Innocent Sinners (1958)

Interesting facts

• Based on: An Episode of Sparrows

Innocent Sinners is a 1958 British black and white film directed by Philip Leacock and starring Flora Robson, David Kossoff and Barbara Mullen. It was written by Neil Paterson and Rumer Godden based on the 1955 novel An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden.

Production

The novel was originally published in 1955. It was filmed in 1956 for American television as an episode of Climax. The stars included Lynn Bari, Brandon de Wilde and Patty McCormack.

Film rights were bought by Hugh Stewart, a producer with the Rank Organisation, who announced he was working on a movie in June 1956. Stewart later said he made the film because "I loved the story' although he had to change the title because "the studio wouldn’t have a project with a title like that."

Neil Paterson wrote the script, which Hugh Stewart said "was very difficult because Rumer Godden’s story was very gossamer, and I was trying to get some bones in it. She hated what Neil did." He was "very pleased" with Philip Leacock as director.

Leacock had made a number of films featuring children including The Kidnappers and The Spanish Garden. He used amateurs to play the children rather than actors, saying "untrained children are not always suitable for a film but for this particular story I felt it was essential to have absolutely ordinary children."

June Archer was cast after accompanying her sister to an audition. The director asked June to read instead and wound up being cast. Margaret Thompson did the bulk of the preliminary casting. Susan Beaumont, who had been under contract to Rank for two years, was given her first lead role. She got married during the shoot.

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