''The Kidnappers'' (US: ''The Little Kidnappers'') is a 1953 British film, directed by

Philip Leacock Philip David Charles Leacock (8 October 1917 – 14 July 1990) was an English television and film director and producer. His brother was documentary filmmaker Richard Leacock. Career Born in London, England, Leacock spent his childhood in the C ...

and written by Neil Paterson.

Plot

In the early 1900s, two young orphaned brothers, eight-year-old Harry (Jon Whiteley) and five-year-old Davy Mackenzie (Vincent Winter) are sent to live in a Scottish settlement in Nova Scotia, Canada, with their stern Grandfather (Duncan Macrae) and Grandmother (Jean Anderson) after their father's death in the

Boer War The Second Boer War ( af, Tweede Vryheidsoorlog, , 11 October 189931 May 1902), also known as the Boer War, the Anglo–Boer War, or the South African War, was a conflict fought between the British Empire and the two Boer Republics (the Sou ...

. The boys would love to have a dog but are not allowed, Grandaddy holding that "ye canna eat a dog". Then they find an abandoned baby. Living in fear of Grandaddy (he beats Harry, the older boy, for disobeying him), they conceal it from the adults. They view the baby as a kind of substitute for the dog that they have been denied (Davy, the younger boy, asks his brother, "Shall we call the baby Rover, Harry?"). Grandaddy is having problems with the Dutch settlers who have arrived at the settlement in increasing numbers after leaving South Africa at the end of the Boer War. He has had a long-running dispute with

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a South African ethnic group descended from Free Burghers, predominantly Dutch settlers first arriving at the Cape of Good Hope in the 17th and 18th centuries.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: ...

Jan Hooft (Francis de Wolff) over ownership of a hill and refuses to accept a legal ruling that the land, in fact, belongs to Hooft. He also keeps a close rein on his grown-up daughter Kirsty (Adrienne Corri) and is reluctant for her to make a life for herself. She is in love with the local doctor Willem Bloem (Theodore Bikel), who left Holland for Canada for reasons he will not disclose. He does not return her affections. To make matters worse, it turns out that the "kidnapped" baby is Hooft's younger daughter. When found out, Harry is tried at a court set up in the local trading store. He is suspected of taking the baby as a result of the tensions between the two families but states that he did not know her identity. Surprisingly, Hooft speaks up in his defense, stating that no harm had come to her and his older daughter should have been looking after her. The court official suggests that Harry be sent to a corrective school, and is immediately threatened with shooting by Grandaddy. The clerk climbs down, merely suggesting an investigation into the location of these schools in case a further kidnapping should occur. Afterwards, Grandaddy thanks Hooft for speaking up for Harry. The film ends with Grandaddy (who had never learned to read or write) instructing Harry to write to a mail order company to order the

red setter The Irish Setter ( ga, sotar rua, literally "red setter") is a setter, a breed of gundog, and family dog. The term ''Irish Setter'' is commonly used to encompass the show-bred dog recognised by the American Kennel Club as well as the field-bred ...

they had set their hearts on. He had found the flyer for the dog in one of his best boots, where the boys had hidden it. They had noticed that he sometimes walked without these boots, slinging them over his shoulder, to save wear and tear. To pay for the dog, Grandaddy had sold them – a prized item among his few possessions. Davy is now able to say, "I think we'll call him Rover, Harry." One of the film's most memorable moments comes with the horror on Duncan Macrae's face at what his grandson must have thought of him when the little boy implores "Don't eat the babbie, grandaddy!".

Cast

* Duncan Macrae as Jim MacKenzie *

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 ...

as Grandma MacKenzie *

Adrienne Corri Adrienne Corri (born Adrienne Riccoboni; 13 November 1931 – 13 March 2016) was a Scottish actress. Early life She was born Adrienne Riccoboni in Glasgow in November 1931, the daughter of an English mother (Olive Smethurst) and an Italian f ...

as Kirsty *

Theodore Bikel Theodore Meir Bikel ( ; May 2, 1924 – July 21, 2015) was an Austrian-American actor, folk singer, musician, composer, unionist, and political activist. He appeared in films, including '' The African Queen'' (1951), ''Moulin Rouge'' (1952), ' ...

as Dr. Willem Bloem *

Jon Whiteley Jon James Lamont Whiteley (19 February 1945 – 16 May 2020) was a Scottish child film actor and in adult life a distinguished art historian. Life and career The Monymusk-born Whiteley appeared in five films during his brief acting career, ...

as Harry, Jim's grandson *

Vincent Winter Vincent Winter (29 December 1947 – 2 November 1998) was a Scottish child film actor who, as an adult, continued to work in the film industry as a production manager and in other capacities. Career Winter was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and ...

as Davy, another grandson *

Francis de Wolff Francis Marie de Wolff (7 January 191318 April 1984) was an English character actor. Large, bearded, and beetle-browed, he was often cast as villains in both film and television. Life and career Born in Essex, he made his film debut in ''Flame ...

as Jan Hooft Sr. * James Sutherland as Arron McNab * John Rae as Andrew McCleod * Jack Stewart as Dominie *

Jameson Clark Jameson Clark (8 July 1907, Kilbirnie, North Ayrshire, Scotland – 4 January 1984, Kilbirnie, Ayrshire, ScotlandEric Woodburn Eric Woodburn (''né'' Eric Melville Reis; 9 March 189425 October 1981) was a Scottish stage, film and television actor. Prior to this he had a long career on the stage and was also a noted baritone singer. His most important role was as Docto ...

as Sam Howie *

Christopher Beeny Christopher Winton Beeny (7 July 1941 – 3 January 2020) was an English actor and dancer. He had a career as a child actor, but was best known for his work as the footman Edward Barnes on the 1970s television series '' Upstairs, Downstairs'', ...

as Jan Hooft Jr.

Reception

The film was based on Neil Paterson's short story "Scotch Settlement", and was the eighth most popular movie at the British box office in 1954. Both Whiteley and Winter were presented with Honorary Juvenile Acting Oscars for their performances, which had been coached by director

Margaret Thomson Margaret Thomson (10 June 1910 – 30 December 2005) was an Australian-born documentary filmmaker who divided her forty-year career between New Zealand and England. She was the first female film director active in New Zealand. Family and educat ...

."Margaret Thomson
NZonscreen. In addition, the film was nominated for three

BAFTA Film Awards The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cere ...

and was entered into the 1954 Cannes Film Festival. A second film based on the same Patterson short story was released in 1990, under the original film's American title ('' The Little Kidnappers''). Starring

Charlton Heston Charlton Heston (born John Charles Carter; October 4, 1923April 5, 2008) was an American actor and political activist. As a Hollywood star, he appeared in almost 100 films over the course of 60 years. He played Moses in the epic film ''The Ten C ...

in the role of Granddaddy, the film was written by Coralee Elliott Testar and shot entirely on location in

Nova Scotia Nova Scotia ( ; ; ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. Nova Scotia is Latin for "New Scotland". Most of the population are native Eng ...

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kidnappers, The 1953 drama films 1953 films British black-and-white films Films about orphans Films set in Nova Scotia Films shot at Pinewood Studios British drama films Films based on short fiction Films directed by Philip Leacock 1950s English-language films 1950s British films