Movie Information

Cast

Hayley Mills..............Gillie
John Mills.................Superindentent Graham
Horst Buchholz.........Korchinsky
Yvonne Mitchell.........Anya
Megs Jenkins............Mrs. Phillips
Anthony Dawson.......Barclay

Korchinsky, a young merchant seaman, returns from a trip eager to visit the girl he plans to marry, Anya. When she tells him of her new friend, a "gentleman", Korchinsky shoots her in a blind rage.
Gillie witnesses the murder through the mail slot. She gets hold of the murder weapon because she is convinced that it will make her popular with her peers when they play cowboys and indians. In time, the child is confronted by the police, but she recites a convinving string of lies to protect Korchinsky. He kidnaps the child who proves to be more than a match for him. The bond that develops between the killer and the girl puts the police off the scent and puts the innocent child in danger of losing her own life.
In a dramatic and deeply moving climax, the young, tortured seaman is forced to make the most important decision of his life...

Miscellaneous

Produced by: John Hawkesworth
Directed by: J. Lee Thompson
Written by: John Hawkesworth; Shelley Smith
Made at: Pinewood Studios
Music Composed by: Laurie Johnson
Edited by: Sidney Hayers

Since this film marks Hayley’s debut into show-business, much has been made of the discovery that led to the landing of this role. According to many published sources, this is about how it went.

The Mills family owned a farm in the countryside in Sussex, which they used as a weekend getaway. On the farm, with no girls her own age to play with, Hayley often dressed in old clothes and played parts. In 1957 she went through what the family called “her commercial period,” during which she imitated television advertisements. One weekend, J. Lee Thompson, the director of “Tiger Bay,” visited the farm to talk to John about the film, and he saw a young Hayley out in the yard acting out a commercial while brother Jonathan looked on and shook with laughter.

Originally, Thompson had come to the farm in an attempt to persuade Mr. Mills to take a minor role in the film he was casting. A star of Mr. Mills’ stature did not normally take supporting roles such as this—the plot of “Tiger Bay” centers on a little boy who witnesses a murder. He had already signed popular German actor, Horst Buchholz, but Thompson needed a British star to get the show to open in Britain. There was another problem as well. The director had his doubts that Buchholz would play well opposite a little boy, and he was having trouble finding one suitable for the part. So even before his trip to the farm that day, he had toyed with the idea of changing the little boy witness into a little girl witness. When he saw Hayley acting in the backyard, he knew she was the star he wanted. The rest is history.

Filming took place in early 1958 in Cardiff, Wales. The first scene to be shot was the one in which Mr. Mills as the police detective interrogates Hayley’s character, Gillie. And she did it in one take. If you’ve seen the film, you know that this is a fantastic scene, and it is truly impressive to know that a 12 year old Hayley was able to do her first film scene in a single shot.

When watching the film, look for an appearance by Michael Anderson, Jr., who you may recognize as the young beau in another Hayley film, “In Search of the Castaways.” Apparently, Hayley was quite glad to have someone close to her own age on the set. It rained constantly during the shoot, so Hayley and Michael spent a lot of time playing card games together and dropping water bombs on passers by.

Cast

Hayley Mills.................Pollyanna
Jane Wyman................Aunt Polly
Karl Malden..................Rev. Paul Ford
Nancy Olsen................Nancy Furman
Kevin Corcoran.............Jimmie Bean
Adolphe Menjou............Mr. Pendergast
Richard Egan................Dr. Edmund Chilton
Jenny Egan..................Mildred Snow

Here you'll see Pollyanna, the orphan who brings sunshine into the lives of everyone she meets. But her strict Aunt Polly is too concerned with appearances, propriety, and local politics to appreciate her effervescent niece. It isn't until the town almost loses their "Glad Girl" that Aunt Polly realizes the power of love and lightheartedness.

Pictures

These pictures are from Leonard Maltin's book The Disney Films (1973). - Thanks to Mark Dumesny for the copies.

Cast

Hayley Mills....................Sharon McKendrick - Susan Evers
Brian Keith......................Mitch Evers
Maureen O'Hara...............Margaret McKendrick
Charlie Ruggles...............Charles "Grandpa" McKendrick
Cathleen Nesbitt..............Louise McKendrick
Una Merkel.....................Verbena
Joanna Barnes................Vicky Robinson
Linda Watkins.................Edna Robinson
Leo G. Carrol..................Rev. Dr. Mosby
Ruth McDevitt.................Miss Inch
Frank DeVol...................Mr. Eaglewood
Crahan Denton................Hecky
Nancy Kulp.....................Miss Grunecker
Susan Henning................Hayley's body double

It's two, two, two Mills in one! Hayley stars as twin daughters of a divorced couple. The girls, who have long been separated, meet accidentally for the first time at summer camp. After discovering they are long-lost twin sisters, the two concoct an outrageous scheme to switch places in an effort to get their parents back together.

Pictures

Cast

Hayley Mills.................Nancy Carey
Burl Ives.......................Mr. Popham
Dorothy McGuire...........Mrs. Carey
Una Merkel...................Mrs. Popham

When financial ruin forces the Careys to leave Boston, their teenage daughter Nancy hatches a plan to resettle them in the tiny hamlet of Buellah, Maine, with hilariously delightful consequences for both her family and their new neighbors!

Pictures

Cast

Hayley Mills....................Spring Tyler
John Mills........................Tommy Tyler
James MacArthur.............William Ashton
Lionel Jeffries...................Cark
Harry Andrews.................Sellers 
Niall MacGinnis................Cleary 
David Tomlinson...............Skelton 
Lionel Murton...................Simmons
 

Tommy Tyler, a lazy Caribbean sailor and his tom-boy daughter, Spring, are on a search for buried treasure. Tommy brings aboard William Ashton, a young and wealthy lawyer, to help with the search. Ashton turns out to be handy when they encounter dangerous rivals. Tommy also trys to play match maker between Ashton and Spring--a difficult task indeed. (Summary by Kelly)

Pictures

Cast

Hayley Mills.......................Mary Clancy
June Harding......................Rachel Devery
Rosalind Russell................Mother Superior
Mary Wickes.....................Sister Clarissa
Portia Nelson.....................Sister Elizabeth 
Binnie Barnes....................Sister Celestine
Camilla Sparv....................Sister Constance
Gypsy Rose Lee................Mrs. Phipps 
Barbara Hunter...................Marvel-Ann
 

Two mischievous students, played by Hayley Mills and June Harding, turn a convent school upside down with their pranks. Hayley is Mary Clancy, who, with Rachel Devery, succeeds in driving Mother Superior to distraction with an endless number of practical jokes. Just when there appears to be no hope for the school's two most incorrigible students, they get a little help from Sisters Celestine and Constance. During Christmas break, Mary remains at the school and is touched by the Sisters' celebration of the Yule. Rachel first doubts Mary's sincerity, but later follows Mary's example. Their graduation is both a relief and a celebration for the Mother Superior.

Pictures

Hayley Mills............................Brydie White
Geoffrey Bayldon.....................Rev. Philip Moss
Ian McShane...........................Roibin
Laurence Naismith...................Edwin Dacres
Jacqueline Pearce....................Cammellia
Annette Crosbie.......................Mrs. White
 

According to Leonard Maltin, this movie is "a brooding account of backward Hayley Mills finding her first romance with McShane."

Here is a detailed summary by Amber Womack:

Pictures