''Never Never Land'' is a 1980 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 ...

directed by Paul Annett and starring

Petula Clark Petula Sally Olwen Clark, CBE (born 15 November 1932) is an English singer, actress, and composer. She has one of the longest serving careers of a British singer, spanning more than seven decades. Clark's professional career began during the ...

Cathleen Nesbitt Cathleen Nesbitt (born Kathleen Mary Nesbitt; 24 November 18882 August 1982) was an English actress. Biography Born in Birkenhead, Cheshire,Before 1 April 1974 Birkenhead was in Cheshire England to Thomas and Mary Catherine (née Parry) Nesb ...

John Castle John Michael Frederick Castle (born 14 January 1940) is an English actor. He is best known for his film and television work, most notably playing Bill in Michelangelo Antonioni's '' Blowup'' (1966) and Geoffrey in '' The Lion in Winter'' (19 ...

, and Anne Seymour. It is named after

Neverland Neverland is a fictional island featured in the works of J. M. Barrie and those based on them. It is an imaginary faraway place where Peter Pan, Tinker Bell, Captain Hook, the Lost Boys, and some other imaginary beings and creatures live. Altho ...

, the magical setting of the classic children's tales of

Peter Pan Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythi ...

Plot synopsis

Seven-year-old Jennie (Heather Miller) has been abandoned by her parents and left in the care of her aunt Bee (

) and uncle Jim (

). Jennie is treated poorly by her two elder cousins, and taking her lead from the story ''

Peter and Wendy ''Peter Pan; or, the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up'' or ''Peter and Wendy'', often known simply as ''Peter Pan'', is a work by J. M. Barrie, in the form of a 1904 play and a 1911 novel. Both versions tell the story of Peter Pan, a mischievous li ...

'', she runs away from home with her younger cousin Joe ( Christian Henson). She finds shelter in an abandoned London townhouse occupied by a gang of young ruffians, and becomes the equivalent of Wendy, role-playing "mother" to the Lost Boys. An old woman named Edith Forbes (

, in her final screen performance) befriends the girl.

Cast

as Bee *

as Edith Forbes * Anne Seymour as Zena * Michael J. Shannon as Peter *

as Jim *Heather Miller as Jennie * Christian Henson as Joe *

Evelyn Laye Evelyn Laye (née Elsie Evelyn Lay; 10 July 1900 – 17 February 1996) was an English actress who was active on the London light opera stage, and later in New York and Hollywood. Her first husband, actor Sonnie Hale, left her for Jessie Ma ...

as Millie *

Roland Culver Roland Joseph Culver, (31 August 1900 – 1 March 1984) was an English stage, film, and television actor. Life and career After Highgate School, he joined the Royal Air Force and served as a pilot from 1918 to 1919. After considering other c ...

as Mr. Salford * James Marcus as P.C. Stubbs

Reception

Produced by actress

Diane Baker Diane Carol Baker is an American actress, producer and educator who has appeared in motion pictures and on television since 1959. Early life Baker was born in 1938 at Hollywood Presbyterian Hospital in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California a ...

, it was unsuccessful in the UK and received a limited commercial release in the US. It was later broadcast by HBO in the mid-1980s. The film's theme song "Fly Away" was composed by Jane McNealy and Alice Kuhns. It is included on ''The Petula Clark Anthology: Downtown to Sunset Boulevard'', a CD released in 2000.

External links

* 1980 films 1980 drama films Films shot at EMI-Elstree Studios British drama films Films scored by Ron Grainer 1980s English-language films 1980s British films {{1980s-UK-film-stub