This is an unusual movie, and could well, in time, turn out to be a classic. It concerns 7 siblings left to fend for themselves in a big house after their beloved Mother dies. They bury the corpse in the back garden, and never tell anyone, because they are all under-age and fear the orphanage..
Even if dead, Mother becomes a religious mentor for the children, her thoughts being "channeled" through one of the girls in ritual, late night sessions.
They seem to manage pretty well, but things turn out ugly when the rambling, long lost "father" returns to take over the household. He wins them over, manipulates them, steals Mother's life-savings, and in a gripping finale, reveals to the children the terrible secret Mother has hidden from them.
It's a quite gruesome film, emotionally draining and heartless, an obvious comparison would be "Oliver Twist", or perhaps a dark fairytale from the brothers Grimm... At first, before the father arrives, I thought it was a Christian parable, where the mother represented the dead Jesus, and the children the acolytes and worshippers. But 50 minutes into the proceedings, it turns into something else. From then on, it's anybody's guess! Still, this ambiguity befits the story and keeps you on your toes throughout, until the sorry end.
Jack Clayton's direction is good, if rather literary, the house is a spooky, claustrophobic menace, while the child actors are uniformly excellent. You wouldn't believe young children could perpetuate audience interest in a melodramatic story like this, but, like in that other classic "the Secret garden", they do. Brilliant acting! Dirk Bogarde is supposed to be quietly menacing and evil, and he is exactly that.
Beware though, this is definitely not a film for children!
Even if dead, Mother becomes a religious mentor for the children, her thoughts being "channeled" through one of the girls in ritual, late night sessions.
They seem to manage pretty well, but things turn out ugly when the rambling, long lost "father" returns to take over the household. He wins them over, manipulates them, steals Mother's life-savings, and in a gripping finale, reveals to the children the terrible secret Mother has hidden from them.
It's a quite gruesome film, emotionally draining and heartless, an obvious comparison would be "Oliver Twist", or perhaps a dark fairytale from the brothers Grimm... At first, before the father arrives, I thought it was a Christian parable, where the mother represented the dead Jesus, and the children the acolytes and worshippers. But 50 minutes into the proceedings, it turns into something else. From then on, it's anybody's guess! Still, this ambiguity befits the story and keeps you on your toes throughout, until the sorry end.
Jack Clayton's direction is good, if rather literary, the house is a spooky, claustrophobic menace, while the child actors are uniformly excellent. You wouldn't believe young children could perpetuate audience interest in a melodramatic story like this, but, like in that other classic "the Secret garden", they do. Brilliant acting! Dirk Bogarde is supposed to be quietly menacing and evil, and he is exactly that.
Beware though, this is definitely not a film for children!