Figure 1.--Here the evacuee boy is seen making friends in the village he was evacuated to.

The beautifully done British TV production, Goodnight Mr. Tom is about a boy evacuee at the beginning of World War II who was billeted on a elderly man. The British evacuated many children from London and the large cities during 1939-41 to move them into safer areas as the Germans in 1940 began bombing British cities in the Battle of Britain. They were taken in by private citizens in non-industrial cities, rural areas and villages. (The Germans later did the same, but the children were mostly housed in camps.) Many British families pitched in an opened their houses to the children. The need was so great, however, that some local authorities had to use some degree of persuasion. In this case, elderly Tom didn't at first want an evacuee, but the need was so great he eventually was convinced to take in a boy. Many of the films addressing the evacuation deal wirh instances where the evacuee children were mistreated. In this production it was the boy's mother that was mistreating him. This is a well written and wonderfully acted production. The boy's performance is particularly effective. The boy was wonderfully played by Nick Robinson in the 1998 film. His friend was played by Thomas Orange. The costuming is very accurate. The boys in the village wear a variety of outfits, including both corduroy short trousers and matching lumber jackets. Nick wore the classic schoolboy garb or long dark shorts, gray shirt and sweater and a long overcoat. He wore his schools stockings mostly around the ankles. His freind wore a brightly-colored vertically striped sweater.

Filmology

This is a well written and wonderfully acted production.

Cast

The boy's performance was particularly effective. The boy was wonderfully played by Nick Robinson in the 1998 film. His friend who gets killed was played by Thomas Orange.

Figure 2.--This village boy wears a cord jacket and matching cord shorts. This was one of the popular colrs for corduroy in Britain. Sone preparatory schools adopted similar cord jackets and shorts as a school uniform.

Plot

The beautifully done British TV production, Goodnight Mr. Tom is about a boy evacuee at the beginning of World War II who was billeted on a elderly man. The British evacuated many children from London and the large cities during 1939-41 to move them into safer areas as the Germans in 1940 began bombing British cities in the Battle of Britain. They were taken in by private citizens in non-industrial cities, rural areas and villages. (The Germans later did the same, but the children were mostly housed in camps.) Many British families pitched in an opened their houses to the children. The need was so great, however, that some local authorities had to use some degree of persuasion. In this case, elderly Tom didn't at first want an evacuee, but the need was so great he eventually was convinced to take in a boy. Many of the films addressing the evacuation deal wirh instances where the evacuee children were mistreated. In this production it was the boy's mother that was mistreating him.

Clothing

The costuming is very accurate. The boys in the village wear a variety of outfits, including both corduroy short trousers and matching lumber jackets. Hard wearing cirduroy was a popular material for children's clothing, both in England and the Continent. Some preparatory schools adopted similar cord jackets and shorts as a school uniform. Nick wore the classic schoolboy garb or long dark shorts, gray shirt and sweater and a long overcoat. He wore his schools stockings mostly around the ankles. His freind wore a brightly-colored vertically striped sweater.

Book

The TV movie was based on the novel of the same name by Michelle Magorian. The TV adaptation reasonably follows the book, given the time constraints of any film. An English reader writes, "In the book Tom and a couple of kids go on holiday for a week or so. I thought leaving out the holiday from the TV movie was a mistake because the relationships are made stronger."

World War II Evacuations

The British evacuated many children from London and the large cities during 1939-41 to move them into safer areas as the Germans in 1940 began bombing British cities in the Battle of Britain. They were taken in by private citizens in non-industrial cities, rural areas and villages. (The Germans later did the same, but the children were mostly housed in camps.)

Created: March 20, 2003
Last updated: March 20, 2003