MANDY aka THE STORY OF MANDY aka CRASH OF SILENCE. (1952) DIRECTED BY ALEXANDER MACKENDRICK FOR EALING STUDIOS. BASED ON THE NOVEL 'THE DAY IS OURS' BY HILDA LEWIS. STARRING MANDY MILLER, PHYLLIS CALVERT, TERENCE MORGAN, NANCY PRICE, EDWARD CHAPMAN AND JACK HAWKINS. REVIEW BY SANDRA HARRIS. ©
The book on which this charming Ealing Studios film is based was first broadcast on the radio (or maybe I should say 'wireless?') on the BBC's WOMAN'S HOUR in 1950. That's a lovely, quaint old beginning for the film that actually ended up being the fifth most popular draw at the British box office in 1952, the year of its release.
It was also nominated for six Bafta awards, although it didn't win any in the end. Shame, that. It must have been a great year for the movies, that's all I can say...!
Anyway, although it's made by the legendary EALING STUDIOS who brought us terrific comedy films like Alexander MacKendrick's other success story THE LADYKILLERS, it's not a comedy at all. Quite the opposite, in fact.
There's not much to laugh at in this simply-told tale of a little deaf girl who, after a long and arduous struggle, finally experiences the breakthrough that just might lead to her one day taking her rightful place in the world as a productive and, most importantly, happy member of society.
I've just given you a rather encapsulated version of the plot there, so now let's expand a little bit on this black-and-white movie that elicits fantastic performances from all four of its lead actors. Mandy is beautifully played by a girl who was actually called Mandy in real life, Mandy Miller from other films such as CHILD IN THE HOUSE and THE MAN IN THE WHITE SUIT. There's a nice little interview with the lady herself in the extra features.
Mandy is the only child of Christine and Harry Garland, being brought up in a post-war Britain that still features desolate, bombed-out waste grounds as part of its ravaged landscape. Mandy is deaf from birth, it seems, although her parents don't realise that until she's about two years old. When they finally work it out, they panic like crazy, as any worried parents would do.
They decide that the solution to Mandy's predicament is to wrap her up in cotton wool and mollycoddle her terribly, thereby keeping her insulated from all of life's problems. Nice work if you can get it, haha. Wish someone would do that for me, without the deafness, of course. I could definitely do with being insulated from at least some of my many problems...!
It gradually dawns on Mandy's mother Christine, however, that this system of keeping life and all of its little vicissitudes away from Mandy isn't really preparing her for living in the real world. I mean, what if something happened to her parents or the grandparents whom they all live with? Mandy hasn't learned to communicate in any way, shape or form whatsoever. How could she possibly look after herself and be independent if her parents ever weren't around for some reason?
Mandy is lucky enough to have a brave and courageous mother who, against her husband's wishes, decides to send Mandy to a school for deaf children run by Dick Searle, brilliantly played by Jack Hawkins (BEN-HUR, ZULU, BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI). The school works wonders for Mandy, who has never learned to mix with other children, never mind communicating with them.
A growing closeness between the attractive Christine and the kindly headmaster of the school, Dick Searle, causes big problems for Christine and her husband Harry. It also provides useful ammunition for the hateful Mr. Ackland, school governor and someone who's never liked Dick Searle's rather maverick attitude to teaching and who might well use this possible 'scandal' to help him to achieve his goal, ie, the ousting of Searle and the installation of a more malleable headmaster, perhaps? One who toes the line and doesn't express any independent opinions or give the school governors any unwanted headaches, that's what Mr. Ackland wants.
Either way, the focus should really all be on Mandy and the almost unbelievable progress she's making at Dick's school. Will the adults be able to put their petty squabbles aside and do what's best for the child? Let's hope so, for little Mandy's sake.
I love Nancy Price as the sensible and warm-hearted Jane Ellis, the grey-haired old dear who founded the school and now co-runs it with Dick. Though their school building is Victorian in physical appearance, their methods are progressive and child-friendly, strangely enough for the time, and they put the kiddies first in everything that they do. Their school is a marvel.
The chubby little 'Fifties kids are so adorable, with their sticky-out ears and falling-down socks, their bright shining eyes and shy smiles. If they don't melt your heart, then you mustn't have one to melt, you heartless monster, you...!
As to the bit where Christine apologises to her husband for 'forcing' him to hit her, my eyebrows shot up so far that they went right up through my hairline and down the back of my neck. I haven't seen 'em since and am thinking of putting out a BOLO, or BE ON THE LOOKOUT FOR, on them now.
And then when the hubby's lawyer said that it was always a mistake to belt the little woman, not because it's a shitty thing to do but only because it puts one in the wrong legal-wise, and God knows some of 'em really ask for it, well, I just sat there rigid with my mouth all pursed up like a bulldog chewing a wasp. Thank God we've left such out-dated notions behind forever, right guys? Right...? Guys...?
MANDY is available to buy now on Blu-Ray, DVD and EST courtesy of STUDIOCANAL and VINTAGE CLASSICS, to celebrate the 65th Anniversary Restoration of the film.
MANDY is part of the 'VINTAGE CLASSICS COLLECTION,' showcasing British films, all fully restored and featuring brand new extra content.
www.facebook.com/vintageclassicsfilm
The Digital Film Restoration was funded by PARK CIRCUS in collaboration with the BFI's UNLOCKING FILM HERITAGE PROGRAMME (awarding funds from the National Lottery).
AUTHOR BIOGRAPHY OF SANDRA HARRIS.
Sandra Harris is a Dublin-based novelist, film blogger and movie reviewer. She has studied Creative Writing and Film-Making. She has published a number of e-books on the following topics: horror film reviews, multi-genre film reviews, womens' fiction, erotic fiction, erotic horror fiction and erotic poetry. Several new books are currently in the pipeline. You can browse or buy any of Sandra's books by following the link below straight to her Amazon Author Page:
http://www.amazon.com/-/e/B015GDE5RO
You can contact Sandra at:
http://sandrafirstruleoffilmclubharris.wordpress.com
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