The Little Kidnappers Movie Review

Watch Charlton Heston's 1996 Canadian remake if you must, but the original movie is far superior. Duncan MacRae didn't have to impersonate a stern Scottish Grandaddy, he lived and breathed the role of Jim MacKenzie. Anyway, the focus rightfully belongs on the kids: Jon Whiteley, then eight, and Vincent Winter, six, deservedly won Oscars as Harry and Davy, who really want a dog, but when Grandaddy says no, they start doting on a “babby” of their very own. Director Philip Leacock showed such sensitivity and skill on the film that a bright future was predicted for him. He made a few more good films with kids (Escapade, The Spanish Gardener with Whiteley, Hand in Hand), but after 1960, his career veered toward telefeatures, none of them particularly distinguished. Whiteley appeared in a few more films, including Moonfleet with Stewart Granger. Winter appeared in The Dark Avenger with Errol Flynn, Time Lock with Sean Connery, Gorgo with Bill Travers, and a string of Disney films: Greyfriars Bobby, Almost Angels, The Horse Without a Head, and The Three Lives of Thomasina. Bring back special Oscars for best juvenile actors, so they don't have to compete with adult stars! AKA: The Kidnappers.

1953 95m/B GB Duncan MacRae, Adrienne Corri, Jon Whiteley, Vincent Winter, Jean Anderson, Theodore Bikel, Francis De Wolff, James Sutherland, John Rae, Jack Stewart, Jameson Clark, Howard Connell; D: Philip Leacock; W: Neil Paterson; C: Eric Cross.