The Kidnappers [The Little Kidnappers] **** (1953, Duncan Macrae, Vincent Winter, Jon Whiteley, Theodore Bikel, Jean Anderson, Adrienne Corri, Francis de Wolff) – Classic Movie Review 12,632

The delightful 1953 British film The Kidnappers [The Little Kidnappers] tells of two Scots orphans, living with their stern grandpa (Duncan Macrae) in 1904 Nova Scotia, who befriend an unattended baby. Jon Whiteley and Vincent Winter won Juvenile Oscars. 

British director Philip Leacock directs the delightful 1953 British produced family drama film The Kidnappers [The Little Kidnappers] that tells of two Scots orphans, living with their forbidding puritanical grandfather (Duncan Macrae) in Nova Scotia in 1904, who find a baby and befriend it.

Both from Scotland, Jon Whiteley, age 8, and Vincent Winter, age 6, play Harry and Davy, who are forbidden by their grandfather to have a dog, and kidnap an unattended baby and care for the child as their own. But the older orphan is charged with kidnap, though the child’s dad comes to the rescue.

Talented child actors Jon Whiteley and Vincent Winter give winning performances but steer clear of cuteness; they both deservedly won special honorary Juvenile Oscars. Duncan Macrae is excellent too.

This special film oozes with charisma and wide appeal, and hardly puts a foot wrong.

The screenplay by Scottish writer Neil Paterson is based on his short story Scotch Settlement. Paterson won the 1959 Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay for Room at the Top.

The film was a hit as the eighth most popular movie at the British box office in 1954.

Scottish child film actor Jon Whiteley (19 February 1945 – 16 May 2020) appeared in just five films during his brief acting career, starting with Hunted (1952), and it was for his second film, The Kidnappers, that he and Vincent Winter were awarded an Academy Juvenile Award. He appeared in only three more films, including Moonfleet (1953), The Spanish Gardener (1956) and The Weapon (1956), before his film acting career stopped when his mother insisted on him passing the eleven plus exam.

The Academy Juvenile Award was a Special Honorary Academy Award given by the Board of Governors of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to performers under 18 for outstanding work in screen entertainment. It was first awarded at the 7th Academy Awards to 6-year-old Shirley Temple for her 1934 films. The award was presented intermittently to 12 child actors and actresses, with the last one at the 33rd Academy Awards to 14-year-old Hayley Mills for her performance in Pollyanna (1960), The trophy is a miniature statuette of seven inches, about half the height of the standard Oscar.

The cast are Duncan Macrae as Jim MacKenzie, Jean Anderson as Grandma MacKenzie, Adrienne Corri as Kirsty, Theodore Bikel as Dr Willem Bloem, Jon Whiteley as Harry, Vincent Winter as Davy, Francis de Wolff as Jan Hooft Sr, James Sutherland as Arron McNab, John Rae as Andrew McCleod, Jack Stewart as Dominie, Jameson Clark as Tom Cameron, Eric Woodburn as Sam Howie, Christopher Beeny as Jan Hooft Jr.

A remake was released in 1990 under the first film’s American title of The Little Kidnappers, starring Charlton Heston as Granddaddy.

© Derek Winnert 2023 – Classic Movie Review 12,632

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