Based on Mary Hayley Bell’s 1958 novella, Whistle Down the Wind (1961), directed by Bryan Forbes, is a moving and compelling story of three siblings who find a stranger hiding in their family barn. Mistaking him for Jesus, they keep his presence a secret from the adults around them. Josephine Botting’s study places this remarkable film within the landscape of the British industry in the early 1960s and examines the ways Bell’s source material is adapted for the screen.
Drawing on new archival research, Paul Moody explores the tensions that played out during the production of The Stepford Wives (1975), including the firing of lead actors and clashes between director Forbes and the screenwriter William Goldman.
Released to coincide with Forbes’s centenary, the books are the latest titles in our ongoing and hugely popular BFI Film Classics series (published by Bloomsbury).
For your chance to win a copy of both Whistle Down the Wind and The Stepford Wives, simply email [email protected] with BRYAN FORBES in the subject line, by Friday 2 October 2026.
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