People often write to say how much they have enjoyed the original film ‘Swallows and Amazons’ (U) produced by Richard Pilbrow in 1974, which is currently streaming on Amazon Prime. Being suitable for all ages, it is often screened at outdoor festivals and is on Netflix in Europe.
‘Is it a good movie?’ people enquire of Google.
Helen Fielding mentions the DVD of Swallows & Amazons 1974 in the first edition of ‘Bridget Jones: Mad about the Boy’ claiming it to be more edifying for her children to watch than ‘Beverley Hills Chihuahua 2‘.
Dame Margaret Drabble told Claude Whatham, the director, how much she loved Titty in his film of Swallows and Amzons, which was a huge compliment.
Elspeth Huxley CBE – author of thirty books including The Flame Trees of Thika – loved the 1974 film of Swallows and Amazons, reviewing it for The Tatler magazine under her married name, Elspeth Grant.
There is special interest from a number of authors –
Wendy Clarke, who has set some of her psychological thrillers in the Lake District auditioned for the part if Titty in 1973. You can read her story on another post here.
According to Kathryn Hughs in The Mail on Sunday BOOKS section, Robert Twigger ‘grew up in the 1970s obsessed with Swallows and Amazons’. He’s written 36 Islands: In Search of the Hidden Wonders of The Lake District… And a Few Other Things Too. It was well reviewed by Country Life.
The arts curator David Banning profiled the 1974 movie of Swallows and Amazons in his book on films made in Cumbria and the Lake District, which you can see here.
Trevor Boult, who writes books on ships and sailing, is a great fan. He kindly donated the royalties from his most recent book Boats Yet Sailing to The Arthur Ransome Trust. You can order a copy direct from the publisher here.
For a list of well known people who love the Swallows and Amazons books, please click here
Do you know of any other authors who have written about the film? Please leave any information in the comments section, below.
You can read the first section about how the film was made back in 1973, for free, on the Amazon preview of the ebook here:
Sophie Neville 