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I am 45 years old, and I have NEVER been able to get this film out of my mind! I was a child of 10 when I'd first watched it, on a Saturday morning..and I am thinking it was on a morning children's film festival. Like a previous comment stated, this film HAS AN IMPACT on those who view it. I would love to find it on video and enjoy it over and over again. I recall feeling touched- very moved, and for a child of that age, for a television film to do such a thing, I believe is pretty much a rare occurrence. All this time and for a movie to remain in my mind? You tell me how great it must be!! It was wonderful to have the experience of seeing interaction between 2 children of the opposite sex and opposed religions. I cannot believe I found this site, and info about the film that has stayed in my heart for 35 years. Amazing!!!

It is amazing how powerful films can be to a child. Upon reading the numerous reviews and postings of the wonderful movie "Hand in Hand", it is interesting how many of the writers who are probably in the same age bracket and, at least in the U.S., remember this movie airing on the CBS Children's Film Festival on a Saturday afternoon. I guess one can thank CBS, Kukla, Fran (Allison), Ollie and Burr Tillstrom for introducing this powerful film on religious understanding and tolerance within the friendship of two young children.

I remember Rachel and Michael (Loretta Parry and Philip Needs). Even though the film was probably 7 or 8 years old when I first saw the movie on TV, I can relate to them as a child. Perhaps because of how they were raised and the different religions they were taught, the children were a bit suspicious but after a while they got to know each other. What still gets to me after so many years is how misunderstanding and seeing people just as what their were raised can get in the way of seeing others as human beings.

There is a sense of curiosity and wonder getting to know someone who was raised from a different religion and that curiosity begets friendship and, ultimately, understanding. As directed by Philip Leacock (who would later direct numerous TV shows including Route 66, Gunsmoke and The Waltons) and written by Diana Morgan (from a story by Sidney Harmon), Hand in Hand is a sensitive and powerful film.

I am not a fan of remaking great films. But consider the state of religion in the U.S. and the world and how many conflicts occur for the sake of religion. With the right screenwriter, director and cast, I think Hand in Hand could be adapted to the current day. Until then, I concur with others on releasing this wonderful film on DVD.

I went to see this movie, "Hand in Hand", as a second billing with Walt Disney's "The Moon Spinners" when that film was first released. I can honestly say that this film affected me in a profound way that no film ever had before or has since.

I was so enthralled by the film that I talked my father into taking me to see it again, so I could take notes on it! I wrote down the events in the plot as they transpired on the screen. What I can remember about the film now is the feeling that it captured perfectly the emotion of love as a child experiences it.

I have always wanted to see this film again, but it never plays on television or in art house theaters. It would be my number one candidate for the honor of "Lost Treasure." I would love to see this film released on DVD and video.

Hand in Hand shows that friendship can surpass any other barrier. It also shows how a child feels when he discovers that people are different. This is an excellent movie which should be put on either VHS or DVD This is a movie that helps both children and older people understand differences between people of different backgrounds. Michael wants to be Rachels friend and then he discovers how different their backgrounds are and feels that his friendship with Rachel is threatened because of that fact. I saw this movie when it first came out in 1961 and saw it again when it was shown on the Children's Film Festival in 1967 and again in 1968 and 1972. I have not seen it since but I can recall the scenes and the duologue as if I had gone seen the movie yesterday.I would not hesitate to recommend this movie to anyone

I remember seeing this film in cinema back in the 60s and was finally glad of the chance to see it again for the first time in decades. It's a simple and profound film about two pre-pubescent children in the United Kingdom who become friends. The fact that the boy Philip Needs is Catholic and the girl Loretta Parry is Jewish makes no real difference until some of their peers around them tell them it makes a difference. Just like that Rodgers&Hammerstein song, You've Got To Be Carefully Taught.

Interesting that the cantor and priest characters played by Martin Lawrence and John Gregson have learned to respect each other's diversity. The kids learn that too just by simply being around each other.

I still love this film because Needs and Parry act like real kids instead of child actor celebrities. You don't they're acting at all, you think you're just watching from a window on their lives.

This film ought to be required viewing in grade school classes teaching tolerance, respect, and diversity. The message hasn't lessened any over the years.