User reviews

Possibly one of the best family films ever made by Disney. Jodie Foster is brilliant as the wayward teen who's going nowhere. Even at that early age you can see why she has gone on to become one of Hollywoods most successful actresses - she's definitely underrated.

Candleshoe is packed full of memorable one liners that just stick with you for months, even years, following watching this film.

I grew up watching it and have never stopped! Also, 'Grandmother's' accent is perfect, considering the actress herself is American.

Watch this film, you won't be disappointed!

Unfortunately I had to surf the Net and order it from America to get hold of my copy, but if you DO find it to buy, don't hesitate.

Jodie Foster plays an American hard-knocks-life kid who travels to England, and together with a small-time crook tries to swindle an old lady (played by Helen Hayes) out of her fortune. Foster passes herself off as the child of a long lost relative (now orphaned), which makes Hayes feel responsible. Although the hoax is soon discovered, the two grow fond of each other, and when there appears to be no money at all in the estate, they band together to save the place from the tax man. The predictable ending is nonetheless satisfying.

This film makes for pleasant family fare, and incidentally features 3 Academy Award Winning actors (Foster, Hayes and David Niven).

I'm not sure exactly why I love this film so much. It's not like it has shockingly wonderful performances, story, or setting. But it never fails to warm my heart and make me smile.

Fans of Jodie Foster will recognize her as the young teenage star of this film. She plays Casey, a foster child and juvenile delinquent. A British con man recognizes her as being strikingly similar to a young heiress who disappeared years earlier and offers her anything she wants if she will pretend to be the missing girl. He is certain that there is a treasure hidden in the house of the girl's grandmother, and he wants Casey to find it for him.

The story of how Casey becomes a part of this odd British family is heartwarming and sweet. It is classic Disney fare, without the pathetic romance that often destroys modern Disney films.

Watch this film if only for David Niven's performance as the butler, gardener, grandmother's best friend, and chauffeur.

One of Jodie Foster's first roles, but she succeeds brilliantly despite a script with some corny verbatim. Very tomboyish but still gorgeous and her demeanor and acting ability far surpass her years. Niven is great fun playing several roles, all while trying to keep a straight face. Fight scene near end perhaps a bit overlong and typical, but maintains some humour. Average script is made up for with strong, tender performances in a children's movie (which probably only appeals to adults, now)which surprisingly is not emotionally manipulative. 7/10

I'm not a JODIE FOSTER fan, but she's well cast as the tomboy posing as a wealthy aristocrat's long lost daughter, really on a mission to discover where the wealth is hidden.

David NIVEN is the aristocrat's butler, but forced to assume many different disguises to keep HELEN HAYES from realizing that she has almost no household staff other than him. Seems they are facing hard times just keeping up with the payments on the castle called "Candleshoe," an elegant British house in the countryside that provides a handsome setting for the story.

Foster, Niven and Hayes give delightful performances and keep the film going whenever it runs out of steam--which, unfortunately, happens toward the end when the slapstick becomes something better left to the likes of a Buster Keaton or a Charlie Chaplin.

Neverthelss, kids and adults will be drawn into the story, deftly played and well directed with enough humor and excitement to keep any viewer interested until the wacky finale.

And that "Candleshoe" house is something to see. As Jodie Foster says, "What a shack!"

Casey Brown (Jodie Foster) is a 14 year old delinquent in Los Angeles who is abrasive, curt, and trusts no one but herself. When her latest escapade lands her in trouble with her foster parents, a con artist named Harry Bundage (Leo McKern) presents an opportunity for her part in a scam: She will pretend to be the long lost granddaughter of Lady Gwendolyn St. Edmund (Helen Hayes) of Candleshoe and use the ruse as an opportunity to search for treasure hidden by Candleshoe's founder, Privateer Joshua St. Edmund. Casey agrees to take part in the scheme. When she arrives Casey convinces Lady St. Edmund and family butler, Priory (David Niven), that she's in fact the long lost daughter, but does not so easily win over the hearts of Lady St. Edmund's foster children. Now trying to keep up a lie while skulking the estate for clues to the treasure, Casey soon finds herself torn between her newfound family and the lie that started it all.

Based on the 1963 book Christmas at Candleshoe by J. I. M. Stewart under the pseudonym Michael Innes, Candleshoe is something of an outlier in the annals of the Ron Miller era of Walt Disney studios. At a time where the studio was predominantly known for gimmick comedies such as the Dexter Riley films and the Don Knotts/Tim Convoy comedies, while the studio did have other endeavors outside these formula comedies, they were typically played very safe with material like Island at the Top of the World or Bedknobs and Broomsticks bearing more than a passing resemblance to 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea or Mary Poppins. Candleshoe is no different in that it feels like had this been made 10 years earlier it would've been a sure bet Haley Mills would've headlined it. With that said, while Candleshoe doesn't break new ground, it's a well told impostor story that segues nicely between themes of family and a decent treasure hunt.

Jodie Foster fresh off her role from Taxi Driver is a more than capable actress for this level of material, and while some of the dialogue can seem somewhat hokey Foster makes it work with an effortless looking performance that sells the "Hardscrabble tomboy" image that defines her character. There's also a really good supporting cast featuring a bevy of really great talent with the always reliable David Niven playing faithful butler Priory has an amusing gag of wearing many hats (quite literally) because the financial situation at Candleshoe has made it so they can't afford more help and he dons various disguises as the gardener and various others to not worry Lady St. Edmund, Niven does a nice job of playing up the silliness of the situation without yuking it up and overdoing the joke. Leo McKern, whom I know for his appearances as Number 2 on The Prisoner, is also quite good as sleazy conman. His voice is as clear and commanding as ever and makes him an intimidating villain but also quite a good comic presence when he faces indignity or comeuppance. Last but not least is Helen Hayes (in what would sadly be her final performance) as Lady St. Edmund, and her performance hits all the right notes. From the skepticism we see when she's first introduced to Casey to the quiet sadness she carries in other scenes, it's clear Hayes is giving her all and if it had to be her last performance, then what a performance to go out on.

Candleshoe's plot is fairly predictable in terms of where the story is going and why, and as far as treasure hunts go it's okay, but it doesn't have the edge of something like the 1964 film The Moon-Spinners did. I personally felt the pacing was a bit too relaxed and maybe they could've played up the impostor aspect of the story a little bit more for some tension, but given this was 70s Disney that probably would've been nigh impossible and it's probably nothing short good fortune we got what we did. I also felt like the movie maybe brushed over the impostor plot point a bit faster than it should've and didn't allow it to carry the weight it should've, but again: that's just me.

Candleshoe isn't one of the Disney greats, but at a time when Disney was mainly recycling the gimmicks of Blackbeard's Ghost or The Love Bug to diminishing returns, it's nice that Disney tried to attempt a more traditional family adventure film that harkened back to the Walt led days of the studio, while it doesn't quite reach the gold standard set by the best Live-Action Disney fare, it does a good job and shows full commitment from all involved.

Casey Brown (Jodie Foster) is a foster kid and hustler in L.A. Con man Harry Bundage entices her to find Captain St. Edmund's treasure which he believes to be buried on the Candleshoe Estate in England. He tries to convince Lady St.Edmund that Casey is her long lost granddaughter. Priory (David Niven) is the butler. Along with four local orphans adopted by the Lady, he tries to maintain the flat-broke estate by scrounging up any extra cash.

It's a fine Disney family movie. Jodie Foster is a terrific tough kid as always. She was simply one of the best child actors around. The treasure hunt is really aimed at the little kid level. It is heart-warming with a little bit of humor.

Before this vehicle became contrived, Disney did it while it was still fresh. A group of orphans must save the castle in which their adoptive "grandmother" has housed them. This work involves some intrigue and a very young Jodi Foster as a nearly incorrigible ruffian girl.

This is a lot of fun, but it also bears some touching moments, endearing characters, and a great script. Honestly, this is one of my favorites of the Disney Family series. It offers you hope, love, and a promise of better things to come.

This is truly good.

It rates an 8.9/10 from...

the Fiend :.

This one is an adequate time-filler, but, surely, it won't be hard to find many other films to watch when you just need to sit back and spend two hours painlessly. It's an uninspired, undistinguished Disney comedy, with OK performances but a predictable storyline. The brightest moments are contributed by David Niven, who gives some class to the whole production.

The main problem I have with this film is that it's not a patch on the book and characters are changed beyond recognition (to the extent of changing their names). Michael Innes was one of my favourite authors and it's a shame that just about the only film made from his considerable output has been mucked about so much. Having said that it's much better than a lot of Disney stuff and is a lot more entertaining than, say, Home Alone. I don't think Helen Hayes was right for the old woman (based on reading the book) but, while Jay in the book is a boy, I can understand Jodie Foster getting the part because she is really good. It keeps the kids quiet for a bit but it could have been so much better.

Another Disney classic, a definite for young children and a movie I would recommend for families.

The country setting helps this film along as it reinforces the atmosphere being an "old" age film, set in the past, but not to far back. The acting by Jodie Foster in this film is delightful to watch as the tomboy cliché is used but to great effect. Another brilliant performance is by David Niven, the butler, but who undergoes changes in his personality to acquire different identities as to accompany his mistress in disguise, giving her a sense of many friendships.

Any fight scenes are classically in Disney fashion, amusing and inventive defences and preceding this, even a car chase magnificently manoeuvred by Mr. Prairy the butler (Niven)and much to any child's delight.

A film guaranteed to be loved by young children and even appreciated by the open-minded of older years but without a doubt, a family film enjoyed by all the family, including the grandparents!!

The long lost heir(heiress) gambit has been used in theater and film it seems like forever. In this film conman Leo McKern has heard of and searched out a 15 year old girl who could be the heiress to a minor title of nobility in Britain. He flies her over from Los Angeles to rural Britain and has her meet her purported "grandmother" Helen Hayes.

Of course this is old stuff for Hayes. Ingrid Bergman was also to be her granddaughter in Anastasia. Here it's Jodie Foster. I don't think even Jodie Foster now would compare herself to Ingrid Bergman, but Candleshoe is a great deal lighter than Anastasia. Still Helen Hayes is a less formidable grandmother than the Dowager Empress of Anastasia, but as it turns out not quite as dotty as everyone believes she is.

So now we've got elements of Kidnapped, Anastasia and now to add to that mix, a sprinkle of Kind Hearts and Coronets. David Niven as her devoted butler Priory also gets to play a chauffeur, a gardener, and a neighbor. And come to think of it, the neighbor character is a bit of a spoof on what Niven won his Oscar for in Separate Tables. It's a joy to watch David Niven do these nice little turns as other characters.

So Disney taking the best of at least four films I count now and other viewers might spot some more.

Candleshoe is a nice little stew of an entertaining film. And incidentally the title is the name of Helen Hayes's estate.

In between the time when Jodie Foster played a prostitute in "Taxi Driver" and made* John Hinckley decide to shoot Ronald Reagan, she starred in some kid-oriented movies, of which "Candleshoe" was one. In this one, she plays street urchin Casey Brown, whom gangster Harry Bundage (Leo McKern) sends to pretend to be the granddaughter of aristocrat Lady St. Edmund (Helen Hayes). As expected, Casey gets too much into character, and Harry decides to get nasty.

This movie's nothing special, for the most part. However, I will admit that it was my introduction to David Niven. In fact, when I saw Leo McKern, I recognized him as the guy chasing the Beatles in "Help!", and I wondered if HIS name was David Niven. Within a year, however, I saw "The Pink Panther" and figured out which one David Niven was. I later saw Leo McKern in "The Omen" (that horror flick is supposed to be sacrosanct; WHY did they have to remake it?!).

I admit that it's weird to review a "cute" Disney movie and mention a movie like "The Omen". But the truth is, I take pride in doing those sorts of things (and today is 06/06/06 - or 666 - after all). As for "Candleshoe" itself, it is a kids' movie, but I guess that it's harmless. The only other cast member whom I recognize is Vivian Pickles (Grimsworthy); she played Harold's mother in "Harold and Maude". Weird.

Who ever would have assumed that the girl from the late '70s Disney flicks would later play an FBI agent interviewing a cannibal?

*I find it hard to believe that John Hinckley shot Reagan to impress Jodie Foster. The whole thing seems kinda sketchy. Oh well. At least it led to the Brady Campaign Against Gun Violence (sign yourself up at bradycampaign.org).

I worked at the Disney Studios when this film was made. It was given a wide showing to Studio employees prior to release. At that time there were no "main titles." We were also given a list of potential release titles, the simple "Candleshoe" winning out. The employee comments were overwhelmingly positive and the movie went on to do good business.

One reviewer commented that the movie contained a high level of violence for a live action Disney film. It is no more violent than many such Disney movies (just see the final fight in "Blackbeard's Ghost" for example). There are several general brawls in Candleshoe, (including the climatic battle between the good guys and the bad guys), but it all done tongue-in-cheek; it is totally unobjectionable, and meant purely for fun. This last "battle" is played so broadly in fact that one might even say it nearly goes "over the top."

David Niven is wonderful in a variety of roles, from the butler, to a gardener to a retired army colonel. (The role was originally set for Laurence Oliver.) This was the first of two Niven films for Disney, the other being "No Deposit, No Return."

The nice thing about "Candleshoe" is that it continues to entertain more than 25 years after its release.

Hard to believe the Disney branch of the mid-'70s thought kids would be interested in the kooky nuns of "One Of Our Dinosaurs Is Missing", the church-lady super-snoopers of "The North Ave. Irregulars", or in the plot of this talky, sentimental comedy starring Jodie Foster as a delinquent teen transplanted from Los Angeles to the English countryside. Foster's in cahoots with a thieving couple, trying to find a treasure hidden somewhere on the property of an elderly woman and her gaggle of orphans. Despite a few missteps, Foster's work here is admirable, particularly in the quiet scene where she walks the grounds with Helen Hayes ("You have to keep your dukes up," Foster says. "When you wake up in the morning, the first punch is yours."). Her introductory scenes being 'bad' are enjoyable, though she seems to bond awfully fast with the other kids in the English manor, and I didn't quite buy it when she has a complete change of heart and becomes part of the family. We are not spared another Disney car chase--I don't know why I thought we would be, I supposed since we were in England and searching for treasure that wouldn't happen--but by God if the archaic Disney brass didn't shoehorn a nick-of-time auto-and-train race into this thing. Still, Jodie's performance, Ron Goodwin's wonderful score and some lightly amusing set-pieces make the film entertaining. **1/2 from ****

Candleshoe is a delightful film to watch if you're 8 or 80 years old!

A wonderful, gentle, spin on the "Little Lord Fauntleroy" tale with a great ensemble cast. David Niven always did thrive in the less-is-more style of acting and here it is never better displayed. Jodie Foster - an American street-urchin is engaged by unscrupulous gold-digger "Mr. Bundage" (Leo McKern) to travel to England where she is to impersonate the long lost grand-daughter of the Marchioness of St. Edmund (Helen Hayes) and help him to discover the whereabout of a hidden treasure of pirate doubloons. She duly arrives and ingratiates herself with the old woman. Soon though, she discovers that much of it is a façade; the house is mortgaged to the hilt with the delightful Niven ("Priory") being butler, gardener, chauffeur - just about everything as they attempt to keep the alarming truth of their fiscal predicament from Hayes. As you might expect, Foster turns tables on her crooked mentor and what follows is a fun, comedy adventure with a suitably happy ending. It's all done in the best tradition of Disney - an engaging and light-hearted celebration of decency and humanity winning out...

"Candleshoe" has a fine cast with a couple of former prominent actors, a good script, and an up and coming new young actress. David Niven plays four parts - three of which are intentional masquerades as servants and a friend of Lady St. Edmund. He is quite good with the disguises and voice accents and changes.

Helen Hayes is the matriarch of Candleshoe, an old estate handed down through the family for centuries. But, with the disappearance and feared death of her granddaughter in a plane crash several years earlier, she has no heir for the estate. She's a kind woman who has taken in some foster kids.

Enter a shyster by the name of Bundage who has taken great pains over a couple of years to find someone he could pass off as the granddaughter. He wants her to look for clues in the mansion for where the infamous ancestor and pirate, Captain Joshua St. Edmund, hid a large treasure of gold doubloons.

Bundage hired a detective agency that found the perfect match in a street urchin named Casey. She doesn't have parents but lives with an old couple in shabby inner city housing of Los Angeles. She's a street-smart minor hooligan who passes clearly as a boy. Jody Foster was just 15 when she played this role, and she does a fine job with it. Leo McKern is very good as the villain, Bundage.

The rest of the cast all do well. Most of the film was shot in England, and the house and country scenes are very pleasant. The film has light comedy and drama, and makes a good family film. It was based on a novel by Michael Innes, "Christmas at Candleshoe." Walt Disney studios released it as a holiday film a little over a week before Christmas 1977.

Here's a favorite line from the film. For more funny dialog see the Quotes section under this IMDb Web page of the movie.

Lady St. Edmund, "Good afternoon, John Henry." Priory, in disguise as the chauffeur, "Good afternoon, m' lady." Lady St. Edmund, "Oh, and how is your Uncle George?" Priory, "Ah, m' lady, I didn't think it necessary to trouble you with the news. But we finally had to measure him for his wooden overcoat." Lady St. Edmund, "Wooden?" Priory, "Yeah, we buried him last week, m' lady."

This film has become cult viewing amongst the students of Birmingham, England, with its quirky Disney humour, its cracking one-liners (they're nice and squashy! whats grandmother going to say when she finds out! better take the garlic! ) top performances, (why did Bobby never work again? ) and a storming soundtrack by the fantastic Ron Goodwin! Parties of students have been found wandering through the Warwickshire countryside on a pilgrimage to Compton Wynyates, aka Candleshoe!The walk was 26 miles in the rain but everyone agreed that it was definitely worth it!!!Candleshoe is quite possibly the best film ever made and Disney at its finest!!!!

Jodie Foster plays a 1970s version of a Dickensian street urchin helping a Fagin-like crook swindle a rich woman out of her fortune (actually it's finding hidden treasure on her estate) by passing Foster off as her long lost granddaughter. Foster then comes to like her ladyship, a delightful Helen Hayes, and her loyal butler, David Niven, and ends up helping them fend off Leo McKern and his henchmen. This is standard 1970s Disney cornball entertainment along the lines of "The North Avenue Irregulars" or "No Deposit, No Return," but this film get's extra entertainment value by featuring a teenage Jodie Foster and charming performances by Niven and Hayes. Overall, "Candleshoe" is hardly a classic, but it's solid lightweight entertainment that held my interest and also quite entertained my own children.

I loved this movie as a kid and watched it so much that i had all the lines memorized and wore out the betamax tape. I love David Niven in this movie and it was actually the reason I wanted to see the David Lean movies... my favorite scene is where Lady St. Edmund and Priory share a last dance. Some of the puzzles have remained in my head (For the sunrise student there is treasure among books) and have formed a long-lasting obsession with pirate treasures and real-life hidden treasure stories (oak island and rennes-le-chateau). Too bad movies of this type are no longer being made.

It was ok. There was lot of action, drama and is family friends. The character development, character and plot were average. The criminals were dumb and like any other criminal is. The story is just average it not bad but it not the best. For most of the story I wasn't bored of it.