Wings of Mystery

Racing pigeons and streetwise kids are the order of the day in this Children's Film Foundation adventure about espionage in the industrial north of England. Sheffield siblings (played by Hennie Scott and a debuting Judy Geeson) spring into action when an injury to one of their birds leads them to rum goings-on at the local steelworks, where someone is planning to steal a secret alloy from their boffin elder brother's laboratory and sell it to unscrupulous overseas agents. To all intents and purposes, the plot is a kitchen-sink variation on the more middle-class world of Enid Blyton's Famous Five novels,in which enterprising youngsters thwart shady foreigners. It's enlivened, however, by impressively naturalistic performances from the teenage leads (with Geeson going on to be a familiar face on film and TV) and Dad's Army's Arnold Ridley as their avuncular mentor. Director Gilbert Gunn makes good use of his locations of factory chimneys and railway yards, as well as the beautifully photographed Yorkshire countryside.