Crash of Silence (1952)

Mandy Garland was born deaf and has been mute for all of her life. Her parents believe she is able to speak if she can only be taught and enroll her with a special teacher.

Director:

Alexander Mackendrick

Writers:

Hilda Lewis (adapted from "The Day Is Ours" by), Nigel Balchin (screenplay)

Stars:

Phyllis Calvert, Jack Hawkins, Terence Morgan

Nominated for 6 BAFTA Film Awards. Another 1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Phyllis Calvert	...	Christine
Jack Hawkins	...	Searle
Terence Morgan	...	Harry
Godfrey Tearle	...	Mr. Garland
Mandy Miller	...	Mandy
Marjorie Fielding	...	Mrs. Garland
Nancy Price	...	Jane Ellis
Edward Chapman	...	Ackland
Patricia Plunkett	...	Miss Crocker
Eleanor Summerfield	...	Lily Tabor
Colin Gordon	...	Woollard (Junior)
Dorothy Alison	...	Miss Stockton
Julian Amyes	...	Jimmy Tabor
Gabrielle Brune	...	The Secretary
John Cazabon	...	Davey

Storyline

Mandy was born deaf and has been mute for all of her life. Her parents believe she is able to speak if she can only be taught and so enrol her with a special teacher.

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Plot Keywords:

one word title | forename as title | deaf | deaf girl | deaf child | 

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Taglines:

The Greatest Emotional Drama yet brought to the screen...

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

Approved

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

March 1953 (USA)

Also Known As:

Crash of Silence

Filming Locations:

Ealing Studios, Ealing, London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Ealing Studios, Michael Balcon Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

93 min

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Mandy Miller was not hearing impaired, though many thought that she was, such was the believability of her performance.

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Goofs

When Harry Garland, Mandy's father, precipitously leaves the flat where Mandy and Christine are staying, he departs empty handed. In the next scene, coming out of the taxi, he has the bag he had brought into the flat.

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Quotes

Woman in park.: [after Mandy attacks boy for teasing her]
[shouts]
Woman in park.: Look at the child. She's insane. She's not fit to be with other children.

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Connections

Featured in Film Profile: Michael Balcon (1961)

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Soundtracks

Just Waitin'
(uncredited)
Written by Una Bart

User Reviews

Tearjerker from Ealing Studios from 1952

This film has a resonance for me as I too was 6 years old in 1952 being born in 1946 the same age as Mandy Miller was when she performed her signature film of a little deaf girl.I vaguely remember my parents talking about this film then but now at 63 this was the first time I had seen it.I have to admit my eyes were damp the whole way through as I too can remember the many bomb sites then around London, the old taxis & cars, the ladies fashions, what my primary school was like in my second year and playtime with fellow infants.

It is not often I award 9/10 for a film but this was one such occasion.The whole cast, director, producer. scriptwriter and production crew performed admirably and of course Mandy Miller's central role was wholly believable.The film did not lapse into mawkish sentimentality once but kept a realistic grip throughout so that one sensed it was almost a documentary but kept the dramatic emphasis together.

"The heavy" Mr Akland, was played by Edward Chapman a role he played in "Gone to Earth" (1949) as a hypocritical church deacon. In Mandy he tries to stir up trouble by suggesting and trying to prove the mother Christine (Phyllis Calvert) and Searle (Jack Hawkins) are having an affair, for jealous professional reasons.To show Edward could also play comedic roles he is more famous in the UK for playing the hapless foil Mr Grimsdale to Norman Wisdom in the latter's 1950s comic films.Similarly the actress Marjory Fielding who plays Mrs Garland the mother of Mandy's father Harry (Terence Morgan), belayed her very stagey style of acting seen in "Quiet Wedding" (1941) and acted in a low key modern idiom (for 1952).Godfrey Tearle as her husband Mr Garland had obviously aged 17 years since 1935 when he had played the traitor in Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps" with Robert Donat & Madeline Carroll (still the best version of this film).As a chess player who also played by correspondence in the 1960s, I was naturally intrigued by the arrival of one of his opponents moves which was PXP en passant.Mandy recognised the "P" sound from the chess scorecard after her extensive deaf help given gratis by Mr Searle (an excellent role for Jack Hawkins) the principal of the deaf school in Manchester.This was the abiding proof Mr Garland needed to take the initiative between his son Harry & Searle to show the beneficial effect on Mandy's speech patterns from the specialised help given to her.I would also like to place on record the wonderful real deaf children who were selected by the producers to participate in the film who made the experience so convincing.The producers gave this deaf school a vote of thanks in the opening credits.