Sky West And Crooked (1966)

After a childhood tragedy, a young girl (Hayley Mills) is rendered what used to be called "simple minded" and has blocked the tragedy out of her memory. But a bitter and resentful old man (Laurence Naismith) is bent on his own personal revenge on the girl. Directed by actor John Mills (RYAN'S DAUGHTER), the film's title is an English slang word for someone who's "not right in the head". The film is a family (in addition to her father directing, her mother wrote the script) showcase for the young Hayley Mills in a more dramatic role than the kind of parts she was doing at Disney and she gives a strong performance here as the child like innocent on the verge of womanhood. But I wish there weren't so many other stories crammed into the narrative, less is definitely more here. But we have subplots about discrimination against gypsies with Ian McShane playing a young gypsy attracted to Mills and a country parson (Geoffrey Bayldon) dealing with a small minded parish. Those subplots aren't given their full due and are only superficially addressed. Overall, it's a movie that deserves to be better known, flaws and all. Malcolm Arnold (BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI) contributes one of his best scores. With Annette Crosbie, very good as Mills' alcoholic mother and Pauline Jameson, Norman Bird and Judith Furse.