Maddyclassicfilms Mandy is directed by Alexander MacKendrick. The film stars Jack Hawkins, Mandy Miller, Phyllis Calvert and Terence Morgan.I enjoyed this one very much. I'm extremely impressed by the performance of Mandy Miller as Mandy, she has the difficult task of conveying what her character is going through by facial expressions only; and she does such a fine job and is utterly convincing and natural in the role. I'm going to try and check out more of her work. She is so good in this film, perfectly conveying how introverted and shy Mandy has become.Mandy(Mandy Miller)is born deaf, her parents Christine and Harry(Phyllis Calvert and Terence Morgan)raise her at home. Because she can't speak, she can't communicate with her family or anyone else and as she gets older she becomes hard to control.Eventually she is taken to a residential deaf school, which is run by Jack Hawkins progressive teacher, Searle. Here, Mandy can at last make friends and learn how to communicate in a hearing world. The growing friendship between Christine and Searle, that so easily could have developed into a romance is touching and well conveyed by Hawkins and Calvert.I really hope that people who saw this back at the time of release came to understand that deaf people(and anyone else with a disability)are just as normal as anyone else. I hope this film helped educate people about those who are deaf.I loved the part where Mandy's mum discovers the teacher she has been talking to perfectly normally is actually completely deaf, but can lip read and use her voice normally; that scene perfectly shows that deaf people can exist just as normally as those of us who can hear.

howardmorley This film has a resonance for me as I too was 6 years old in 1952 being born in 1946 the same age as Mandy Miller was when she performed her signature film of a little deaf girl.I vaguely remember my parents talking about this film then but now at 63 this was the first time I had seen it.I have to admit my eyes were damp the whole way through as I too can remember the many bomb sites then around London, the old taxis & cars, the ladies fashions, what my primary school was like in my second year and playtime with fellow infants.It is not often I award 9/10 for a film but this was one such occasion.The whole cast, director, producer. scriptwriter and production crew performed admirably and of course Mandy Miller's central role was wholly believable.The film did not lapse into mawkish sentimentality once but kept a realistic grip throughout so that one sensed it was almost a documentary but kept the dramatic emphasis together."The heavy" Mr Akland, was played by Edward Chapman a role he played in "Gone to Earth" (1949) as a hypocritical church deacon. In Mandy he tries to stir up trouble by suggesting and trying to prove the mother Christine (Phyllis Calvert) and Searle (Jack Hawkins) are having an affair, for jealous professional reasons.To show Edward could also play comedic roles he is more famous in the UK for playing the hapless foil Mr Grimsdale to Norman Wisdom in the latter's 1950s comic films.Similarly the actress Marjory Fielding who plays Mrs Garland the mother of Mandy's father Harry (Terence Morgan), belayed her very stagey style of acting seen in "Quiet Wedding" (1941) and acted in a low key modern idiom (for 1952).Godfrey Tearle as her husband Mr Garland had obviously aged 17 years since 1935 when he had played the traitor in Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps" with Robert Donat & Madeline Carroll (still the best version of this film).As a chess player who also played by correspondence in the 1960s, I was naturally intrigued by the arrival of one of his opponents moves which was PXP en passant.Mandy recognised the "P" sound from the chess scorecard after her extensive deaf help given gratis by Mr Searle (an excellent role for Jack Hawkins) the principal of the deaf school in Manchester.This was the abiding proof Mr Garland needed to take the initiative between his son Harry & Searle to show the beneficial effect on Mandy's speech patterns from the specialised help given to her.I would also like to place on record the wonderful real deaf children who were selected by the producers to participate in the film who made the experience so convincing.The producers gave this deaf school a vote of thanks in the opening credits.

George Wright This story is an excellent film from one of Britain's most talented directors - Alexander Mackendrick. When a family has to deal with the reality of a deaf child, it throws their lives into turmoil as they face their own misconceptions and try to work out what is best for the child. This movie documents the changes that could have occurred to any family in similar circumstances. The parents are not perfect but do their best to work things out and this is part of the reason I liked the movie. It is honest and the parents try to do what is right, albeit a big adjustment. The deaf child is Mandy, a bright and happy little girl who the parents realize hasn't started to speak a number of months on. This leads them to take her to a doctor who diagnoses the condition as congenital deafness. According to the doctor, nothing can be done. The parents, played by Phyllis Calvert and Terence Morgan, are shocked and are afraid for her future. They immediately take her to the grandparents' home where she can be kept alone and given private tutoring. Subsequently, they meet a specialist who suggests that the girl be placed in a school where she can learn more effectively under the guidance of a proper teacher in the company of other children. There is a rift between the parents who have different views about sending her away. There are other differences they encounter along the way. The father also suspects that an affair is going on between the specialist (Jack Hawkins) and the mother, Phyllis Calvert. The acting is superb all-round and the child, played by Mandy Miller, shows the strain that she too must face from her parents' disagreements and her own problems interacting with others. The movie is heart-wrenching but also offers hope. I thought this was an excellent film that treats the subject in a thoughtful and intelligent way.

ronevickers I remember seeing this film, as a child, and have recently seen it again. Everything about it is memorable and it's an excellent example of British film making at its best. Given the sensitive subject matter, it could easily have turned out to be sentimental tosh. In reality, it is exactly the opposite, thanks in no short measure to a quality cast of first class actors. Jack Hawkins, Phyllis Calvert and Terence Morgan are first class, though the jewel in the film's crown is young Mandy Miller in the title role. Her portrayal is very moving and quite remarkable. Whilst so many of the scenes bring a lump to the throat, this superb film is an uplifting and positive experience. Not to be missed.