This film is absolutely magnificent. The period is captured perfectly in authentic black-and-white. The on-location shooting is now, itself, a historical document in its own right. The characters are totally believable and portrayed to perfection by the faultless and charismatic actors: Horst Buchholz, Hayley Mills and her father John Mills. Each of these produces a performance as good as any that they had produced or were ever to produce. Not one of these three could be said to be the principal actor or to outshine the others. Despite the fact that this was the first time Hayley was to appear in a film, it was certainly no amateur, novice or childish performance; the degree of maturity is unbelievable and itself a thing at which to marvel. Horst Buchholz manages to show to perfection a character of greatly mercurial temperament, ranging from great anger to great tenderness in seconds - a truly outstanding piece of acting and his is a character with which the viewer finds himself/herself sympathising completely. Altogether, this is a film to treasure and to see time and time again.
