''Heart of a Child'' is a 1958 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

adapted from the 1940 novel of the same title by Phyllis Bottome, directed by

Clive Donner Clive Stanley Donner (21 January 1926 – 6 September 2010)Ronald Bergan]Obituary: Clive Donner ''The Guardian'', 7 September 2010 was a British film Film director, director who was part of the British New Wave, directing films such as ''Th ...

. It stars

Jean Anderson Jean Anderson (12 December 1907 – 1 April 2001) was an English actress best remembered for her television roles as hard-faced matriarch Mary Hammond in the BBC drama '' The Brothers'' (1972–1976) and as rebellious aristocrat Lady Jocelyn "J ...

and

Donald Pleasence Donald Henry Pleasence (; 5 October 1919 – 2 February 1995) was an English actor. He began his career on stage in the West End before transitioning into a screen career, where he played numerous supporting and character roles including RAF ...

Plot

During

wartime rationing Rationing is the controlled distribution of scarce resources, goods, services, or an artificial restriction of demand. Rationing controls the size of the ration, which is one's allowed portion of the resources being distributed on a particular ...

, Karl, a young Austrian boy, is beaten by his father, Spiel, who threatens to sell the boy's St. Bernard dog to the butcher to pay for food for the family. However, much to the father's fury, Karl sells the dog himself to a kindly

veterinarian A veterinarian (vet), also known as a veterinary surgeon or veterinary physician, is a medical professional who practices veterinary medicine. They manage a wide range of health conditions and injuries in non-human animals. Along with this, vet ...

. The dog, with the help of Maria, a

spinster ''Spinster'' is a term referring to an unmarried woman who is older than what is perceived as the prime age range during which women usually marry. It can also indicate that a woman is considered unlikely to ever marry. The term originally den ...

, then rescues Karl after he is trapped in a

snowstorm A winter storm is an event in which wind coincides with varieties of precipitation that only occur at freezing temperatures, such as snow, Rain and snow mixed, mixed snow and rain, or freezing rain. In temperate continental climates, these sto ...

. Maria ends up marrying the vet, and Karl's father ends up letting Karl keep the dog.

Cast

as Maria *

as Spiel * Richard Williams as Karl * Carla Challoner as Elsa *

Maureen Pryor Maureen St John Pook (23 May 1922 – 5 May 1977), known professionally as Maureen Pryor, was an Irish-born English character actress who made stage, film, and television appearances. ''The Encyclopaedia of British Film'' noted, "she never playe ...

as Frau Spiel * Norman Macowan as Heiss *

John Glyn-Jones John Glyn-Jones (28 August 1908 – 21 January 1997) was a British stage, radio, television and film actor. His father, William Glyn-Jones, was a Member of Parliament and he was educated at Bishop's Stortford College and Oxford University. He ...

as Priest *

Willoughby Goddard Willoughby Wittenham Rees Goddard (4 July 1926 – 11 April 2008) was an English actor whose trademark rotund figure was well known on television and in films for more than 40 years. Biography Goddard was born in Bicester, Oxfordshire. He pl ...

as Stott *

Andrew Keir Andrew Keir ( né Buggy, 3 April 19265 October 1997) was a Scottish actor who appeared in a number of films made by Hammer Film Productions in the 1960s. He was also active in television, and especially in the theatre, in a professional career ...

as Constable *

John Boxer John "Johnny" Boxer is an Australian television and film actor and commercial voice-over best known for his role as Bobo Gigliotti in '' Pizza''. Early life He grew up in Belmore, New South Wales and attended Belmore Boys High School, where he e ...

as Breuer

Production

It was the second feature film directed by Clive Donner, who had turned down two films after his debut ''The Secret Place''. He says they reshot the ending twice at the request of

Earl St John Earl St. John (14 June 1892 – 26 February 1968) was an American film producer in overall charge of production for The Rank Organisation at Pinewood Studios from 1950 to 1964, and was credited as executive producer on 131 films. He was known ...

who was dissatisfied with it. Then

Sydney Box Frank Sydney Box (29 April 1907 – 25 May 1983) was a British film producer and screenwriter, and brother of British film producer Betty Box. In 1940, he founded the documentary film company Verity Films with Jay Lewis. He produced and co-wro ...

wrote another ending and that was used. Donner said the film "was not a happy experience" even though there was location work in Austria.

Reception

Donner said "I don't think it did as great business as it could have done because sentimentality of that sort is something I wasn't right for and I think I was fighting it. If I'd really gone for broke I think I would've done big, big business."

References

External links

* 1958 films Films directed by Clive Donner Films shot at Pinewood Studios British drama films 1958 drama films 1950s English-language films 1950s British films {{1950s-UK-film-stub