Bryan Forbes’ first directorial effort is set in a rugged Lancashire farm community. Three impressionable children, played by Hayley Mills, Diane Holgate, and Alan Barnes, come across a bearded vagrant named Arthur Blakey (Alan Bates) sleeping in their barn. Upon awakening, the ill-tempered bum takes a look at the white-eyed kids and mutters the imprecation Jesus Christ! In their innocence, the children assume that Arthur is Jesus Christ, and they spread the word to their friends. In truth, he is an escaped killer. But when the authorities come around looking for him, the kids, remembering Christ’s persecution, do their best to protect their far-from-deserving new friend. Though the material, based on a novel by Mary Hayley Bell (Hayley Mills’s mother) could have been mawkish and obvious in other hands, Forbes handles the situation and the characters realistically; even the blatant New Testament symbolism is logically incorporated into the proceedings.~ Hal Erickson, All Movie Guide
Shawn Ashmore has gone on record about his part in any future X-Men film.
Speaking of the franchise Ashmore said, ‘I would love to do another film, but I think they’re doing these spin-offs and origin stories, so I can’t see in the near future there being an “X-Men 4” but I have no idea to tell you the truth, it’s really hard to say. I’m holding my breath, waiting for it to happen, but I’m not sure if it will or not.’
Ashmore played Iceman’s Bobby Drake for the franchise. He’ll next be seen in horror flick ‘The Ruins’ set to open in Irish cinemas June 6th 2008.
EXTRAs: Bobby Drake/Iceman was the first character from the comic series to make an appearance in another medium, as one of the main characters on Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. His character appeared in animated adaptations of the comics, voiced by Frank Welker.