Gypsy Girl

source: Gypsy Girl

I caught this film just now in the middle of the night (I get my best cinematic education from TCM and IMDb) and I missed part of the beginning, but you'd only need a snippet to see that Hayley's performance is stellar, unlike any movie I've ever seen her in. She's not a Disney darling here, that's for sure! Her own father directed her in this film and her mother wrote the screenplay! I can't imagine what it must have been like behind the scenes but her dad must've known her well because he brought out the best in her here! She truly looks like a different person, like she's delved into the essence of what it takes to be an actress, instead of just what it takes to sell movie tickets (sorry Disney!) While I love all of those old Hayley Mills classics this is the first time I could ever see her as more than just a label to churn out numbers at the cinema and it's no wonder it's not nearly as well known. For that reason alone it should be on every true movie buffs DVD shelf, if it ever finally comes out that is.

SKY WEST AND CROOKED is an engaging and long-forgotten little movie, the sole film directed by John Mills. His daughter Hayley stars in the lead role of a young girl disturbed by the childhood death of her best friend, and she gives an interesting, unusual performance here. She's at that awkward phrase, right at the cusp of adulthood (and unrecognisable in comparison to her all-grown-up role in 1968's TWISTED NERVE) but still resembling the Disney starlet of the early 1960s. This is a film of lyrical beauty, finely judged but perhaps too subtle for modern tastes. It's a film which mixes humour, psychological depth, and romance, and it features a matinée idol performance from a very youthful Ian McShane who also shines. Animal lovers will enjoy the film's handling of the more sensitive moments, while it also captures a rural slice of life in England in the 1960s, for all its good and bad sides. The likes of Laurence Naismith, Annette Crosbie, and in particular Geoffrey Bayldon are all very good in support.

This film was at least briefly available on VHS in the UK. A firm called Strand Magnetics, based in Wimborne, Dorset brought it out in a cardboard case under the brand Look Movies. It appears to have been properly licensed from Rank. There is no video certificate noticed on the bbfc website but the tape carries the post-1985 PG rating. Worth looking out for at your local car-boot, where it is likely to be snapped up by sci-fi fans: the style of lettering and cover-picture suggest that genre! I am not interested in supplying copies and post this for information only.

Sometimes lilting, sometimes puttering British film set in a small, rural village has a precocious lass in her late teens attracting the not-unwanted attentions of a swarthy lad from a nearby gypsy camp; when the girl is reminded of a childhood trauma she had blocked out, she runs off in a panic until the outsiders come to her rescue. Romantic drama does meander and features too much hysteria in the second-half, but there are fine passages of dialogue--and great character names like 'Brydie White'. The direction by celebrated actor John Mills isn't especially pointed; Mills doesn't have a superlative director's attentive eyes or ears, nor is he helped by the flaccid editing which allows the film's midsection to ramble. Still, the picture has a dreamy ambiance which is rather enveloping, and also a sweet, unforced lead performance by Mills' real-life daughter, Hayley Mills. Hayley cuts back a bit on her penchant for brashness, and she looks and sounds lovely. The same can also be said for Ian McShane as the gypsy boy, who is appealing and helps bring out a softer side to Hayley which her popular movies for Walt Disney didn't always showcase. An unusual little tale, told with careful simplicity and quaintness. **1/2 from ****

17-year old Brydie suffered some brain damage in a childhood accident and now runs wild in her tiny West Country village, playing in the graveyard with small children and obsessing about death. The townsfolk look the other way, but when a young gypsy man starts following her, they fear for her safety. Hayley Mills was 20 but looked 12 when she made this movie which was written by her mother and directed by her father. She's quite good as the innocent, damaged girl, even though she overdoes the hysterics a few times. Ian McShane, as the gypsy man who fancies Brydie, is good but looks a bit too menacing. The movie is very low-key and slow, wandering aimlessly for the first half and only developing some action at the very end. "Gypsy Girl" was originally titled, "Sky West and Crooked," a phrase that refers to Brydie's mental state. It's a good find for fans of Hayley Mills and an interesting, though decidedly low-budget-looking, film.

I saw this film many years ago on TV, and fell in love with it! I've looked for it ever since. Hayley Mills and Ian McShane have wonderful chemistry, and it is a very sweet story. I cannot find it on video. Does anyone know how I can get a copy of it?

I love this film. It is very much a movie about a wild child. Haley acts very well and she truly becomes the character. This movie reminds me a lot of the 60s spirit of hippies, flower child and all that. It's about love and child-like spirit. Very sweet. The plot has issues, but I can overlook it because the movie is so sweet in a natural way. Like others have said, it is much better than her Disney movies. To those who think the movie is rambling...it is, but I think it totally fits with the mood and theme of the movie. It is about a free spirit. The English countryside is beautiful. Like someone else said, it makes me want to jump in the movie and run with her. It's a good advertisement for UK tourism. Thanks TCM for showing this rare film.

An emotionally backward girl falls for a local gypsy. Coming-of-age film relies on setting (1960s British countryside) and strong character development for charm. Sure direction steers away from sappiness and holds interest despite the thin plot. A fine companion to "Railway Children". (Rating: A-minus)

I am lucky as a 14-year-old to know this movie even exists, I was looking through Netflix and stumbled upon it. I found this movie positively delightful. Young handsome Gypsy boy Roibin, played by Ian McShane, falls instantly in love with the pretty fair haired Brydie White, played by Hayley Mills, who in time also returns his affections. It's sad to say that this movie is a forgotten classic. And that it is a miracle that someone as young as me even knows it exists, much less actually seen it. The beginning song that I hear is sung by Hayley Mills sets the mood just right. But I will not let this movie continue to be forgotten so easily. I will try my best to remind the world of this adorable button nose 17-year-old village girl and dashing dark-skinned boy. So in return to those who read these reviews and would actually like to see it, to you I leave a gift, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xH4JN1u32o&feature=related That's right, Sky West And Crooked completely on YouTube. Enjoy!