Hand in Hand

source: Hand in Hand

As far away from biblical epics as you can get, Hand in Hand is definitively the most spiritual movie I have ever seen. I saw it in 1969 and cried and cried. The next time I saw it was in college in 1978 and I cried profusely again. The boy and the girl in the leads are absolutely perfect. The movie succeeds in conveying the enormity of the exploration they are doing. And how in the process, their sense of love blossoms, both for each other, but mostly for God.

It's been over 40 years since I first saw "Hand In Hand," and I remember it like it was yesterday! I have been trying to find out more about it on the internet for a long time. I finally hit the jackpot doing a "Kukla, Fran, and Ollie" search, as I clearly remember them in connection with the film. As soon as I saw "CBS Children's Film Festival" on the KFO website, things snapped into place! It was almost a relief to find the title on the list of movies that were part of this series, as I have relished its memory for so long! I remember searching the Saturday TV listings for years -- probably until I was in my late-teens -- hoping it would be on just one more time!! I saw the film several times, between the ages of 5 and 10, and it is the earliest movie I clearly remember seeing. As I read through some of the other comments, I found myself flashing back to it and seeing it unfold again. The scenes I remember most vividly are those in which the children encounter "Holy Mystery" in the rituals each of them practice. I was moved by the reverence, by the awareness engendered in me that the Divine is not the property of any one faith tradition, but contains them all and is the Source of them all. This is a film that molded me in a way that no other ever has. I wish everyone could see it, especially at a young age, when hearts are most open to truth, and not yet jaded by the cynicism that the world, including religious institutions, dumps on people.

I saw this movie in the early 60's. I was nine or so years old. It had a profound effect on me. You see, I was not brought up in the kind of family that practiced this kind of prejudice. So the story was both a revelation of something I didnt know about, and a lesson in life. My step daughter was in a college class that required her to ask questions on a survey. In that survey the participants were asked to say the first thing that came to their mind after each question. One of the questions was "What was the most influential movie you have ever seen." My answer was "Hand in Hand."

Like many others I first saw this film on "The Children's Film Festival" on a Saturday afternoon. I must have been 6 or 7 and I loved it! Many years later a friend of mine was humming a tune that I regocnized as the charming melody from the film. "Do you remember that movie?" I asked. "Oh yes." He replied "Hand In Hand" We both smiled. He had grown up in a very small town next to mine and gone to different schools, but it was touching that we were both sitting in front of our television sets on the same Saturday afternoon watching this lovely film. I was actually able to tape it back in 1988 off of Showtime, I just watched it again last night and it still moves me. Loretta Parry and Phillip needs were so good! I brought so many memories! Good ones.

i saw this as a kid..i loved it so much i dragged my mother to see it..something about it touched my heart and as a 50 year old i still remember it with a special feeling as a Jew myself..i know how difficult it is to cope with prejudice and this was a real exposure of bigotry i was my first taste of how things could and should be it was also the first time i saw Miriam Karlin in a dramatic role.. it shows that really fine films don't need special effects. car chases,etc...just a little meaning and a subject worth talking about i give this film 10 /10

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 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.

I saw this film a number of times when before I was 10 years old. It is such a beautiful film in every aspect. The writing, acting, directing is all excellent. I only wish it would be released on video. Many children I believe would benefit from seeing this film as I did. In the end, a person watching this film learns the value of looking at the beauty within each person, regardless of their background.

The acting of the children who play Michael and Rachel really make this 1960 British film work. Other characters appear to be stereotypical (i.e. the parents, the rabbi and priest) to a large extent, but the children's' performances are outstanding. It's a wonder they didn't do more with their careers after this film, particularly Phillip Needs, who played Michael. Watch his face early on, when he realizes that taunting the little girl at school is wrong. He backs away from the group, then grabs her and rescues her. And later, when he confronts Rachel angrily and yells "Why did you kill Christ?" She answers: "I didn't! I didn't kill anyone!" And it's true. The Romans executed Christ, not the Jews. Pontius Pilate could have always said "no", and left it at that. But of course, the scripture had to be fulfilled. This is a film I love to show to my own children on a regular basis, to help them understand that God is love, not hate. I have wonderful memories of my parents renting this 16 mm film again and again from the local library in the 1960's when I was growing up. They would show it for the children in the neighborhood, who all came from different religious backgrounds. It was always a favorite and now is a favorite in my own library of films.