The 14

1973 British film by David Hemmings

19 December 1973 (1973-12-19)

Running time

105 minutesCountryUnited KingdomLanguageEnglish

The 14 (also known as Existence; U.S. title: The Wild Little Bunch) is a 1973 British drama film directed by David Hemmings and starring Jack Wild and June Brown.^[1] It was written by Roland Starke.

Its plot, based on fact, concerns the fate of fourteen children in west London who are orphaned after the death of their single mother.^[2]^[3]

Plot

The film focuses on a family of fourteen children who are left to fend for themselves when their mother passes away. Reg, the eldest who is turning 18, is left in charge of the family until the child welfare come in and send them all to a children's home. However. Reg is always determined to fight to keep his family together no matter what.

Cast

Jack Wild as Reg
June Brown as the mother
Liz Edmiston as Sylvia
Diana Beevers as Miss Field
Cheryl Hall as Reena
Anna Wing as Mrs. Booth
John Bailey as Mr. Sanders
Alun Armstrong as Tommy
Keith Buckley as Mr. Whitehead
Tony Calvin as Father Morris
Chris Kelly as Roy (as Christian Kelly)
Frank Gentry as Terry
Peter Newby as Billy
Paul Daly as Freddy
Richard Haywood as John (as Richard Heyward)
Malcolm Tierney as Mr. Michael

Production

The film was shot on location in west London and Berkshire and at Pinewood Studios, London, England.^{[citation needed]}

Release

The film won the Silver Bear at the 23rd Berlin International Film Festival.^[4]

Critical reception

The Monthly Film Bulletin wrote: "The 14 is largely concerned to tell it straight, short on sentiment and with barely a trace of fake moralising concern. ... Everyone officially involved with this extraordinary family emerges sympathetically, from the hard-pressed and utterly dedicated social workers to the harassed priest watching the little monsters disrupt the orderly calm of his children's home, and even the professional foster-mother, pelted with her mashed potato as she lectures her unruly brood on good manners. These fourteen children were obviously a very wild bunch, and the film doesn't pretend otherwise. ... David Hemmings, directing his second film, has mostly evaded the dangers implicit in this misfits-as-heroes approach, though there are times when the difference between the real children and the screen children turns them into mere lovable rogues. ... [Although] the film does well enough on its own terms, it might have done better within a documentary framework"^[5]

Variety wrote: "Far from the oversentimental tearjerker it could easily have become, pic – which is based on a real-life story – emerges as a terse, intermittently humorous yet ultimately moving tale of the struggle of a 14-child family whose father and later mother both die, to work their united way against adversity and into society. ... Uncompromisingly, Roland Stark's script and actor David Hemmings' direction ... refuse to let the kids become cute or winning: to the contrary. ... Acting is good throughout, with Jack Wild getting more individual chances than the rest, and doing his job well. ... Technical credits on the all-location (or almost) pic are fine, with only an obtrusive, over-insistent musical score providing a jarring note."^[6]

References

^ "The 14". British Film Institute Collections Search. Retrieved 9 May 2024.
^ Pulleine, Tim (2003). "Obituary: David Hemmings", Guardian.co.uk.
^ "The Fourteen", Movies.TVGuide.com.
^ "Berlinale 1973: Prize Winners". berlinale.de. Retrieved 1 July 2010.
^ "The 14". The Monthly Film Bulletin. 40 (468): 147. 1 January 1973 – via ProQuest.
^ "The 14". Variety. 271 (9): 18. 11 July 1973 – via ProQuest.