Sky West and Crooked

This charming and unusual film was written by Mary Hayley Bell (with inspiration from DH Lawrence's story 'The Virgin and the Gypsy'), directed by John Mills, and starred their daughter Hayley as disturbed teenager Brydie.

The basic premise - that the girl is 'sky west and crooked' because of something that happened in her childhood that she can't remember - soon switches into a 'growing-up' kind of tale as Brydie meets gypsy boy Roibin (Ian McShane). The people in the village are equally well-drawn (Brydie's mother, played by Annette Crosbie; the vicar, played by Geoffrey Bayldon; the grudge-bearing Mr Dacres, played by Laurence Naismith; and the gypsy grandma played by Rachel Thomas).

From encouraging the children around her to bury dead animals in the consecration of the churchyard, to her love match amongst the caravans and the Romany customs, Hayley Mills makes Brydie a delight, although she acts and looks much younger than the character's age of seventeen. As Roibin, Ian McShane is very much in 'glamour' mode, perhaps photographed too sympathetically to make the character believable.

Still, 'Sky West and Crooked' is a well-written and directed piece, a lovely fairytale in which the idealism of first love is well presented and where the surroundings, whether a church or an open road, marry to the action perfectly.

I've seen every movie Hayley Mills was in (except for "The Truth About Spring"), from age 20 and under, and I like this one the best. You won't find this on video--it aired here on t.v. at about 3:00 am, and I was lucky to tape it. Just like anonymous from N.Y. said, you almost watch this movie more for the many interesting people than for the plot. The plot itself is pretty simple--Brydie White is a 17 year old girl who meets a gypsy named Roibin, and the two fall instantly in love, almost like their under a spell. However, it's the personalities that the characters are given that make this story different. Brydie is an innocent, somewhat simple girl, who's friends with all the children in the village. Hayley Mills was excellent in her portrayal of this lonely girl. Ian McShane did a good job as well, forever gazing about with those soulful eyes. The song sung at the beginning of the movie sets the right mood from the start. Another thing that I liked about "Gypsy Girl" was that throughout the movie Brydie and Roibin's love stayed innocent. If at all possible, try to track down this movie, or ask a local t.v. station to air it. It's a shame that such a beautiful film has only been seen by a few.

This is, in fact, a forgotten film (note the absence of a video or DVD) and a largely underappreciated one. I have found on many occasions Mills's Disney films to be very syrupy and cloying; this one proves beyond that shadow of a doubt that she could act. Obviously, her father, who directed the film, had some knowledge of her capabilities. This performance, and the loving, detailed depiction of the British countryside (mentioned in the other user comments) overwhelm any other minor errors in technical knowhow (the sound and cinematography are not the best) and pacing. This is not a perfect film. One could better describe it as a rough, uncut diamond of a film -- and those are the most valuable of all.

I did not much care for this film the first time I saw it, but a second viewing created a more favorable impression. The acting is very good all around, particularly from the talented Hayley Mills, who holds my attention at every moment that she is on screen. Ian McShane, too, is quite convincing as the young Gypsy man, Roibin. Also deserving of special praise is Geoffrey Bayldon as the vicar. For a change, it is nice to see a church pastor portrayed in a positive light. The direction (John Mills) is always acceptable and at times much more than that. The fleeing of Brydie White is nicely handled with swiftly moving camera and quick cuts. Close-ups are very effective indeed, especially of Brydie, Roibin, and Rev. Moss. I love the way Hayley Mills invests her character with tiny facial mannerisms that almost certainly were not in the script. For example, watch her while Brydie is recuperating in the wagon's bed. Her look of confusion when she wakes up, views her surroundings, and later tastes the hedgehog soup is so real and convincing! She is just a brilliant and captivating actress who is able to make her roles come to life in a believable way. Hayley is, of course, utterly beautiful throughout every frame of the film, and it is no wonder why the Gypsy would be so smitten by Brydie's charms. The acting of village children is rather a hit and miss proposition, sometimes quite good and often impossibly amateurish. Plaudits, too, for Brydie's lovable canine companion, "Dog," whose real name is "Hamlet." Be sure to see the image gallery, which is one of the DVD's bonus extras. It contains lots of black-and-white shots from behind the scenes. Several show Hayley Mills's father (director John Mills) and mother (writer Mary Hayley Bell) during the days of production. Not a perfect film, by any means, but if you liked the far superior "Whistle Down the Wind," you will probably find something to enjoy here as well.

Hayley Mills was never more appealing than as the sweet-natured, arrested-development country girl who is more at home playing with village children than living with her rather unpleasant mother. As she is the sort of fragile, other-worldly spirit that one fears will come to mischief in this cruel world, the viewer is mightily relieved when she is taken up by the gypsies - at least this particular brand of comparatively gentle gypsies - as their simple way of life seems better suited to her future than "ordinary" growing up and marriage to a "normal" person would be. With the gorgeous and kindly gypsy boy (played by the stunningly attractive Ian McShane), Brydie feels loved and safe; and one senses that their life together will be relatively uncomplicated by modern annoyances. (It is something of a parallel to the George Hamilton/Yvette Mimieux romance in "Light in the Piazza," made a few years earlier.) I loved this film, and wished to enter into the pretty-but-now-mostly-vanished English countryside of the time. John Mills and Hayley worked together well on several occasions, and of course, Mother Mary's story was charming. Highly recommended for anyone with an ounce of romance in their souls.