Our Mother's House (1967) Reviews

• A small gem

  Teach-71999-04-23

  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!

• Captures the Viewer and doesn't let him go

  Thorsten_B2004-06-20

  From the first scene of the film one can already tell that there is fine cinematography. We see a girl walking the street of a suburban part of London and immediately one knows that this is a film different to many others – it's slow, it's silent, and still it's intriguing and exciting. Accompanied by an equally great musical score by Georges Delerue, Jack Claytons direction is outstanding. He presents eight children whose sick mother passes away one morning. Upon their close relationship on the one and their fear of being torn apart from each other at the other side, the children decide to keep on living `normally', as if their mother was still alive. They manage to keep up a cover story for teachers and neighbors while their relationship gets even closer. As expectable with children these age (ranging from, I'd guess, ages 3 to 12), they create their rituals (the German translation of the title is `Every evening at 9 o'clock') and manage to find a way to keep in touch with their world `before' – when the beloved mother was still live. They achieve that aim by mixing up religious belief with their childrenlike, yet never naïve `rationality'. But of course, their secret cannot be kept forever… or can it? Dirk Bogarde is great in his role because he convincingly shows the two sides of his character: Loving at one part, but altogether selfish. But credits must go to the incredible cast of children whose performances draw the viewer into the story and force him to stay there. It is one of those rare films were the audience develops real sympathy for the figures. The ending, though probably not all too surprising, is the highlight of the picture and contains a great deal of melancholy. One wonders how the story would continue – but on the other hand, everything that needs to be said is said. As other comments already stated, not a film for children, but one of the best film about children ever made; it's goal was to achieve an insight into the world of a childs mind, and it succeeds brilliantly.

• Another excellent film by Jack Clayton

  blanche-22009-09-01

  Seven children continue in "Our Mother's House" after she dies in this 1967 film starring Dirk Bogarde, Pamela Franklin, and Mark Lester, and directed by Jack Clayton. A very ill, religious woman, the mother of seven, dies suddenly at home. Her children, afraid of being separated, bury her in the garden and continue to live as if nothing had happened, forging her monthly annuity check. One day, their long-absent father (Bogarde) reappears. Based on a novel by Julian Gloag, Haya Harareet (Heston's Ben Hur co-star) and Jeremy Brooks fashioned an excellent screenplay, beautifully directed by Jack Clayton, a true master (The Innocents, The Pumpkin Eater). With a dark, spooky atmosphere inside a big old house, he creates the world in which the children live, one where they care for one another, pray, and communicate nightly with their mother. When Charlie Hook, their father arrives, that all changes, and the world comes rushing in. At first, Charlie is what is needed - his presence means they're safe from the outside world, but gradually, even his supporters among the children begin to see that he's a danger. Clayton manages to bring in an incestuous undertone without overtly showing any incest - in the days when directors needed to adhere to certain codes, they called upon their imaginations. It made film more subtle and definitely more interesting to watch. The acting is superb. Bogarde is in top form as the at first lovable Charlie, who, as he does in "The Servant," gradually becomes more sinister. Pamela Franklin is marvelous as Diana, one of the older children; all of the children are excellent - Clayton was no stranger to directing children, and his deft hand is shown here. Perhaps not a well-known film in the U.S., "Our Mother's House" will make a lasting impression.

• Amazing little world

  marcosaguado2004-03-11

  Among the filmography of the great Jack Clayton, OUR MOTHER'S HOUSE ranks with ROOM AT THE TOP, THE INNOCENTS and THE PUMPKIN EATER. He has a master's hand to deal with the smallest details. His work with children is unsurpassed. Here we have the splendid Pamela Franklin (The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie) and Mark Lester(Oliver in Carol Reed's Oliver) plus a sterling performance by Dirk Bogarde. The film is, clearly, an ancestor of THE CEMENT GARDEN but it creates a world impossible to emulate. In my list of films that changed my life, it goes hand in hand with ROSEMARY'S BABY, APARTMENT ZERO, THE CONFORMIST and BLOW UP.

• Superb

  Wolfsglen2002-10-08

  Very spooky and genuinely disturbing film, that completely avoids all the stereotypical "shock values" in favor of a purely psychological chiller that relies on its script and actors to get over instead. Of particular note are the children in this film, all of whom lack the pre-groomed and pre-prepared feel of some child actors and instead give a superbly realistic performance. Dirk Bogarde is surprisingly good in his role as a gold-digger, and his unforced interaction with the kids only adds more depth. Another of this movies strong points is that it provokes thought more from insinuation than actions, leaving a lot open to the interpretation of the viewer. Different people will see different "things" when viewing this! Highly Recommended old classic that deserves a viewing.