Swallows and Amazons (1974)

On holiday with their mother in the Lake District in 1929 four children are allowed to sail over to the nearby island in their boat Swallow and set up camp for a few days. They soon realise... See full summary »

Director:

Claude Whatham

Writers:

David Wood (screenplay), Arthur Ransome (book)

Stars:

Virginia McKenna, Ronald Fraser, Simon West

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Virginia McKenna	...	Mother - Mrs. Walker
Ronald Fraser	...	Uncle Jim
Simon West	...	John Walker - Swallow
Sophie Neville	...	Titty Walker - Swallow
Suzanna Hamilton	...	Susan Walker - Swallow (as Zanna Hamilton)
Stephen Grendon	...	Roger Walker - Swallow
Kit Seymour	...	Nancy Blackett - Amazon
Lesley Bennett	...	Peggy Blackett - Amazon
Brenda Bruce	...	Mrs. Dixon
Mike Pratt	...	Mr. Dixon
John Franklyn-Robbins	...	Young Billy
Jack Woolgar	...	Old Billy
David Blagden	...	Policeman

Storyline

On holiday with their mother in the Lake District in 1929 four children are allowed to sail over to the nearby island in their boat Swallow and set up camp for a few days. They soon realise this has been the territory of two other girls who sail the Amazon, and the scene is set for serious rivalry.

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Plot Keywords:

rivalry | lake | girl | island | children | 

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Taglines:

Arthur Ransome's Immortal Story

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Genres:

Adventure | Family

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Trivia

The scenes on and of the train were filmed on the "Lakeside and Haverthwaite Railway" - a heritage rail reopened in 1973, the same year that filming took place.

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Goofs

When the children are fishing from the boat the fish that John catches is very clearly already dead when he catches it.

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Connections

Version of Swallows and Amazons (2016)

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Soundtracks

Away to Rio
(uncredited)
Traditional
Arranged by Wilfred Josephs

User Reviews

Still worth watching

Yes, pretty wooden acting from the children, but I think that was pretty common 34 years ago! However, it's still a good film.

Regarding the likelihood of any parent allowing their children to do what the Walkers did, even at the time - my uncle aged 14 was allowed to take his two younger brothers (10 and 8) overnight camping in a very similar boat on the Solent in 1926 - a far more dangerous place to sail! They were all "not duffers, didn't drown".

I think the film still appeals to younger kids. I took my god-daughter and a friend (8 and 6) to the island in a small dinghy with tan sails, and we lit a fire at the camp ground and filled a kettle from the lake, just as the Walkers do in the film. That was in 2005, and they loved it!

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

May 1977 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hirondelles et amazones

Filming Locations:

Windermere, Cumbria, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Theatre Projects Film Productions Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

92 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color (Eastmancolor)

Aspect Ratio:

1.66 : 1