The chronically ill mother of seven children dies, and they decide to bury her secretly in the garden so that they are not separated and adopted out to different families. I don't know, maybe they had watched "All Mine to Give" on the telly and have seen how this kind of thing can go, but above all they do not want to be separated. I found the first half to be painfully slow with all these very, very earnest child actors. Things pick up considerably at roughly the one hour point when charming but roguish Dirk Bogarde shows up and hams it up all over the place as the long absentee father. I thought if that one girl hadn't been so uptight about everything, the kids could have had a pretty kick-butt, bohemian life with Charlie. Car rides in the country. Trips to parks and zoos. Music to wiggle to, Playboys lying around, and very little parental supervision, plenty of free time to one's self while Dad was having his parties.But ... this didn't turn out to be a frothy comedy about the return of a long-absent, free-wheeling dad and the positive effect he had on his dour little children. Within five seconds of Bogarde appearing on screen, I was 99 per cent sure what his fate was going to be, and that eventually he would have to be outed as a total louse to make what happens to him more palatable for the audience. So, the film was pretty predictable in that regard.Otherwise, there were a few highlights to recommend here and there: the scenes where the one girl may or may not have been channeling her mother's spirit were effectively creepy. One high-ick factor scene with disturbing incestuous implications (or maybe not, if what Bogarde reveals late in the movie was true). An unexpected moment of joy when the kids realize they can access their mother's savings accounts and their lives aren't going to have to be Dickensian after all.This is a good psychological and atmospheric film, and I'd recommend it.

The reason few have heard of this film is because it is impossible to categorise. Made a few years after the same director made The Innocents and with much of the same sense of mystery and wonder but also the same fear of discovering just too much underneath. The swinging sixties seem a long way off in this almost Dickensian comic tragedy and much of the action seems to evoke the 50s and all those pre war skeletons tumbling out of creaking closets. Hints of incest and worse are probably the main reasons that this has all but disappeared but its a shame because all the children perform remarkably, as do Dirk Bogarde and Yootha Joyce. Immaculate direction, fine music and a wonderful script.

This is a good little movie that heavily relies on its uneasy atmosphere. The movie is also greatly carried by its cast, both the adult as the children's.The story is simple yet effective. The story perfectly sets up an uneasy atmosphere that is dark and sober. The story is unusual and original as well. The movie can perhaps be best described as a dark drama/thriller. The fact that the movie is both unusual and original is probably the reason why this movie unfortunately isn't any better known.The character are perfectly portrayed in the movie and play a great role in the movie its story. The movie is especially carried by the children cast of the movie, who play the most significant and biggest role in the entire movie. The young characters are all both realistic as powerful. Every characters has its own strong personality and they are what make this movie always interesting and never boring to follow, even though the pace itself isn't always terribly high.But the movie also has a good adult cast that unfortunately is perhaps a bit underused at times. Dirk Bogarde plays a great role in the movie but unfortunately his character is introduced at least 15 minutes too late in to the movie. Once his character is introduced in to the story the movie takes more form and becomes even more intriguing to follow. It was also great to see Yootha Joyce in the movie, who I only knew from the British comedy series "George and Mildred". She is a great actress and really gets to show her skills in this movie. The movie handles some intriguing, original and uneasy themes and the movie handles all those themes on its own very special way. It makes the movie a both original as well as memorable movie to watch.Definitely worth seeing, when you get the opportunity to.8/10http://bobafett1138.blogspot.com/

I was actually an extra in this film, as the school scenes were filmed at my junior school, St Leonards Church of England School in Chelsham, Surrey. I remember having to wear my best school uniform and do as I was told. I was 8 years old, I suppose, and it was all very exciting with the lights and the trailers and all the people buzzing around. I don't remember whether we were allowed to meet the stars; I somehow doubt it!This is a great film, very atmospheric, very spooky, and totally believable - kids in the 1960s were obviously very resourceful (and full of very odd ideas). Needless to say, I wasn't allowed to watch the film until I was much older than when I was in it.