Whistle Down the Wind

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Bryan Forbes directs. Arthur Ibbetson behind the camera. Malcolm Arnold scores. Max Benedict cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

• 165 years old — a genuine piece of film history.
• 2Directed by Bryan Forbes, shot by Arthur Ibbetson. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
• 3Original score by Malcolm Arnold. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
• 4Editor Max Benedict shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
• 5Hayley Mills and Bernard Lee and Alan Bates carry the top of the cast.
• 6Marketing tagline: "Today's hottest young star in her newest... and by far her greatest.".
• 7IMDB entry: tt0055618 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.
• 8Only 61 TMDB ratings — you're getting ahead of the curve on this one.
• 9Classified under 12 themes, including "based on novel or book", "faith", "village life", "innocence".

The technical file

Cinematography

Arthur Ibbetson

Original score

Malcolm Arnold

Editing

Max Benedict

Makeup / hair

Stella Rivers

Runtime

99 min · 1h 39m

Aspect ratio (typical)

1.37:1 (Academy)

Status

Released

Original language

EN

Certification (US)

NR

IMDB

Whistle Down the Wind (1961) ↗

Also by

Bryan Forbes

• 
  Elton John and Bernie Taupin Say Goodbye Norma Jean and Other Things

  1973 · ★ 10.0
• 
  Jessie

  1980 · ★ 10.0
• 
  International Velvet

  1978 · ★ 7.4
• 
  The Madwoman of Chaillot

  1969 · ★ 7.3
• 
  Seance on a Wet Afternoon

  1964 · ★ 7.2
• 
  King Rat

  1965 · ★ 7.2

Stills · wallpapers

Selected frames

Full-resolution frames — open one to save it as a wallpaper.

Wallpaper

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

• 

  ▶
  Whistle Down The Wind - Coming Soon to Talking Pictures TV

  Trailer

Community reviews

What people are saying

• CinemaSerf2025-01-26
  ★ 7/10

  An almost internecine plot supports this wonderfully nostalgic story of rural life in late 1950s England. A trio of youngsters live on a farm with their rather neglectful, but not negligent, widower father; their aunt "Dolly" and "Eddie" the general factotum. The children rescue a litter of kittens and secrete them around their farm, soliciting God's help to keep them safe. When they go to inspect their charges they discover a poorly young man (Alan Bates) in the barn and assume that he is Jesus - even down to feeding him bread and wine and to protecting him from adults who may wish to visit the same fate upon him as on his previous incarnation. Obviously, he isn't Jesus and indeed has a much darker secret to keep; but the honest and sympathetic way in which the children conduct themselves - some may call it naive - is wonderfully engendered by the girls in the capable hands of director Bryan Forbes; especially the delicate, innocent, rapport between Bates and "Kathy" (Hayley Mills). The dialogue is peppered with local humour and personality that builds, softly, to a birthday tea that brings things to an head...

  Read full review ↓

Production companies

Who made it

• AL

  Allied Film Makers

  GB

• BE

  Beaver Films

• J.

  J. Arthur Rank Organisation

  GB

Key crew

• NovelMary Hayley Bell
• ProducerRichard Attenborough
• PublicistDiana Hawkins
• CastingMaureen Goldner
• Camera OperatorDavid Harcourt
• HairdresserStella Rivers
• EditorMax Benedict
• Makeup ArtistGeoffrey Rodway
• Art DirectionRay Simm
• Assistant DirectorBasil Rayburn
• Second Assistant DirectorCharles Blair

Themes & keywords

What it's about, really

• based on novel or book
• faith
• village life
• innocence
• escaped convict
• fugitive
• on the run
• rural area
• farming
• wife murderer
• religon
• lancashire

Release history · US

When it landed

• Theatrical1962-04-21NR

Also known as

International titles

• In den Wind gepfiffenDE