HAND IN HAND
UK, 1961, 78 minutes, Black and white.
Loretta Perry, Philip Needs, John Gregson, Finlay Currie, Sybil Thorndike, Kathleen Byron, Miriam Karlin, Stratford Johns, Barbara Hicks.
Directed by Philip Leacock.
Hand in Hand is a very pleasing film from the late 1950s – early 1960s. It is a film about children, their innocence, their sense of play, their sense of love, sense of searching. The director, Philip Leacock, had made a number of very humane films, especially with the 1954 The Kidnappers, another delightful film about children.
The film is set in a small British town. But it is also a story of into religious tensions and reconciliation. The two children, Loretta Perry and Philip Needs, are in school together. At first, the boy mixes with the others in mocking the little girl and her singing. However, he begins to defend her and they become great friends. They share a great deal together, walking, talking, visiting each other’s families, finding a house and cleaning it up and building furniture. They make a deal and bond. They decide that they should have a honeymoon since it is like a marriage and they hitchhike to London. However, they are picked up by a gracious elderly lady who takes them to her home, one of the queen’s homes, with corgis, and a butler serving afternoon tea. They also become adventuresome, talking to a seemingly crusty old shopkeeper. The lady is played by Sybil Thorndike, the old man by Finlay Currie. They also decide to travel to Africa, on a raft and sail into a dangerous zone, the boy thinking he has killed the little girl. He seeks help from the parish priest. (Times change and the scene where the priest takes the boy into the presbytery and removes his wet jacket would in later decades immediately raise suspicions.)
The other theme is an interfaith theme. The boy is a strict Catholic, with instructions by his mother to be wary of Jews. The little girl is Jewish. However, the audience sees that the parish priest and the rabbi are good friends, especially discussing soccer. Each child dares the other to visit a ceremony at synagogue and church. The boy goes to the synagogue and is treated in a friendly way by the rabbi. The little girl goes to mass and is charmed by the statue of the Blessed Virgin. The fact that God and his love is for each of us in our own way is one of the messages of the film..
The film was released the same time as Conspiracy of Hearts, another Catholic– Jewish themed film.
Within five years the Catholic Church and the second Vatican Council had produced a document on good relationships with Jews and Judaism.
1. A film of the 1950s, 1960s? The UK, British society, churches and religion in Britain at the time? Tensions? Prejudice?
2. The British village, real, black and white photography, the school, the sacred music, Catholic and Jewish?
3. The title, the town, friendship and reconciliation?
4. The status of Jews in the UK at the time? Catholics? The Anglican and Protestant traditions? Ignorance, prejudice?
5. Michael, his running from the fields, through the village, his anxiety, fearing Rachel’s death? Seeking Fr Timothy? Going to the church? Pouring out his heart to Fr Timothy? The welcome to the presbytery? His being wet, removing the damp jacket, the blanket warming him?
6. The role of Fr Timothy, Michael relying on him, trusting him in the house? His listening to the story? His sympathy? Timothy in himself, the traditional priest, in the parish, in the church praying, a cassock and biretta, the discussions with Ben about the football? the day after the accident, meeting with Ben at the house, the good rapport between the two?
7. Ben, friendly, at the synagogue, the ceremonies, showing Michael the text from the sons and god’s love? With Fr Timothy?
8. Rachel, her singing at school, the boys mocking her, Michael included? His change of heart? Defending Rachel? Walking with her, talking, Hector, the white mouse? The gift? At their parents’ homes, the friendliness? Seeing the house, cleaning it, Michael building the furniture? The blood oath? The bond, seeing it as a marriage, the honeymoon, hitchhiking to London, to see the queen, the meeting with the lady in the car, her taking them to the house, being called princess, the afternoon tea, the return home? Seeing the corgis? Rachel daring Michael to go into the shop to buy the paper, the old man and his reading, the visit to buy the helmet, his friendliness, the right price for the helmet? The decision to go to Africa, Michael’s explanations, hunting lions and tigers, Rachel cautious, going on the dinghy, happiness, the rapids, the danger, Rachel falling out, Michael thinking she was dead, going for help, the people and the resuscitation, her being taken to hospital?
9. Questions of Gold, belief in God, the vengeful God, a kind God?
10. Michael’s visit to the synagogue, his cap, in the pew, the hymns, the ceremonies and his being mystified, Ben and his giving him the scripture text,
happiness? Rachel and her going to Mass, with Michael, the statue of the Blessed Virgin, her comfort in the statue’s smile?
11. The message in the images and language of 1960? Still valid and relevant today?
