Goodnight Mister Tom (1998 film)

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Goodnight Mister Tom
Directed by Jack Gold
Produced by Chris Burt
Written by Michelle Magorian (novel)
Brian Finch (screenplay)
Starring John Thaw
Nick Robinson
Music by Carl Davis
Cinematography Chris O'Dell
Editing by Jamie McCoan
Distributed by ITV
Release date(s) 1998 (TV)
1999 (DVD)
Running time 108 mins
Country UK
Language English
IMDb profile

Goodnight Mister Tom is a 1998 film adaptation by ITV of the original book of the same name; the cast featured the veteran British actor John Thaw and was directed by Jack Gold.

Contents

[edit] Cast

[edit] Plot

Tom Oakley is a grumpy old man living in an English village in 1939. World War II has just begun, and he is forced by Mrs. Ford, the local billeting officer, to house an evacuee from London. Tom doesn't want to, complaining that he doesn't know about children (although he once had a son, and a wife for that matter, as we find out later).

The evacuee is between 9-year-old William "Will" Beech, a shy boy who behaves strangely in some ways, such as not eating much. Tom leaves Will alone for a while as he goes and complains to Mrs. Ford, and, as he's out, Will goes to the churchyard, where he looks at a beautiful gravestone with an angel sculpture, and meets his future schoolteacher, Mrs. Hartridge, and her husband, a pilot. They leave, and then he meets Sammy, a collie dog, who terrifies him. Will picks up a spade, and, before he can strike, Tom stops him, explaining that Sammy is his dog. Tom scolds Will whilst stirring the coals in the fireplace with a red hot poker. Will is scared, and faints, thinking that Tom is going to beat him with the poker (which of course he doesn't).

The next day, Will wakes up to find he has wet the bed, as he often did back in London. Tom tells him to get his wet pyjamas off, which reveals, to the camera only, that Will has belt marks on his back. Later, they go to the post office, where Will meets Zacharias "Zach" Wrench, who he makes friends with. Zach is billeted with Dr. Little and his wife, who are Tom's friends.

Tom asks Mrs. Fletcher, his neighbour and friend, to talk to her knitting club rustle up some clothes for Will, who only has one set of clothes. She does, and, when Will gratefully puts them on, Tom sees the belt marks. The belt William's mother sent Tom is buried in the garden.

Mrs. Fletcher sends her boys, George and Edward, round to help with Tom's new Anderson shelter. Will helps out too, but has to wear a hot sweater, because he doesn't want to wear his new shirt, because it'll get dirty, but he doesn't want to wear no top, either, because then someone might see the belt marks. Meanwhile, Tom is doing volunteer work in the church, showing that the better side of him is coming out.

One day, Will plays Tom's small organ, which belonged to Rachel, his dead wife. Tom doesn't like anybody touching the instrument, because it brings back bad memories. Later that day, they go fishing, and Will brings along Zach and some other children, who he makes friends with, including two girls called Ginnie and Carrie.

Not long later, the summer holidays stop, and Will has to go to school, which he is dreading. As it turns out, though, Will meets Zach there, and becomes friendly with some other boys, too. On his first lesson, though he is put in the class below him, with very young children, because he is illiterate. When he gets home, he tells Tom, who, when informed by Mrs. Hartridge why this has happened, takes it upon himself to teach Will, so that he can be in the class he wants to. Will is a clever boy, and he learns well and quickly, and also uncovers his secret talent for excellent drawing and painting.

One morning, Tom is placing flowers on the graves of his dead wife and son, when suddenly, he meets William, who is in his pyjamas. Tom explains to Will how his wife Rachel, and his son, also called William, died tragically of scarlatina. Will explains that he came to tell how he did not wet the bed that night. Tom is very happy for him, and has by about now come to love him.

On the day of Will's birthday, Tom doesn't mention anything unusual until teatime, when he surprises him by revealing that there is a surprise party for him. Tom, Sammy, Mrs. Fletcher, the Littles, Zach, Ginnie, and Carrie are all there. In the jolly atmosphere of it all, Tom forgets that he has sworn never to play his organ again, and gives a splendid performance of It's a Long Way To Tipperary. Then, when all the guests have given their presents and left, Tom gives Will the best present of all, a set of watercolours.

The next day, Will is at school promoted to Mrs. Hartridge's class. Overjoyed, he runs to tell Tom the news, only to find another set of news from the billeting office - that his mum is ill and wants him back in London. He must go, but is sad to do so, and, promising to write letters, says farewell to Tom and boards the train to London.

When Will gets to London, he's picked up by his mum at the station, who does not seem pleased to see him, and is snappy and rude to him. They get to the flat, where his mum tells him to be quiet, so that "no-one will know he's there". He is told that there is a surprise for him, a "present from Jesus". It is a baby. Mrs. Beech gradually becomes stressed out with Will (for no good reason), and when she hears that the belt has not been brought home, she loses her temper, smacks him, and sends him to his room.

About an hour later, Will comes back to the main room to meet an unusually friendly mum, and a meal of egg and toast. But again, Will's mum loses her temper, thinking that Will stole the watercolours and other presents she finds in his bag. Will truthfully tells her that he got them as gifts from his friends, who he tells her about. She is angry to hear that some of them are girls, and demands to know if they go to church. Yes, Will says, apart from Zach, because he's Jewish and there isn't a synagogue in the village. Mrs. Beech is an anti-semite and, calling Will a blasphemer, locks him in a cupboard. The baby is crying, so she throws her in too.

Meanwhile Tom has become increasingly worried, and travels to London, where he meets an ARP Warden who promises to help him find Will. They get to the house, where they meet Mrs. Beech's neighbour, who tells them that Mrs. Beech has apparently gone to the coast, and that Will has been evacuated to the country. Sammy smells something in the house. They bust down the door, and when inside, they find Will and the baby. Will lets the baby, (who he has named Trudy) be held by Tom, who then passes her on to a policewoman, who realises that the baby is dead (Will did not know this). Will is taken to hospital.

Will constantly wakes up screaming in the hospital, from terrible nightmares. Tom visits, and meets the suspicious Dr. Stelton, a psychiatrist who wishes that Will be taken to "the children's home", most likely a mental hospital, where Tom suspects that Will will not be treated well. Will has had a haircut so that the wounds on his head can be healed. Tom, meanwhile, has concocted a plan. He retrieves Will's belongings from the house, and sneaks into the hospital, pretending to be a patient. Here, he kidnaps Will and takes him back to the village. Of course, Will is fine with this.

Dr. Little informs Will that he will recover fine physically. However, Will still has nightmares. Tom reveals the root of the nightmares. It seems that the nightmares are about Dr. Stelton giving him an injection. After talking about the nightmares, Will finds that he doesn't have them anymore. Later, Zach visits, with the news that Mrs. Hartridge is having her baby, but that her husband is reported dead, shot down in his plane. The baby is called Peggy.

In the news, the East End of London has been blitzed. Zach's dad has been working their as an auxhiliary fireman. Also, Tom and Will have visitors: Mrs. Ford (who looks nervous to be in this situation), Dr. Stelton, and Mr. Green, a stern-looking man from the home office. They are here to inform that Will's mother is dead, and that they wish to take Will to the children's home in Sussex. Mr. Green talks to Tom in the garden. Mr. Green, who is mean and not very emotional, is baffled as to why Tom wants to keep Will, and Tom explains that it's because he loves him. At last, Mr. Green gives in, to the apparent annoyance of Dr. Stelton, and Tom adopts Will officially and legally.

Zach, meanwhile, is packing. He has to go and see his dad in the East End. Will is sad, and even more so when Mrs. Little reveals a week later that Zach and his parents are dead, bombed. Will doesn't go to school, loses his appetite, and doesn't talk to anyone, not even Tom. To cheer him up, Tom gives him Zach's red bike to Will, which he always used to ride. But still Will is silent. Tom has had enough, and explains that when someone dies, they're not really gone, they're still in your memory, just like Rachel and Tom are to him. Will understands, and learns to ride Zach's bike.

[edit] Awards

  • National TV Awards 1999: Best Drama for Goodnight Mister Tom
  • BAFTA 1999: Lew Grade Award for Most Popular Television Programme of 1998 for Goodnight Mister Tom
  • Television & Radio Industries Club Award 1999: Best ITV/Channel 5 Programme of 1998 for Goodnight Mister Tom

[edit] References

[edit] External Links