that movie at least 100 times. I still watch it nowadays!!! Ha.

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    1. Dear Audrey,
      Did you ever see Parent Trap that was remade with Lindsay Lohan as the double role? It was from the 90's, but it was so good! The father was Dennis Quaid and the mother was Natasha Richardson. Such a good movie with great music! Lindsay Lohan did such a great job with her English accent! So sad how her life has turned out now...

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  11. O, I remember that film! How fortunate you got to see the musical -- the song "Whistle down the wind" has a very unusual, haunting melody. p.s. Those trees in your little profile picture are just breathtaking.

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    1. I am glad that you liked that movie too. The songs, "Whistle Down The Wind" and "No Matter What" are the two songs that have the most beautiful melodies. I wish I could write music!
      And thank you! Those trees are just in front of the carving on Stone Mountain, and it was taken in the Spring, with the light green leaves just coming out.

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  12. Thanks so much for posting the trailer, Kay - brings back so many memories! In Toronto, we have Heritage Associates Distribution Inc - they seem to have it in stock, according to their catalogue (it's a great place where they sell British videos and dvds) This one is on dvd for $20. Here is their phone no. in case anyone is interested. 416-288-8773 oh, and their website: www.heritage-associates.ca

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    1. Thanks, I'm so glad you liked this too! And thanks for that info, for some reason I couldn't find the website, although I found the company named as Heritage Associates Distribution and the phone number that you have here but not the website. Interesting!
      Thanks again for this info! If anyone sees this movie, please let me know! :-)

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    2. Sorry Kay - i got the website address from the back of the catalogue and posted it here before checking it out for myself. That address takes you to the britsincanada site, with little info, so it,s best to call the phone no. above, if anyone is interested. I am going to call and order one tomorrow!

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    3. That's okay, I just appreciate you very much for taking the time to look into it and putting that info here on your comment. :-)
      It makes me very happy at the thought of you ordering this and watching it again!

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  13. Hi Kay

    You have managed to mention two of my favourite films: Whistle Down and The Swiss Family Robinson.The large Oriental baddie in the latter film used to terrify me. Now, I look a bit like him!

    Happy to authenticate the Sussex barn as the real thing.

    Henry

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    1. Hey Henry!
      Oh, I am so glad that you like Whistle Down The Wind too! And The Swiss Family Robinson! Oh, I love that one too! Beginning to look like the Oriental bad guy? Oh, you make me giggle at that one!
      And of course that barn is in Sussex, I can't say anything that isn't true on the internet, can I?
      (There is a funny TV ad out now about that..check it out on Youtube...type in State Farm-State of Disbelief (French Model) and you should find it!

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