''Flight of the Doves'' is a 1971 British

Eastmancolor Eastmancolor is a trade name used by Eastman Kodak for a number of related film and processing technologies associated with color motion picture production and referring to George Eastman, founder of Kodak. Eastmancolor, introduced in 1950, was on ...

children's film based on the novel by Irish writer

Walter Macken Walter Macken (3 May 1915 – 22 April 1967) (Irish Uaitéar Ó Maicín), was born in Galway, Ireland. He was a writer of short stories, novels and plays. Biography Walter Macken was originally an actor, principally with the Taibhdhearc (where h ...

. The film, based and filmed in Ireland, was written by

Frank Gabrielson Frank Gabrielson (March 13, 1910 – January 24, 1980) was an American stage, film, and television writer. His stage work includes '' The Wizard of Oz'' as adapted in 1942 for The Muny, '' Days of Our Youth'', also performed as ''The Bo Tree'' a ...

and

Ralph Nelson Ralph Nelson (August 12, 1916 – December 21, 1987) was an American film and television director, producer, writer, and actor. He was best known for directing '' Lilies of the Field'' (1963), '' Father Goose'' (1964), and '' Charly'' (1968 ...

, with Nelson also directing.

Plot

Two

Liverpool Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the 10th largest English district by population and its metropolitan area is the fifth largest in the United Kingdom, with a populat ...

children set out in search of love after many years of receiving abuse from their "Uncle" Toby Cromwell. Cromwell is stepfather to the Dove children; their mother having married Cromwell after the death of her first husband, the children's father. Cromwell was granted custody after her death. Finn Dove and his sister Derval are tired of their stepfather's constant abuse and neglect, and they run away to Ireland to find their grandmother in County Galway. The children are unaware that they are heirs to their grandfather's estate and stand to inherit a large fortune, around $10,000 each, upon his death. However, if the children are either dead or missing, the money would go to their uncle "Hawk" Dove, an unsuccessful actor known for his temper, and he will do about anything to get what he wants. When Hawk discovers their fortune, he wants to make sure the Dove children never are seen again. They arrive in

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

St Patrick's Day Saint Patrick's Day, or the Feast of Saint Patrick ( ga, Lá Fhéile Pádraig, lit=the Day of the Festival of Patrick), is a cultural and religious celebration held on 17 March, the traditional death date of Saint Patrick (), the foremost patr ...

. The Dove children's journey across Ireland isn't easy, and they are discovered missing. Their stepfather had been informed of the inheritance (by Hawk Dove disguised as a lawyer). Toby decides to bring in the police, and Uncle Hawk and Uncle Toby are close on their trail. The chase takes them to a St Patrick's Day parade, a synagogue, Dublin's

Ha'penny Bridge The Ha'penny Bridge ( ; , or ''Droichead na Life''), known later for a time as the ''Penny Ha'penny Bridge'', and officially the Liffey Bridge, is a pedestrian bridge built in May 1816 over the River Liffey in Dublin, Ireland. Made of cast i ...

, a travellers' encampment, and other places.

Cast

Ron Moody Ron Moody (born Ronald Moodnick; 8 January 1924 – 11 June 2015) was an English actor, composer, singer and writer. He was best known for his portrayal of Fagin in ''Oliver!'' (1968) and its 1983 Broadway revival. Moody earned a Golden Globe ...

as John Cyril Dove - "Hawk" / Maxwell Perdon / DCI Wolcott / Miss Heather Marblestone / Dermot Corcoran *

Jack Wild Jack Wild (30 September 1952 – 1 March 2006) was an English actor and singer. He is best known for his role as the Artful Dodger in the film ''Oliver!'' (1968), for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actor at ...

as Finn Dove *

Dorothy McGuire Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for '' Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...

as Mary Magdalene St. Bridget O'Flaherty - "Granny" *

Stanley Holloway Stanley Augustus Holloway (1 October 1890 – 30 January 1982) was an English actor, comedian, singer and monologist. He was famous for his comic and character roles on stage and screen, especially that of Alfred P. Doolittle in ''My F ...

as Judge Fenton Liffy * Helen Raye as Derval Dove *

Willie Rushton William George Rushton (18 August 1937 – 11 December 1996) was an English cartoonist, satirist, comedian, actor and performer who co-founded the satirical magazine ''Private Eye''. Early life Rushton was born 18 August 1937 in 3 Wilbraham Plac ...

as Tobias Cromwell - "Uncle Toby" *

Brendan O'Reilly Brendan O'Reilly (14 May 1929 – 1 April 2001) was an Irish Selected Olympic high jumper, broadcaster, journalist, actor, singer and songwriter (best known for the 'Ballad of Michael Collins' and the Olympic song, 'Let the Nations Play'. He i ...

as Insp. Michael Roark * Dana as Sheila O'Ryan * John Molloy as Mickser * Noel Purcell as Rabbi * Tom Hickey as Garda Pat Flynn *

Niall Tóibín Niall Tóibín (; 21 November 1929 – 13 November 2019) was an Irish comedian and actor. Born in Cork into an Irish speaking family, Tóibín grew up on the north-side of the city in Bishop's Field. He appeared in ''Ryan's Daughter'', ''Brides ...

as Sergeant O'Casey * Barry Keegan as Powder O'Ryan * Emmet Bergin as Paddy *

Robert Rietti Robert Rietti, (born Lucio Rietti; 8 February 1923 – 3 April 2015), was an actor, and Oscar-nominated director of Anglo-Italian descent. With over 200 credits to his name, he had a highly prolific career in the American, British and Ita ...

as Irish airport TV reporter (voice)

Production

Music

The film was scored by Roy Budd, who had made his film soundtrack debut in Ralph Nelson's previous film '' Soldier Blue''. His score contains two songs: "You Don't Have to Be Irish to Be Irish", which is sung as the St Patrick's Day Parade song, and "The Far Off Place". The latter is sung by Dana, who plays the role of Sheila, an

Irish Traveller Irish Travellers ( ga, an lucht siúil, meaning "the walking people"), also known as Pavees or Mincéirs (Shelta: Mincéirí), are a traditionally peripatetic indigenous ethno-cultural group in Ireland.''Questioning Gypsy identity: ethnic na ...

, and the song is half in Irish and half in English. Both songs are about having dreams, reaching goals, and seeing " the far off place".

References

External links

* * * * 1971 films 1971 drama films Films directed by Ralph Nelson Films scored by Roy Budd Columbia Pictures films British drama films Saint Patrick's Day films Films based on Irish novels 1970s English-language films 1970s British films {{1970s-UK-film-stub