Goodnight Mister Tom (film)

In September 1939, the United Kingdom enters World War II and children are evacuated from London to the countryside for their safety. Tom Oakley, a lonely and bitter old man living in the village of Little Weirwold, is forced to look after one of the evacuees, William "Willie" Beech. Tom has long since withdrawn from life after losing his wife and son to scarlet fever many years previously, whilst Willie is a quiet, apprehensive young boy who comes from an abusive home. Tom does not want to take Willie in, but is told he has no choice as the Home Office has deemed it mandatory.

Despite initial difficulties, such as Willie habitually wetting his bed and threatening Tom's dog, Sammy (simply because he is afraid of animals and did not know the dog was friendly), the two slowly begin to bond with Willie calling him 'Mister Tom'. Tom learns that Willie lives with his violent, insane and god-fearing mother after reading a letter she has enclosed with a belt for him to beat Willie with. Later, he sees belt shaped scars on Willie's back, and in a rage, hurls the belt into the garden. Tom does his best to create a suitable home for Willie, providing him new clothes and teaching him to read and write when his schoolteacher, Mrs. Hartridge, learns Willie is illiterate as a result of neglect. Willie's new life with Tom boosts his self-confidence and he begins seeing Tom as a surrogate father figure. He also becomes best friends with a fellow evacuee, the Jewish Zacharias "Zach" Wrench. Zach is the son of actors, very intelligent and rarely seen without his prized red bike. The outgoing and gregarious Zach helps Willie come out of his shell. Willie discovers he has a talent for drawing and Tom buys him art supplies for his tenth birthday. However, shortly after, Tom receives a letter from Mrs. Beech, who claims to be ill and needs Willie back in London.

When Willie reunites with his mother, he discovers she lied about her illness to get him to return, and makes it clear no one in their vicinity is to know that Willie is back. Willie also meets his new-born half-sister, whom Willie has named Trudy. Mrs. Beech claims the baby is a "present from Jesus", and Willie is too young and naïve to consider any other scenario. Trudy lays crying and neglected in a box and Willie's mother refuses to allow him to touch or comfort her, saying the baby needs to learn her place. It is obvious that Mrs. Beech is mentally disturbed and has become more unstable due to the Blitz, and after discovering the absence of the belt, sends Willie to his room, accusing him of deliberately leaving it behind but proclaiming that she will always be able to buy another. The next day, Mrs. Beech is unusually cheerful, but when Willie shows her gifts from the locals of Little Weirwold and tells her about his friends, she accuses him of stealing his paintings and the gifts and becomes furious after learning he has interacted with girls and Jews. She hits him when he argues back and eventually locks him under the stairs, accusing him of blasphemy, after he defends Zach by pointing out that Jesus was a Jew.

Back in Little Weirwold, Tom is missing Willie greatly and anxiously awaits the postman every morning in case Willie sends a letter. He is told by the local billeting officer that it is common for children who return home to forget their host families. Back at home, Tom is tending his plants in the garden when he inadvertently digs up the belt, and instinctively knows that Willie is in danger. He takes the train straight to London with Sammy, arriving late in the evening.

After spending the night in an air raid shelter, Tom enlists the help of an A.R.P. Warden, Ralph, to find Willie's address. A neighbour tells them that Mrs. Beech has left for the coast and that she hasn't seen Willie since he was evacuated. She also informs Tom and Ralph that she often heard whimpering from the Beech residence and the sounds of someone (Willie) being beaten in the middle of the night. Sammy, meanwhile, is pawing at the door of Willie's flat, and Tom, knowing Sammy wouldn't make a fuss for no reason, breaks the door down, releasing a vile stench. Sammy leads Tom and Ralph to the cupboard, which has been tied shut. Entering, they find Willie bloodied and battered, chained to the wall by his wrist and holding Trudy. Willie refuses to let the police take Trudy but eventually lets Tom take her and a policewoman confirms Trudy is dead as Willie desperately clings to Tom.

Willie is hospitalised, suffering from night terrors and is chemically sedated to keep him quiet. Tom visits Willie and meets Dr. Stelton, a child psychiatrist from a children's home in Sussex. Stelton wishes to take Willie to the home as he believes he needs psychiatric treatment and dismisses Tom's bond with Willie, saying it is in Willie's best interests to be placed in the home. Helpless, Tom leaves the hospital and bumps into Ralph, the A.R.P. warden. During their talk, Tom learns about Willie's early childhood; that his father was a violent alcoholic who beat both Willie and his mother and eventually choked to death on his own vomit. Now convinced it would be best for Willie to return to Little Weirwold Tom kidnaps him from the hospital.

Back in Little Weirwold, Willie gradually recovers from his injuries and reunites with Zach and his friends. Willie learns about sex from Zach, which his mother raised him to believe was "something dirty" and realises his mother must have been having a relationship with a man, resulting in the birth of Trudy. He questions Tom about this and Tom tells him gently that it is clear that Willie's mother was very ill (intimating her abusive and contradictory behaviour was caused by mental illness).

Eventually, Stelton and other social workers arrive with the news Willie's mother is dead, having drowned herself. They intend to take Willie to the children's home but Willie protests, wanting to stay with Tom (partially due to the fact he has nightmares about Stelton taking him away). Tom speaks with the head of the Home Office, Mr. Greenway, who is suspicious of Tom's motives, pointing out Tom will turn 70 years old when Willie is still a young teenager. Tom manages to persuade him that he loves Willie like his own son and that Willie has clearly been happier with him than he ever was with his mother. Mr. Greenway ultimately accepts Tom's story and allows him to adopt Willie.

Willie's newfound happiness is cut short when Zach receives a phone call from his mother, saying that London's East End was bombed while his father was working near the Docks. Zach returns to London and is killed in another air raid. The news devastates Willie, causing him to withdraw from life. Tom recalls how he felt when he lost his own family, and in order to stop Willie going down the same path he did, gives Willie a heartfelt speech that whilst a loved one may physically be gone, they will always live on inside their hearts. Willie eventually overcomes his grief and teaches himself to ride Zach's bicycle to honour his memory. In the film's final scene, Willie rides the bicycle down a long hill and stops just in front of an impressed Tom, whom he joyfully addresses as "dad" for the first time.

• John Thaw as Tom Oakley
• Nick Robinson as William Beech
• Annabelle Apsion as Mrs Beech
• Thomas Orange as Zacharias Wrench
• William Armstrong as Dr Stelton
• Geoffrey Beevers as Vicar
• Mossie Smith as Mrs Fletcher
• Peter England as Michael Fletcher
• Ivan Berry as George Fletcher
• Harry Capehorn as Edward Fletcher
• Merelina Kendall as Mrs Holland
• Marlene Sidaway as Mrs Webster
• John Cater as Dr Little
• Denyse Alexander as Mrs Little
• Avril Elgar as Mrs Ford
• Pauline Turner as Annie Hartridge
• Sammy as Sammy

• National Television Awards 1999: Best Drama for Goodnight Mister Tom
• BAFTA 1999: Lew Grade Award for Most Popular Television Programme of 1998 for Goodnight Mister Tom
• Television & Radio Industries Club Award 1999: Best ITV/Channel 5 Programme of 1998 for Goodnight Mister Tom

• Goodnight Mister Tom at IMDb