The Little Riders

A tale of defiance and courage during World War II. The story of a family learning to cope with the brutal occupation by the Germans. In a small Dutch village, an evil German officer tries to assert his authority through harsh punishments and torture., An uplifting tale of courage and defiance displayed by a Dutch family in Nazi-occupied Holland during World War II. When the local commanding officer Captain Kessel (Malcolm McDowell) threatens to melt down the eponymous town symbol displaying old freedom fighters, young Joanne and her grandparents attempt to defy the evil usurpers by calling on the help of the entire village., A tale of courage and defiance set in World War II. When the Germans occupy a small Dutch village, they try to assert their authority through harsh punishments and torture. But one family refuse to be intimidated. They concoct a scheme to save the village’s symbol of freedom – the Little Riders figurines on the local clock tower., An American girl (Noley Thornton) trapped in her grandparents’ village in Holland during World War II tries to keep the town’s beloved historic monument out of Nazi hands. Roden: Paul Scofield. Juliana: Rosemary Harris. Lt. Braun: Benedick Blythe. Kessel: Malcolm McDowell. Directed by Kevin Connor., Filmed on location in Holland, the made-for-cable The Little Riders is set during the wartime Nazi occupation of that country. Living with her Dutch grandparents in the village of Kirkendam, American-born Joanne Hunter (Noley Thornton) is a helpless bystander in the real-life drama being played out between the locals and German occupational officer Captain Kessel (Malcolm McDowell). Grimly determined to break down any and all resistance to the Nazis, Kessel is prepared to destroy the villagers’ most cherished possession: He intends to dismantle the six lead statues–or “little riders”–which revolve hourly on Kirkendam’s 300-year-old clock tower, and melt them down for bullets. Intensifying the situation is the growing relationship between Joanne and Lt. Braun (Benedick Blythe), a conscience-stricken German officer billeted in her grandparents’ home. Paul Scofieldheads the cast as the clock’s caretaker, who also happens to be the head of the resistance movement–not to mention Joanne’s grandfather. The Little Riders debuted March 24, 1996, over the Disney Channel.