Sky West and Crooked


Sky West and Crooked is a 1965 romantic drama film, featuring actress Hayley Mills. The film was directed by her father, John Mills, and was co-written by her mother, Mary Hayley Bell.

Plot

In a small, isolated village in the West Country of England, ten-year-old Brydie White is running with a playmate who trips and falls and is accidentally killed by the loaded shotgun he was carrying.
Seven years later, Brydie is a troubled teenager. Her mother is a sad and lonely person who drinks heavily and is not a good mother to Brydie.
It becomes apparent that some of the adults, especially the dead boy's father, are not convinced of her innocence. Their negative attitudes and behaviour towards Brydie are compounded by their disapproval that her mother was not married to her late father. A band of gypsies have taken up residence near the village, which some of the villagers are not pleased about and, when a young gypsy, Roibin Krisenki , takes a romantic interest in Brydie, emotions begin to run high in both communities.

Cast

During pre production the film was known as Bats With Baby Faces based on a line from a T.S. Eliot poem.

Filming locations

The film was shot on location in and around the village of Little Badminton in South Gloucestershire.