Kes
“They beat him. They deprived him. They ridiculed him. They broke his heart. But they couldn’t break his spirit.”
Bullied at school and ignored and abused at home by his indifferent mother and older brother, Billy Casper, a 15-year-old working-class Yorkshire boy, tames and trains his pet kestrel falcon whom he names Kes. Helped and encouraged by his English teacher and his fellow students, Billy finally finds a positive purpose to his unhappy existence.
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Cast
30 people
David Bradley
Billy
Known for
Hummingbird
All Quiet on the Western Front
Freddie Fletcher
Jud
Also in
G.B.H.
Queenie's Castle
Lynne Perrie
Mrs. Casper
Known for
Coronation Street
Colin Welland
Mr. Farthing
Known for
Straw Dogs
Brian Glover
Mr. Sugden
Known for
Alien³
An American Werewolf in London
Bob Bowes
Mr. Gryce
No other roles listed
Bernard Atha
Youth Employment Officer
Known for
Family Life
Laurence Bould
Joey Kaye
Pub Comic
Also in
Boys from the Blackstuff
Scully
Ted Carroll
Known for
Flash Gordon
Dracula
Robert Naylor
MacDowell
Agnes Drumgoon
Ken Loach Director · Tony Garnett Screenplay Barry Hines Author
United States release September 21, 1970 · Produced in United Kingdom · Production Kestrel Films, United Artists Pictures
Production
Woodfall Film Productions
Production
Kestrel Films
Production
United Artists Pictures
Studio
United Kingdom
Produced in
Languages
Original language
English
Spoken on screen
English
Release dates
United Kingdom · November 18, 1969
Premiere · London Film Festival
United Kingdom · April 3, 1970
Theatrical
United States · September 21, 1970
Theatrical
Australia
June 18, 1971 · Limited theatrical · Melbourne International Film Festival
Belgium
April 3, 1970 · Limited theatrical
China
June 13, 2026 · Premiere · Shanghai International Film Festival
France
June 19, 1970 · Theatrical
Hungary
October 21, 1971 · Theatrical
Ireland
August 7, 1970 · Theatrical
Netherlands
November 23, 2011 · Physical · DVD
November 24, 2011 · Theatrical · Re-release
Poland
October 15, 1973 · Theatrical
Sweden
September 21, 1970 · Theatrical
United Kingdom
March 27, 1970 · Premiere
September 9, 2011 · Theatrical · Re-release
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