Whistle Down The Wind (1961)
 A
group of scruffy, adorable children, led by gumdrop-eyed Hayley
Mills, discover an injured escaped convict (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.
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