The Moon-Spinners: A Disney Film With a Touch of Hitchcock

Hayley Mills as Nikky.

What do you get when you cross an Alfred Hitchcock suspense film with a Disney movie? The answer is something like The Moon-Spinners (1965), an attempt to transition 17-year-old Hayley Mills to more grown-up roles.

The Moon-Spinners opens with musicologist Fran Ferris (Joan Greenwood) and her niece Nikky arriving on the island of Crete. Despite telegraphing ahead to reserve a room, they are initially turned away by The Moon-Spinners Inn. The inn's owner (Irene Pappas) and, more emphatically, her brother Stratos (Eli Wallach) don't want strangers snooping around. However, when a young lad intercedes on behalf of the visitors, they are allowed to stay for a night.

Nikky becomes infatuated with a handsome stranger named Mark (Peter McEnery), who seems to be keeping a watchful eye on Stratos. Later that night, Mark is shot while spying on Stratos and his crony at the Bay of Dolphins. Nikky discovers a wounded Mark in an empty church the next day and agrees to help him--even though he refuses to tell her what he's really doing on the island.

The windmill where Nikky is captive.

It's a familiar Hitchcock plot: a normal person encounters a stranger and gets involved in a tangled adventure with mysterious people (see The 39 Steps, Young and Innocent). Alas, although loosely based on a Mary Stewart novel, The Moon-Spinners' resemblance to a Hitchcock picture ends with the premise. At a length of almost two hours, it moves sluggishly against its colorful backdrop and struggles to manufacture suspense. Indeed, the only scene that generates any legitimate thrills is when Nikky has to escape from a windmill by grabbing hold of one of the arms.

John Le Mesurier.

Eli Wallach makes for a menacing villain, but also a surprisingly tedious one. It's a shame as we know from The Magnificent Seven that he can play a wonderfully despicable baddie. Fortunately, Wallach gets some help in the villain department from John Le Mesurier, who is introduced late in the film as Stratos' boss. His suave English gentleman remains remarkably calm while dealing with his second-rate henchman and his own wife (a delightful Sheila Hancock), whose propensity for liquor results in talking too much.

One wishes that The Moon-Spinners had made better use of Joan Greenwood, Irene Pappas, and former silent film star Pola Negri. These fine actresses are limited to a handful of scenes, though Negri appears to be having fun as an eccentric heiress with a pet cheetah and a penchant for rare jewels.

Hayley Mills never seems to find the right tone as the teenage heroine; her character comes across as too juvenile. Additionally, she and Peter McEnery have little rapport. When he finally kisses her--Hayley's first on-screen smooch!--it comes across as very chaste. Mills followed up The Moon-Spinners with an excellent performance in The Chalk Garden (1964) and later starred in The Trouble With Angels (1966), one of her most beloved films. The handsome McEnery's film career petered out by the end of the decade despite a promising performance in the earlier Victim (1961) and a starring role in Disney's The Fighting Prince of Donegal (1966). 

Hayley Mills in The Truth About Spring

Hayley as Spring Tyler.

When naming the biggest stars of the 1960s, Hayley Mills may not spring to mind. But the young actress had a remarkable decade, starring in huge Disney hits (The Parent Trap), scoring critical raves (Whistle Down the Wind), and making future cult films (The Chalk Garden). One of my favorite Hayley pictures of this period is the seldom-shown, but highly entertaining The Truth About Spring (1965).

Hayley plays Spring Tyler, a tomboyish teenager who lives with her father Tommy (John Mills) aboard a small boat in the Florida Keys. Tommy is a sly hustler--and a very successful one. In the opening scene, he passes his daughter off as a boy dying from thirst so an ocean liner will provide enough provisions to last a week (including some juicy steaks!). 

Spring's world gets turned upside down when Tommy invites William Ashton, a handsome Princeton grad (James MacArthur), to spend a few weeks aboard the Sarah Tyler to do some fishing. There's an instant attraction between Spring and Ashton, but neither one quite knows how to handle it.

A scruffy John Mills as Tommy.

Meanwhile, Ashton quickly gets caught up in Tommy's latest scheme to recover $250,000 in gold from a sunken wreck with the help of his "partners." Tommy's pals (Niall MacGinnis and Lionel Jeffries) would just as soon murder him except that Tommy knows the location of the loot. Meanwhile, some playful frolicking between the young folks takes a serious turn when Ashton gives Spring her first kiss (and gets promptly slapped).

The Truth About Spring is a breezy lighthearted affair with John Mills having a grand time as a crafty old dodger. Excluding Hayley's appearance as a baby in So Well Remembered (1947) and John's cameo in The Parent Trap, she and her father made five movies together. They seem to be having a ball playing off each in The Truth About Spring. John gets the better role, hamming it up as Tommy and playfully threatening to marry a "good woman, clean and antiseptic" if Spring continues to defy his (questionable) parental authority. 

James MacArthur as Ashton.

The film gets a huge lift from the breathtaking locations off the Spanish coast, which double for the Caribbean. Additionally, almost every scene appears to have been shot aboard a boat or on the beach. 

Director Richard Thorpe was surely one of the most prolific filmmakers in the history of Hollywood, with over 180 credits to his name and a career that spanned the silent film era to the late 1960s. He was versatile as well, working comfortably in costume pictures (Ivanhoe and the underrated Quentin Durward), musicals (Fun in Acapulco with Elvis), and Thin Man mysteries.

If The Truth About Spring seems like a Disney film at times, it's likely because of the cast and the ultimately harmless villains. Hayley Mills, John Mills, James MacArthur, and David Tomlinson (who plays Ashton's uncle) were under Disney contracts at various times during the 1960s. John and James work together earlier on Swiss Family Robinson in which they played father and son. Incidentally, Niall MacGinnis, who plays a crook here, was a much more chilling villain as Karswell in Curse of the Demon.

In Search of the Castaways...and an Escaped Tiger!

Hayley Mills, her castmates, and some spotty special effects.

If asked to name the three biggest boxoffice hits of 1962, would one of your responses be In Search of the Castaways? Yet, it ranked right behind Lawrence of Arabia and The Longest Day with U.S. moviegoers. That's not surprising when you consider Hayley Mills was at the peak of her stardom and the Disney studio was a well-oiled machine cranking out hit after hit.

Set in the late 19th century, Castaways features Hayley as Mary Grant, an adventurous teenager who sets out with her young brother and a French professor to find her shipwrecked father and his mates. The professor believes he knows the father's location based on a note found in a bottle inside a dead shark. The ever-charming Mary convinces her father's employer, a shipping magnate, to finance the search. Of course, it helps that the gentleman has a son who takes an immediate interest in Mary.

Maurice Chevalier with Hayley.

The quintet's search takes them from England to South America to Australia and New Zealand. Along the way, they cope with an earthquake, a giant condor, a flood, a hungry jaguar, cannibals, an avalanche, an erupting volcano, and George Sanders as a villain. Whew! It's an action-packed 98 minutes, to say the least.

Like Disney's earlier classic 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954), Castaways was based on a Jules Verne novel, albeit a less famous one. In tone, though, this family adventure shares more with Disney's Swiss Family Robinson (1960), which starred Hayley's father John. 

Don't set your sights too high and you'll likely enjoy In Search of the Castaways. Despite the many dangers encountered during the expedition, there's never any doubt that Hayley and Co. will always emerge unscathed and the climatic reunion is a given. An added bonus is the presence of screen veterans like Maurice Chevalier, Wilfrid Hyde-White, and a scene-stealing Wilfrid Brambell as a prisoner plotting an escape from the cannibals. Brambell later starred in the British TV comedy Steptoe and Son, which inspired the U.S. series Sanford and Son.

The poster looks a little scary....

Released two years later, Walt Disney's A Tiger Walks did not experience the boxoffice success of Castaways. In many ways, it is a superior film, though it has faded into obscurity (fortunately,  it pops up on YouTube from time to time).

It's a surprisingly engrossing story of a tiger that escapes from its cage when a circus truck stops in a small town for a tire repair. One of the big cat's handlers, who has mistreated the animal, tries to track it down--and ends up mauled to death by the frightened tiger. 

Despite the efforts of the local sheriff (Brian Keith), politicians and journalists try to exploit the tiger for their own means. Even the sheriff's daughter gets unwittingly involved when she makes a plea for the animal's life during an on-location TV appearance. Her involvement leads to a nation-wide campaign fueled by school children to "Save the Tiger."

Pamela Franklin and Kevin Corcoran.

It may seem odd to compare a Disney film to Billy Wilder's cynical Ace in the Hole (1951), but both pictures focus on the theme of journalistic exploitation. And A Tiger Walks sneaks in some dark humor, too, such as when hotel keeper Una Merkel keeps raising her room rates as more and more people flock into the small town in search of a news angle.

The cast is uniformly fine with Keith, Vera Miles, and Pamela Franklin (The Nanny) as the family at the center of the incident. It was the last film appearance for Sabu, who plays a kind-hearted tiger trainer.

Hayley and Horst in Tiger Bay

Horst Buccholz and Hayley Mills in Tiger Bay.

It's taken me over 40 years to finally see Tiger Bay, the 1959 film debut of Hayley Mills. I first saw a preview of it on The CBS Late Movie in the 1970s, but missed the movie for reasons I can't remember. It then eluded me over the following decades until I recently discovered it on YouTube--a quality print no less.

Horst Buccholz stars as Korchinsky, a young Polish man who has returned to Wales after working many months on a freighter. Planning to propose to his girlfriend Anya, he is thus taken aback to learn that she has moved without telling him. Even worse, it appears Anya has kept the rent money that Korchinsky sent and shacked up with another man. The angry young sailor sets out to find her.

Concurrently, we follow the story of 11-year-old Gillie (Hayley Mills), a lonely girl shunned by the other children. Gillie is a deceptive child--she pockets the leftover change when her aunt sends her to buy sausages. Her aunt seems nice enough, but thinks nothing of young Gillie staying out alone late at night.

Gillie sees what happened.

Korchinsky finally tracks down Anya to the low-rent apartment house where Gillie lives. He confronts his girlfriend and strikes her. Anya grabs Korchinsky's gun from a drawer, there's a struggle, and Anya is accidentally shot. Gillie watches everything from the hallway and Korchinsky spots her as he hastily departs. Gillie then promptly snatches the gun and hides it in her aunt's apartment.

Tiger Bay is a reasonably compelling film from the outset, but doesn't gel until circumstances pair up Korchinsky and Gillie. That's when its true nature is revealed: This is a study of two lonely people who form an unlikely bond even though they both know it will be short-lived.

Hayley and John Mills.

It's quite a change-of-pace for director J. Lee Thompson, who later became best known for his action films with Charles Bronson. In Tiger Bay, Thompson captures the dark, shabby neighborhoods, which give way to grassy pastures in a scene where Korchinsky and Gillie dream briefly of a better life.

Hayley Mills gives an astonishingly natural performance for a first-time actor. She once said: "Acting is just a natural thing in my family. Other boys and girls go into the family business. So do we." In fact, her finest scene in Tiger Bay is when a Scotland Yard inspector grills her on Korchinsky's whereabouts. That inspector just happens to be played by Hayley's father, the wonderful John Mills.

After gaining popularity in his native Germany, Horst Buccholz made his English-language debut in Tiger Bay. His good looks and sensitive portrayal--especially his natural rapport with the young Mills--likely led to his casting in the following year's boxoffice smash The Magnificent Seven. Buccholz continued to have success with roles in Fanny (1961) and One, Two, Three (1961). He's very funny in the latter, though apparently he and Billy Wilder did not get along.

So, did Tiger Bay live up to my expectations after waiting so long to see it? I would say yes, for the most part. But the moral here is to never give up looking for that movie that you've always wanted to see. And do check YouTube occasionally, because you never known what you might find.

Walt Disney's Pollyanna

Hayley Mills as Pollyanna.

Impeccably produced and exceedingly well cast, Pollyanna ranks as Walt Disney's finest live-action children's film. Set in 1913, it tells the story of 12-old-year Pollyanna Whittier, an eternally-optimistic orphan who comes to live with her stern aunt in the picturesque small town of Harrington.

Pollyanna's Aunt Polly is a wealthy spinster who pretty much runs the town (which was named after her family). Polly even provides notes and Bible quotations to the local minister, whose fiery sermons leave the local residents with sour stomachs every Sunday. The town is in need of some cheer and that's what young Pollyanna provides. She finds something to be thankful for even in the bleakest situations. When folks complain that the Sunday sermon ruins their fried chicken dinner, Pollyanna quickly notes that they can be glad it's six days until the next Sunday!

Agnes Moorehead as Mrs. Snow.

She also looks for the best in people, a trait that eventually endears her to an elderly recluse (Adolphe Menjou), a cantankerous hypochondriac (Agnes Moorehead), and even the minister (Karl Malden) who has lost his congregation. Pollyanna's "gladness" spreads throughout Harrington and results in the townsfolk defying Aunt Polly by holding a bazaar to raise money for a new orphanage. Polly appears to be the lone hold-out, but a climatic tragedy changes her outlook on life as well.

Based on Eleanor H. Porter's 1913 novel, Pollyanna could have been a sticky-sweet maudlin mess. Instead, it's a bright, energetic film that seems much shorter than than its 134-minute running time. Over 360 young actresses were considered for the title role before British newcomer Hayley Mills was chosen. Walt Disney's wife Lilly was partly responsible for Mills' casting, having seen Hayley in her film debut Tiger Bay (1959).

Jane Wyman as Aunt Polly.

Disney surrounded Mills with an exceptional cast, pairing her with Jane Wyman and some of Hollywood's best supporting performers (e.g., Malden, Menjou, Moorehead, and Donald Crisp). He then added promising newcomer James Drury (The Virginian), the always reliable Nancy Olson, and another Disney child star, Kevin Corcoran (who had earlier appeared in Old Yeller). As if that's not enough, TV fans can rejoice in the presence of familiar faces such as Edward Platt (Get Smart), Reta Shaw (The Ghost and Mrs. Muir), and Mary Grace Canfield (Green Acres).

The central performance, though, is what holds Pollyanna together and Hayley Mills shoulders the responsibility with ease. I'm hard-pressed to think of another child star who seemed as natural on the screen. Mills' acting earned her a BAFTA nomination (the "British Oscar") and she was awarded a special Academy Award in 1961 for "most outstanding juvenile performance."

Hayley Mills and Karl Malden.

Her best scene in Pollyanna is also my favorite in the film: Pollyanna encounters Reverend Ford (Malden) in a field where he is practicing one of his stern sermons.  She recounts how her father, a missionary, struggled to reach his congregation until he focused on finding the good in people. It's a simple point made with childhood innocence, but it strikes home with the minister. It's a lovely scene and reminded me once again that Karl Malden was one of the great actors of his generation.

I was surprised to read recently that Pollyanna was not a boxoffice success. Walt Disney blamed the film's title, which he thought may not have appealed to boys. That may be true, but Pollyanna is truly a film for all ages. In fact, I didn't realize just how good it was until I watched it as an adult.  I have seen Pollyanna many times over the years now and it never fails to entertain and deliver its message of good cheer and faith in one another.

The Five Biggest Movie Stars of the 1960s

We love making lists at the Cafe, so why not create one for the five biggest movie stars of the 1960s? I know...how does one define "biggest"? Is it based on boxoffice power, critical acclaim, or enduring popularity? The answer is all of the above, plus a large dose of subjectivity. But that's half the fun of making lists like this. We also enjoy reading contrasting opinions and I'm sure many of you may have different ideas about who belongs on this list.

1. Sidney Poitier - It's hard to think of an actor who had a better decade from start to finish. He earned critical raves for his powerful performances in films like A Raisin in the Sun (1961), A Patch of Blue (1965), and In the Heat of the Night (1968). He starred in two classic "feel good" movies which regularly pop up on television: To Sir With Love and Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (both 1967). Yet, his finest work may have been as a drifter who finds purpose in an unlikely place in Lilies of the Field (1963).

2. Paul Newman - The popularity of Newman's "H films" (The Hustler, Hud, Hombre, Harper) would have secured him a spot on this list. However, the 1960s also featured two of his most iconic roles as a nonconforming prisoner in Cool Hand Luke (1967) and as a charming, small-town outlaw in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). 

3. Sean Connery - Prior to 1962, Sean Connery was a little-known Scottish actor. By the end of the decade, he was one of the biggest stars in the world. That will happen when you catapult to fame by playing the most famous secret agent in cinema history. In addition to his five James Bond films, Connery's 1960s lead roles included the well-reviewed POW drama The Hill (1965), cult favorite A Fine Madness with Joanne Woodward (1966), and Marnie (1964), perhaps Hitchcock's most underrated film (and a personal favorite).

4. Doris Day - The first half of the decade spotlighted five of of her best comedies: the superb Lover Come Back (1961) along with That Touch of Mink (1962), The Thrill of It All (1963), Move Over Darling (1963), and Send Me No Flowers (1964). Unfortunately, poor career choices (possibly attributed to her then-husband and business manager Martin Melcher) derailed her career. She even turned down the role of Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (I love Doris, but Anne Bancroft was perfect).

5. Hayley Mills - It's easy to forget that Ms. Mills was a huge star in the 1960s, thanks to her sparkling performances in two Disney classics: Pollyanna (1960) and The Parent Trap (1961). The former earned her a special Oscar while the latter featured a Top Ten song sung by Hayley ("Let's Get Together"). She appeared in several other Disney hits while also starring in more prestigious films such as The Chalk Garden opposite Deborah Kerr and Whistle Down the Wind (which you should truly see if you haven't). Plus, she starred opposite her father John Mills in the winning sleeper The Truth About Spring (1964)--yes, another personal fave.

Honorable Mentions:  Jack Lemmon, Steve McQueen, Elizabeth Taylor, John Wayne, and Elvis Presley.

The Paramount Vault: "Appointment with Death" and "My Six Loves"

I suspect that many of you have already discovered the Paramount Vault channel on YouTube. It's a great way to watch full-length movies for free on your computer, tablet, or TV (assuming your set can connect to the Internet). There are dozens of movies available (including 32 categorized as "classic") and the image quality is very good. Granted, Amazon Prime members will recognize many of the available titles in the Paramount Vault, but there are also exclusive films. I recently watched an Agatha Christie mystery and a Debbie Reynolds comedy.

Ustinov as the Belgian sleuth.

Appointment with Death (1988). Peter Ustinov's sixth and final appearance as Hercule Poirot lacks the high production values and all-star casts of earlier big screen Agatha Christie adaptations. Actually, it followed Ustinov's three made-for-TV Poirot movies, the last one being 1986's Dead Man's Folly. Still, Appointment with Death boasts a handful of familiar stars (e.g., Lauren Bacall, Piper Laurie) and on-location shooting in Israel gives the film a glossy look.

In the opening scene, widow Emily Boynton (Laurie) destroys her husband's most recent will which divided his fortune between his children and their stepmother. With control of the family finances, she takes the family on a trip to Israel. Along the way, they encounter another wealthy widow (Lauren Bacall), her secretary (Hayley Mills), and a physician (Jenny Seagrove). They are also joined unexpectedly by the family's lawyer (David Soul), who knows about the real will. During an outing to an excavation, Emily dies from what appears to be heart failure--but you and I know it's murder!

Sweet Jenny Seagrove as a suspect?

Appointment with Death employs one of Agatha Christie's favorite plot devices: a character misinterprets what she sees or hears. (For another use of this same device, watch any adaptation of A Caribbean Mystery with Miss Marple.) Still, for those unfamiliar with Dame Agatha's literary works, the identity of the culprit may come as a surprise.

Overall, Appointment with Death is a passable Poirot mystery--assuming that you don't watch it expecting to see another Death on the Nile or Evil Under the Sun (my personal fave of Ustinov's films).

The poster focuses on the star.

My Six Loves (1963). After collapsing from exhaustion, Broadway star Janice Courtney (Debbie Reynolds) retreats to her small-town Connecticut home for some rest and relaxation. That doesn't last long--especially after Janice discovers six abandoned children living on her property. Fortunately, the handsome local pastor (Cliff Robertson) is willing to help Janice with the unruly kids.

Cliff and a blonde Debbie.

From this plot summary, I am sure you can surmise the rest of My Six Loves and you would be right about everything. It is indeed a formula comedy from start to finish. There's a youth who has to learn how to trust adults again. There's the adorable youngest child. There the cute song ("It's a Darn Good Thing") that Debbie sings to the youngsters. And there's even the cynical friend on hand (Eileen Heckert) to try to keep things from becoming too treacly.

I have friends that adore My Six Loves. Most of them are Debbie Reynolds fans, but I also suspect that this is a "comfort movie" for other viewers. There's nothing wrong with that--sometimes, it's just reassuring to watch a 1960s formula comedy set in that nostalgic world that only exists in our imaginations.

So, while My Six Loves may not be my cup of tea, you may want drink the whole pot. Just be careful about adding more sugar...

The Five Best Hayley Mills Performances

1. Pollyanna. The finest Hayley Mills film features her as a young orphaned girl—an optimist if there ever was one—coming to live with her wealthy, spinster aunt circa 1913. Pollyanna pretty much shakes up the whole town, bringing lonely people together and reminding everyone that there are unexpected joys to be found in the most unlikely places. It’s a charming, uplifting tale, surprisingly devoid of schmaltz--and I think that's the secret to Hayley's appeal in the title role. Unlike many other child stars, she never tries to "play cute." Instead, she finds the appeal in her character and lets it come out naturally.

Hayley Mills and Deborah Kerr.

2. The Chalk Garden. Deborah Kerr headlines this offbeat, poignant tale about a governess hired by a dowager to care for the elderly lady’s out-of-control teenage granddaughter (Hayley Mills). The girl has a fondness for setting fires and delights in threatening to burn down the gloomy mansion set among the isolated cliffs. Hayley combines brattiness with vulnerability and repressed anger with youthful innocence. Best of all, she's content to concede the film's big scenes to the marvelous Deborah Kerr and deliver a first-rate supporting performance.

Hayley with Alan Bates.

3. Whistle Down the Wind. In rural England, three children discover a fugitive in their barn and come to believe that he is Jesus. This unique film works as both a religious allegory and an intelligent look into the world of children. Hayley Mills (as the children's leader) and Alan Bates (as the convict) give powerful performances. It was based on the novel by Hayley's mother, Mary Hayley Bell, who also wrote the screenplay. Andrew Lloyd Webber transformed it into a stage musical that never made it to Broadway.

Hayley playing twins.

4. The Parent Trap. In one of her most famous films, Hayley plays 13-year-olds Susan Evers and Sharon McKendrick, who meet at camp and discover they’re twins separated at an early age when their parents divorced. It's a ridiculous premise when you think about it, but that doesn't stop The Parent Trap from being one of my favorite Disney movies. Hayley differentiates between the twins nicely, sings a duet, and once again defers to the grown-up stars (Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara) when the plot shifts to their renewed romance.

In Sky West and Crooked.

5. Sky West and Crooked and The Trouble With Angels. Yes, it's a tie for the final spot so we can squeeze in a sixth film. The little-seen Sky West and Crooked (1965) casts Hayley as Brydie White, a seventeen-year-old girl who has mentally blocked out a childhood tragedy. Her widowed, alcoholic mother possesses no parenting skills--leaving Brydie to fend for herself. The townsfolk think the girl is a bit daft (the meaning of the title), but she still finds romance with a gypsy lad (Ian McShane). In the the popular 1966 comedy, The Trouble With Angels, Hayley plays a rebellious girl who clashes with the Mother Superior (Rosalind Russell) at a boarding school run by nuns. It's an amusing film, with Hayley's character constantly getting into trouble for her "scathingly brilliant ideas." However, Hayley brings depth to her character as she quietly watches the nuns and tries to understand their faith and dedication. It's a serious final scene that gives this frothy film its depth--and makes it stand out from similar confections (including its Hayley-less sequel Where Angels Go, Trouble Follows).

Honorable Mentions: The Truth About Spring (if I was listing my five favorite HM movies, this would be one of them); Tiger Bay;  and The Moon-Spinners (sort of a juvenile Hitchcock film--just not as good); and The Trouble with Angels (the ending makes the movie).

Coop's a Quaker and Hayley Buries Dead Animals

Gary Cooper and Dorothy Maguire.

Friendly Persuasion (1956). This pleasant, heartfelt tale of Quaker life in southern Indiana during the Civil War lacks the drama that went into bringing the film to the screen. Jessamyn West's 1945 novel was comprised of short stories published in various magazines beginning in 1940. William Wyler acquired the rights in 1948, but the project languished for several years. It didn't help that the House Committee on Un-American Activities proclaimed screenwriter Michael Wilson to be an "unfriendly witness." Despite winning an Oscar for co-writing A Place in the Sun in 1952, Wilson was blacklisted in Hollywood. When Wyler finally produced Wilson's adaptation of Friendly Persuasion, the credits did not list a screenwriter (in 1996, the opening credits were updated to include Wilson). As for Wyler, he intended to shoot the film on location in Indiana, but the budget spiraled out of control, forcing him to finish it in California (some outdoor scenes were clearly filmed in a studio).

Anthony Perkins.

Gary Cooper stars as the patriarch of the Birdwell family, although the film focuses on his oldest son Josh (Anthony Perkins) and daughter Mattie (Phyllis Love). Mattie has fallen in love with a Union officer and Josh can't decide whether to fight alongside his friends in the war or whether to remain faithful to his Quaker beliefs. It's a leisurely, episodic movie that doesn't build to a strong climax, but there are effective scenes along the way (e.g., when Mrs. Birdwell, played by Dorothy Maguire, deals with the Confederate soldiers). Cooper, then in his mid-50s, had doubts about playing a father--and a pacifist one at that. Just five years earlier, he starred as a strong-willed sheriff with a 23-year-old Grace Kelly as his bride in High Noon. Still, Cooper anchors Friendly Persuasion and provides the film with some much-needed humor, some of it centered around the elder Birdwell's desire to beat a neighbor in a weekly "unofficial" buggy race.

The surprisingly plush Birdwell home.

Friendly Persuasion won an Oscar for Best Sound and earned other nominations for Best Picture, director, supporting actor (Perkins), song, and--incredibly--screenplay (though the nomination was for the script and not the writer because Wilson was blacklisted). Pat Boone crooned the title song, written by Dimitri Tiomkin and Paul Francis Webster, which went to #5 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart.


Sky West and Crooked (aka Gypsy Girl) (1965).  At the age of 19, Hayley Mills had pretty much wrapped up her highly-successful career as Walt Disney's biggest child star. She could still play teenagers, but adult roles were just around the corner. During this period in the mid-60s, she made several "transition" films such asThe Chalk Garden and The Truth About Spring--both personal favorites. She also starred in the unusual Sky West and Crooked, a Mills family project directed by Hayley's father, acclaimed actor John Mills, and co-written by her mother, Mary Hayley Bell.

 

Ian McShane as Roibin, the gypsy.

Set in rural England, Sky West and Crooked casts Hayley as Brydie White, a seventeen-year-old girl who has mentally blocked out a childhood tragedy. Her widowed, alcoholic mother possesses no parenting skills--leaving Brydie to fend for herself. The townsfolk think the girl is a bit daft (I surmised that was the meaning of the film's title). The local vicar and a coffin-maker's family treat her kindly and she has become the unofficial leader of the village children. Indeed, when Brydie buries her two dead hamsters in the church cemetery (she forgot to provide them with water), the other children follow suit. Soon, the children are scouring the countryside for dead animals to bury in the cemetery--much to the dismay of their parents. Brydie's life is further complicated by the arrival of a handsome gypsy lad (Ian McShane).

An animal's grave.

Sky West and Crooked is an obvious attempt to duplicate the success of the superior Whistle Down the Wind, a 1961 classic starring Hayley and based on a novel by her mother. Both films feature rural settings, uninvolved parents, and a group of children led by Hayley. They also explore religious themes: in Whistle Down the Wind, the children believe an escaped convict is Jesus; in Sky West, the coffin-maker's children launch into an unexpected discussion about souls during afternoon tea with their parents.

The entire cast is convincing, with acting honors going to Hayley, Geoffrey Bayldon as the vicar, and Ian McShane as Hayley's love interest. While Sky West and Crooked certainly doesn't rank with Hayley's best films, it's still an interesting--if slowly-paced--tale about the need for love and the challenges of becoming an adult.

Summer Magic: Burl Ives Invites You to the Ugly Bug Ball

It's more of an ensemble film than
suggested by the poster!

Hayley Mills' fourth Walt Disney picture was a footnote in both her career and the Disney filmography for many years. Certainly, it pales in comparison to stellar Disney-Hayley collaborations like Pollyanna and The Parent Trap. There's no shame in that, but, in my experience, it's also not unusual for Disney die-hards and Hayley fans to ignore Summer Magic when discussing In Search of the Castaways, The Moon-Spinners, and That Darn Cat. Still, I'm pleased to say the film has its faithful  fans; when I recently mentioned Summer Magic on Twitter, I received a surprising number of enthusiastic responses.

The story unfolds in Boston around the turn-of-the-century, with the Carey family packing up their belongings to move to more affordable accomodations. The recently-widowed Margaret Carey (Dorothy McGuire) has little time to mourn her husand as she copes with what her daughter Nancy calls "reduced circumstances." Mom soon learns that the enterprising Nancy (Hayley) has inquired about a vacant house in rural Maine, where the family vacationed in happier times. Nancy easily convinces the family to leave Boston behind and take up residence in "the yellow house" in the charming town of Beulah.

The village's most popular resident is Osh Popham (Burl Ives), the local postmaster, storekeeper, handyman, and real estate agent for the mysterious Mr. Hamilton, who owns the yellow house. Osh and his two children befriend the Carey brood immediately (Mrs. Popham is not as easily swayed). But just as the Careys settle down, they are joined by uppity teenage cousin Julia (Deborah Walley), who competes with Nancy for the attention of the handsome new schoolmaster (James Stacy).

Summer Magic was based on Kate Douglas Wiggin's 1911 novel Mother Carey's Chickens, which was adapted for the stage in 1917. RKO mounted a screen version in 1938 with Fay Bainter as Margaret Carey, Ann Shirley as Nancy, and Walter Brennan as Ossian Popham. It was intended as a Katharine Hepburn vehicle, but she bought out her contract with RKO that year.

Ives and Mathers.

As a lighthearted musical remake, Summer Magic coasts largely on the affability of its cast, especially the always versatile Burl Ives. He's the glue that holds the episodic plot together. He also gets to sing "The Ugly Bug Ball," written by Richard Sherman and Robert Sherman, who scored the best Disney musicals (e.g., Mary Poppins). Ives croons this unlikely tune about self-acceptance to young Peter Carey (played by Jimmy Mathers, brother of Jerry Mathers of Leave It to Beaver fame). According to Robert Sherman's book Walt's Time: From Before to Beyond, Disney didn't like "The Ugly Bug Ball" initially, but was convinced by the Shermans to leave it in the film. The song remains a favorite of Ives' fans (if you've never heard of it, just Google the title and you'll be amazed about its enduring popularity).

While far from a Disney classic, Summer Magic will appeal to fans of its performers and to anyone in the mood to visit the kind of innocent small town where the worst crime is the theft of a 25-cent haircut.

Hayley Mills Times Two in "The Parent Trap"

Following the delightful Pollyanna (1960), Hayley Mills and writer-director David Swift teamed up again for The Parent Trap, Disney’s best live-action comedy. The gimmick of having Hayley play twins was achieved through then-innovative use of traveling mattes and split screens. It works amazingly well, but the film’s enduring appeal has nothing to do with its clever special effects. The Parent Trap retains its popularity because if its ability to function as a smart, romantic comedy (for adults) and an enjoyable children’s film (in which the teen protagonists outwit their elders).  

The story begins at Camp Inch with 13-years-olds Susan Evers and Sharon McKendrick discovering they’re twins separated at an early age when their parents divorced. Determined to reunite their mother (Maureen O’Hara) and father (Brian Keith), the girls trade places. Their scheme encounters a major obstacle, however, when Sharon learns that Dad plans to marry a young, gold-digging socialite (Joanna Barnes). 

Brian Keith and Maureen O'Hara.

It’s a simple framework that allows the winning performances and sharply written script to shine. Brian Keith unselfishly plays straight man while Hayley and Maureen O’Hara get most of the funny scenes. Still, they’re almost upstaged by supporting players Joanna Barnes and Leo G. Carroll, who each deliver some of the film’s best lines. After talking sweetly about Sharon in front of her father, Joanna Barnes’ character confides to her mother: “First change I make in that household is off she goes to a boarding school in Switzerland.” As a whimsical priest charmed by Maureen O’Hara’s ex-wife, Leo G. Carroll absentmindedly remarks to the new fiancée and her mother: “Delightful, charming woman…it’s amazing how he let her slip away from him.”

The film’s breezy nature and charm mask two major flaws in its premise. First, how could any parents be so cruel as to separate twin sisters—and never even tell them about one another? Secondly, it’s obvious that the parents are still very much in love, so why did they split up in the first place? Since any answers would be unsatisfactory, writer-director Swift wisely chooses to ignore them altogether. 

Joanna Barnes in the original.

The Disney studio produced a pleasant remake of The Parent Trap in 1998 with Lindsay Lohan as the twins (and Joanna Barnes as the mother of the fiancee she played in the original). In the 1980s, Hayley Mills reprised her roles as grown-up versions of Susan and Sharon in three made-for-cable sequels. Interestingly, Eric Kastner’s book was filmed previously as the seldom-shown British comedy Twice Upon a Time. 

Trivia fans, take note: The duet that Hayley sings with herself, “Let’s Get Together,” peaked at No. 8 on the Billboard Top 40 chart in 1961. Annette Funicello and Tommy Sands recorded the title song for The Parent Trap between takes on their movie Babes in Toyland. Finally, the uncredited Susan Henning-Schutte played the other twin in the scenes where it wasn’t necessary to show Hayley’s face.

The Chalk Garden: A Tale About Secrets and the Passing of Judgment

Hayley Mills and Deborah Kerr in The Chalk Garden (1964).

The Chalk Garden and Whistle Down the Wind probably rank as two of Hayley Mills' lesser-known films, especially to American audiences who associate her with Disney fare. Yet, Mills' loyal fans consider these films, along with the immensely popular Pollyanna, to be the best showcases for her underrated dramatic talents. On its own merits, The Chalk Garden is a haunting tale about secrets and the passing of judgment on people, often without charity.

John Mills and Deborah Kerr.

Arthur Ibbetson's photography sweeps the audience past water and cliffs into Belle Fountain. It is a lovely but cold mansion that rarely reverberates with warm laughter. The residents of this house include a dowager, Mrs. St. Maugham (Dame Edith Evans), her out-of-control teenage granddaughter Laurel (Mills), and their manservant Maitland (John Mills).

Hayley Mills as Laurel.

Enter Deborah Kerr as Madrigal, who is hired as governess without a reference because she knows something about gardening. Mrs. St. Maugham makes it clear that “Laurel is mine” because her daughter, Olivia, threw away breeding for a passing infatuation. She poisons Laurel's mind against her own mother, causing Madrigal to note that “flowers need nourishment ... your soil can't give them what it doesn't have.” To which the grandmother replies: “Then you give them what they need. You're in charge of my garden.” Madrigal answers: “Am I? I wasn't sure. I'll do my best...to help you with your garden and the child. Their problems are similar.”

Laurel spying on her new governess.

Madrigal herself is “wonderfully odd.” She is quiet and very observational. Laurel realizes that Madrigal is a mystery woman who paces her room at night “like a caged animal,” has only new possessions, doesn't have a picture of a loved one in her room, and receives no letters or phone calls. Laurel discusses these concerns with her grandmother and Maitland as she begins her work to rid herself of another in a long line of caregivers. But even Laurel isn’t prepared for what she learns about Madrigal.

Ronald Neame's tight direction keeps this intriguing story moving quickly as viewer focus shifts from Laurel to Madrigal. He hides the stage play origins extremely well until the climactic confrontations, where the close quarters actually increase the intensity of the revelations.

Dame Edith Evans.

Although Mills accounts for The Chalk Garden's following, her fellow performers steal their share of the spotlight, especially Dame Edith Evans and Deborah Kerr. Evans earned a Best Supporting Actress nomination as Laurel's grandmother. Interestingly, Kerr played a questionably disturbed governess three years earlier in The Innocents, a film version of Henry James' haunting novel The Turn of the Screw. In The Chalk Garden, her charge is a young girl unafraid of possession from ghosts, but with a disturbing need to lie and a fear of expressing honest emotions.

It's an ideal role for Mills, allowing her to combine brattiness with vulnerability and unrepressed anger with youthful innocence. The allure for Mills' fans is obvious, since it provides a welcome change-of-pace from the standard Disney heroine roles (e.g., In Search of the Castaways, The Moonspinners) that stifled her adult career.