The Ghost of Monk's Island (1966) User Reviews

Enjoyable for children - if you can get them to watch it!

[Milk_Tray_Guy · 6/10 · 7 February 2021]

I have very fond memories of watching this at Saturday morning cinema (where a lot of Children's Film Foundation stuff was shown). As a young boy I loved the story. It was the kind of adventure I wished I could have, a cross between Enid Blyton and Arthur Ransome, tinged with the possibility of the supernatural. There's an innocence not seen so much these days (its dated style would probably put today's kids off from watching it). But I had another reason for loving it; my dad wrote the score, and I was very proud of him. Sadly, we lost him some years ago. But the film's still here, and well worth a look if you can find it, not least from a nostalgia point of view if you're over a certain age. I give it 6.5/10 (but the music is obviously a ten!). God bless, Dad.

Enid Blyton in all but name...

[Leofwine_draca · 6/10 · 5 July 2020]

THE GHOST OF MONK'S ISLAND is a feature-length Children's Film Foundation production that boasts a gorgeous backdrop in the form of the Channel Islands; this was shot on Herm Island, close to Guernsey, and it has a particularly appealing desolate kind of beauty. The story itself is Enid Blyton in all but name, as a quartet of precocious kids find themselves stranded on the titular locale and forced to contend with not only survival but the presence of a spooky monk. It's basic stuff indeed, dated in all respects and with acting that doesn't really convince, but I think there's a lot to love too. The Scooby Doo-style villain is great fun, particularly in the slapstick hijinks of the climax, and the kids are extremely self-sufficient which I find appealing; I'm not sure modern kids would do so well at fending for themselves as these chaps. It's not the funniest, most charming, or most exciting CFF production out there, but it serves nicely as a fitting snapshot of an impossibly long-ago era.

What to do if shipwrecked in the Channel Islands

[malcolmgsw · 5/10 · 17 April 2020]

This was originally a 7 part series.Pity the poor kids having to sit through this on a Saturday morning.It seems to be more like a survival lesson.Don't take off your lifebelt,don't eat unripe apples.How to fish from the beach and cook the fish you catch.Though the funny thing is that whenever something is needed it suddenly comes to hand.A lot of plot holes.For example why does nobody think of calling the Lifeboat.I suppose if they did there would be no story.

A Day on the Beach

[richardchatten · 2/10 · 16 February 2020]

The title is the scariest thing about this CFF lark in colour; and even the slowest kids in the audience should quickly figure out the identity of the mysterious robed figure wandering about the island our heroes have found themselves stranded on.

Tips on how to fix a boat, give artificial respiration, display a distress signal, tell an egg is off, not drinking water until it's been boiled or eating green apples are liberally sprinkled throughout the script to the merry accompaniment of a noisy skiffle score presumably meant to make sure young viewers don't get nightmares after the villain has received his usual ritual dunking.

Gosh - no wonder kids turned to crime.

[ouzman-1 · 1/10 · 29 May 2020]

This is awful. Patronising to kids? Yes. They are trusted as "good sailors" with a boat and yet - due to their own stupidity - everything they do on the sea turns to bilge.

Useless kids end up on an island.

Strange plot device; they could have conjured up a sea fret or sudden storm? But no the once capable children make a hash of their adventure, running out of petrol? Really? Losing the oar? Seriously! Well how about the kid's near- drowning by falling out of the boat, having taken off his lifejacket?

Oh my! No wonder, then, that my contemporaries decided to become delinquents! Only good for the occasional location spots.

Wooden acting by middle class kids connected to the film industry perhaps?

Awful.

Lovely 1960's Children's classic

[jfryleach · 9/10 · 16 February 2020]

I remember seeing this as a child back in the 60's and I had looked for it since the day's of VHS and when I heard it was being screened for the first time on Talking pictures tv in the UK I was really looking forward to it and I wasn't disappointed. Great performances by the kids with a delightful disregard for health and safety ( running through a burning house, happily playing around with knives and an axe) The story of 4 children becoming shipwrecked on a deserted island whilst an escaped convict lurks in the shadows makes for an entertaining couple of hours and It really gave me a flashback to being in the cinema enjoying Saturday morning cinema club. Loved it.

The good old days.

[plan99 · 8/10 · 3 August 2020]

A little gem of days gone by when boys were allowed to be boys and girls were allowed to be girls. Would any kid today know how to make a kite, catch a fish and cook it etc. probably not as they spend far too much time with their noses buried in mobile phones. The skills evident in this film were ones that I had as I was in the Cubs and then the Scouts so I could identify with the children in this film. It will probably not be enjoyed by anyone born after about 1960 however but that's their loss.

Spoiler Alert...The Ghost of Monk's Island

[waldenpond88 · 9/10 · 8 November 2009]

This is probably the best CFF movie that has been produced AFTER 1965 (I personally prefer the older ones, especially those from the fifties). It's about a group of 4 children who are stranded on an uninhibited island (or so it seems). After a few days they are aware that there is a monk on the island following them around...

I have a German dubbed version from this movie recorded in 1989 from TV. I'm also desperately trying to find these other CFF movies: "Mystery in the Mine", "Five Have a Mystery To Solve", "The Little Ballerina", "Danger Point", "Davey Jones Locker", "Friend or Foe", "The Hostages", "In der Bucht von Kitty Hawk" (don't know the English title), "The Man from Nowhere", "The Missing Note", "The Sea Children", "River Rivals", "Treasure in Malta", "Operation Third Form", "The Piper's Tune", "The Secret Cave", "Valley of the Kings", "Ambush at Devil's Gap", "Beware of the Dog", "Dear End Creek", "Five Clues to Fortune" (aka "The Treasure of Woburn Abbey"), "Fourwinds Island", "Night Cargoes", "Raiders of the River", "The Young Detectives", "The Young Jacobites", "Swift Water" and "Bravo Jean".

It would be great to get in touch with another CFF collector. I have 17 CFF movies in English and 22 with German dubbing. Please write to [e-mail] . Thanks!