By Jessica Pickens
No matter your age, you probably grew up on Hayley Mills films.
Coming from an acting family, Mills starred in her first film, TIGER BAY (1959), with her father. At just age 12, Hayley Mills gives a stunning performance of a child who witnesses a murder.
Her next film was starkly different, the happy-go-lucky performance as plucky Pollyanna. Released by Disney Studios in 1960, Mills plays the title character who tries to see the good in everyone and plays “the glad game.” The role got Mills a Juvenile Academy Award for the most outstanding juvenile performance during 1960. It was also the last time this award was presented.
Many people know and love POLLYANNA (1960) and THE PARENT TRAP (1961). In addition to renting those classic favorites, here are other Hayley Mills films to add to your DVD Netflix queue:
In Search of the Castaways (1962)
Starring Hayley Mills, Maurice Chevalier, George Sanders, Wilfrid Hyde-White, Michael Anderson Jr., Keith Hamshere
Brother and sister Mary (Mills) and Robert (Hamshere) Grant go on a journey to find their father, a captain who went missing.
The film is based on the Jules Verne book “Captain Grant’s Children,” and it was Hayley Mills’s third film for Walt Disney.
Summer Magic (1963)
Starring Hayley Mills, Burl Ives, Dorothy McGuire, Deborah Walley, Una Merkel, Peter Brown, James Stacey, Eddie Hodges, Jimmy Mathers
Set at the turn of the century, the Carey family finds themselves penniless after their father dies. The family moves from Boston, Mass. to Beulah, MN to a home that Nancy (Mills) remembers the family admiring while they were on vacation. Once they arrive at the home, they find it run-down, but with the help of postmaster Osh Popham (Ives), the family fixes up the home. Surrounding the bustle of fixing up the home, the Carey’s snobby orphan cousin Julia (Walley) comes to live with them, and Julia and Nancy fall for the same boy (James Stacey).
This is the perfect film for summer. This is such a fun, carefree musical film with catchy songs. Originally set to star Annette Funicello, Hayley Mills was cast in the lead role instead. Mills and Deborah Walley have excellent chemistry as cousins who dislike each other, but eventually make amends.
The Moon-Spinners (1964)
Starring Hayley Mills, Peter McEnery, Joan Greenwood, Eli Wallach, Pola Negri, Irene Papas
Nicky Ferris (Mills) is traveling in Crete with her aunt (Greenwood). When she meets Mark Camford (McEnery), Nicky and Mark get involved in a search for stolen jewels and are chased by the criminals.
Loosely based on Mary Stewart’s novel, this is another great summer film that will make you want to jet set off to the Mediterranean (but perhaps without all the intrigue and adventure). The Moon-Spinners is also the last film of silent film star Pola Negri.
That Darn Cat (1965)
Starring Hayley Mills, Dean Jones, Dorothy Provine, Roddy McDowall, Elsa Lanchester, Nevelle Brand, William Demarest, Frank Gorshin
Patti Randall (Mills) has a mischievous Siamese cat named “DC,” short for Darn Cat. Patti lives with her older sister Patti (Provine). One day in town, there’s a bank robbery and a bank teller is kidnapped. During one of his night explorations, DC comes across the kidnapped woman, who tries to use the cat to get help by putting her watch on the cat. When Patti finds the watch and believes it could be related to the robbery, she goes to the FBI. Agent Zeke Kelso (Jones) is assigned on the case… and is also severely allergic to cats.
THE DARN CAT is a fun, zany film and it also was Mills’s last film with Walt Disney. It was also Dean Jones’s first film for Walt Disney.
The Trouble with Angels (1966)
Starring Rosalind Russell, Hayley Mills, June Harding, Binnie Barnes, Robert Hutton, Mary Wickes, Gypsy Rose Lee
Mary Clancy (Mills) and Rachel Devery (Harding) are students at St. Francis Academy. The two are constantly getting into trouble with Mother Superior (Russell) with their pranks and high spirited ways.
THE TROUBL WITH ANGELS is one of my go-to pick-me-up films. It’s a hilarious comedy, but it is also a sweet coming-of-age story about friendship, growing up and changing your mind. The film is directed by actress-turned-director Ida Lupino.
Jessica Pickens is a North Carolina-based writer. She has a degree in print journalism and now works in public relations. Outside of work, she writes about pre-1968 films at CometOverHollywood.com with a special interest in musicals, films released in 1939, and World War II-era films. You can follow her Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.