Hayley Mills was never more appealing than as the sweet-natured, arrested-development country girl who is more at home playing with village children than living with her rather unpleasant mother. As she is the sort of fragile, other-worldly spirit that one fears will come to mischief in this cruel world, the viewer is mightily relieved when she is taken up by the gypsies - at least this particular brand of comparatively gentle gypsies - as their simple way of life seems better suited to her future than "ordinary" growing up and marriage to a "normal" person would be. With the gorgeous and kindly gypsy boy (played by the stunningly attractive Ian McShane),Brydie feels loved and safe; and one senses that their life together will be relatively uncomplicated by modern annoyances. (It is something of a parallel to the George Hamilton/Yvette Mimieux romance in "Light in the Piazza," made a few years earlier.) I loved this film, and wished to enter into the pretty-but-now-mostly-vanished English countryside of the time. John Mills and Hayley worked together well on several occasions, and of course, Mother Mary's story was charming. Highly recommended for anyone with an ounce of romance in their souls.

This charming and unusual film was written by Mary Hayley Bell (with inspiration from DH Lawrence's story 'The Virgin and the Gypsy'),directed by John Mills, and starred their daughter Hayley as disturbed teenager Brydie.

The basic premise - that the girl is 'sky west and crooked' because of something that happened in her childhood that she can't remember - soon switches into a 'growing-up' kind of tale as Brydie meets gypsy boy Roibin (Ian McShane). The people in the village are equally well-drawn (Brydie's mother, played by Annette Crosbie; the vicar, played by Geoffrey Bayldon; the grudge-bearing Mr Dacres, played by Laurence Naismith; and the gypsy grandma played by Rachel Thomas).

From encouraging the children around her to bury dead animals in the consecration of the churchyard, to her love match amongst the caravans and the Romany customs, Hayley Mills makes Brydie a delight, although she acts and looks much younger than the character's age of seventeen. As Roibin, Ian McShane is very much in 'glamour' mode, perhaps photographed too sympathetically to make the character believable.

Still, 'Sky West and Crooked' is a well-written and directed piece, a lovely fairytale in which the idealism of first love is well presented and where the surroundings, whether a church or an open road, marry to the action perfectly.

I've seen every movie Hayley Mills was in (except for "The Truth About Spring"),from age 20 and under, and I like this one the best. You won't find this on video--it aired here on t.v. at about 3:00 am, and I was lucky to tape it. Just like anonymous from N.Y. said, you almost watch this movie more for the many interesting people than for the plot. The plot itself is pretty simple--Brydie White is a 17 year old girl who meets a gypsy named Roibin, and the two fall instantly in love, almost like their under a spell. However, it's the personalities that the characters are given that make this story different. Brydie is an innocent, somewhat simple girl, who's friends with all the children in the village. Hayley Mills was excellent in her portrayal of this lonely girl. Ian McShane did a good job as well, forever gazing about with those soulful eyes. The song sung at the beginning of the movie sets the right mood from the start. Another thing that I liked about "Gypsy Girl" was that throughout the movie Brydie and Roibin's love stayed innocent. If at all possible, try to track down this movie, or ask a local t.v. station to air it. It's a shame that such a beautiful film has only been seen by a few.