Whistle Down the Wind
Brief Synopsis
Cast & Crew
Bryan Forbes
Hayley Mills
Bernard Lee
Alan Bates
Diane Holgate
Alan Barnes
Film Details
Technical Specs
Synopsis
On a lonely farm in Lancashire, the three Bostock children--15-year-old Kathy, 10-year-old Nan, and 6-year-old Charles--rescue three kittens from drowning and hide them in their barn. When Charles wonders who will care for the animals, a Salvation Army woman tells him that Jesus will look after them. That night Kathy sneaks into the barn to see if the kittens are safe and stumbles upon a haggard, bearded man. When she asks him who he is, the stranger mutters "Jesus Christ" and collapses. The stunned child takes the man's words literally and races home to tell her sister. In the morning the children bring bread and wine to the man, unaware that he is actually a murderer on the run. Though the wondrous news of the Saviour's return reaches all the other children in the village, the secret is kept from the adults lest they take him away. At Charles's birthday party, Nan inadvertently betrays the man's presence to her Aunt Dorothy, and the police are quickly called. Fearful of hurting an innocent child, the murderer surrenders without a struggle and is quietly led away, as children from all over the countryside watch.
Director
Bryan Forbes
Cast
Hayley Mills
Bernard Lee
Alan Bates
Diane Holgate
Alan Barnes
Norman Bird
Diane Clare
Patricia Heneghan
Elsie Wagstaff
John Arnatt
Hamilton Dyce
Howard Douglas
Roy Holder
Gerald Sim
Ronald Hines
Michael Lees
Michael Raghan
Barry Dean
May Barton
Christine Ashworth
John Boden
Doreena Clark
Keith Clement
Pamela Lonsdale
Judy Ollerenshaw
Robert Palmer
Lois Read
Nigel Stafford
Anne Newby
Julie Jackson
Crew
John Alcott
Malcolm Arnold
Richard Attenborough
Richard Attenborough
George Ball
Max Benedict
Charles Blair
Stephen Christian
Bill Daniels
Penny Daniels
Henry Emery
Bryan Forbes
Harry Gillard
Maureen Goldner
Willis Hall
David Harcourt
John L. Hargreaves
Arthur Ibbetson
Ted Karnon
Gus Lloyd
Ted Lockhart
Alastair Mcintyre
Tom Priestley
Basil Rayburn
Stella Rivers
Jack Rix
Geoffrey Rodway
Ray Simm
Ann Skinner
Paul Smith
Vic Smith
Laurel Staffell
Leonard Townsend
Frank Trussel
Keith Waterhouse
Film Details
Technical Specs
Quotes
Why are you helping me?- The Man
Because we love you.- Kathy Bostock
It ain't Jesus! It's just some fella.- Charlie Bostock
Trivia
Notes
Location scenes filmed in Burnley, Lancashire. Opened in London in July 1961.
Miscellaneous Notes
Voted One of the Year's Ten Best Films by the 1962 New York Times Film Critics.
Released in United States Summer August 21, 1961
Directorial debut for Bryan Forbes.
Released in USA on video.
Released in United States Summer August 21, 1961
Voted One of the Year's Ten Best Films by the 1962 National Board of Review.
