Again, I'd never read the favorite children's book or watched any of the various film versions of this one (though the 1937 Shirley Temple vehicle directed by Allan Dwan is scheduled to screen on Italian TV this very week), so I wasn't familiar with the plot line other than that it had a mountain setting.
As it turned out, HEIDI proved surprisingly tolerable if hardly exciting fare sentimental but undeniably moving, generally pleasant (despite the generous 110-minute length), and well acted by a stalwart cast: the heroine was played by Blake Edwards' daughter, Jennifer, and she was supported by Maximilian Schell, Jean Simmons, Michael Redgrave, Walter Slezak, Peter van Eyck, and John Moulder-Brown as Heidi's young shepherd-boy friend.
The story deals with an orphaned girl who finds herself torn between living with her gruff and hermit-like grandfather (Redgrave) and a wealthy uncle (Schell), who has a crippled daughter resenting the intrusion. Needless to say, Heidi's influence softens everyone towards a happy ending subplots involve Schell's muted relationship with governess Simmons, Redgrave's religious conflicts (benevolent clergyman Slezak, then, wants him to pick up his organ-playing activity at the church) and the crippled girl's recovery (she's entrusted in the care of doctor van Eyck, but it's Redgrave's unorthodox 'treatment' which finally reaps results).
