The Children's Film Foundation made a number of good little mysteries in the 1960s, one of which was Wings of Mystery, released in 1963. This British film tells the story of a brother and sister ( Hennie Scott and a young Judy Geeson ) who try to help their brother Ted ( Richard Carpenter ) when he is accused of stealing a new secret alloy from the iron plant where he works. The children suspect McCarthy, another employee, who will be taking a trip to Belgium to race pigeons. They believe he snuck the alloy sample out of the plant by tying it to the feet of a pigeon and will be selling it to foreign agents. Since the children are also avid pigeons racers, they follow him to Belgium in an attempt to apprehend him.
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Pigeon racing films are quite rare and this is one of the best in the genre. Audiences get to witness some splendid action shots of the pigeons in flight, especially that of Sir Lancelot who was the lead pigeon in Wings of Mystery.
Unfortunately, the performances of the human actors are rather stiff, but CFF films were never known for featuring quality acting ( most of them cast new young actors or children from the villages where the pictures were being filmed ). Wings of Mystery does have one talented youngster - Judy Geeson, who was only 15 years old at the time. Geeson would go on to have quite a long career in both film and television starring opposite Sidney Poitier in To Sir, with Love ( 1967 ), Joan Crawford in Berserk ( 1968 ), and John Wayne in Brannigan ( 1975 ).
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Also in the cast is Patrick Jordan, Arnold Ridley, and Anthony Jacobs. The movie is only 55-minutes long so it is worth checking out, and if you enjoy it, take a peek at Sky Pirates ( 1977 ), another CFF release, this time with children who use their model airplanes to battle diamond smugglers.
Unfortunately, the performances of the human actors are rather stiff, but CFF films were never known for featuring quality acting ( most of them cast new young actors or children from the villages where the pictures were being filmed ). Wings of Mystery does have one talented youngster - Judy Geeson, who was only 15 years old at the time. Geeson would go on to have quite a long career in both film and television starring opposite Sidney Poitier in To Sir, with Love ( 1967 ), Joan Crawford in Berserk ( 1968 ), and John Wayne in Brannigan ( 1975 ).
