Candleshoe

Rating:
Summary: A refreshing film!
Review: Time has not dimmed the appeal of this refreshing film. It may not be fashionable for a film to be heartwarming these days, but Candleshoe IS heartwarming, and I like it fine that way.

Banner performances are found here from Helen Hayes, David Niven, and the young Jodie Foster. Hayes is great in her old age, and there is already visible in Ms. Foster the greatness she will achieve later on. David Niven is extraordinarily versatile (doing work every bit on the caliber of Peter Sellers).

The plot is engaging, as a con-man and his hench-persons try to ferret out the location of an old pirate treasure, only to be repeatedly foiled by the much weaker "good guys." Though I will not reveal the ending (except perhaps to hint that the butler may NOT have done it), that ending is truly satisfying.

This is a film for folks of all ages.

Rating:
Summary: Foster, Niven, Hayes, McKern and Let's Not Forget...Disney
Review: When I was 11, I saw this movie eight times in the theater. Candleshoe has it all for kids: orphans, danger, a rags-to-riches story with pranks and an imaginative chase scene.

Candleshoe is the story of an American street kid, Casey Brown (a young Jodie Foster) who joins with con man Harry Bundage (Leo McKern) to convince the wealthy Lady St. Edmund (Helen Hayes) that she is her long-lost granddaughter. Her mission: to worm her way into the household and find a missing fortune. Protecting Lady St. Edmund is her longtime servant Priory (David Niven) and three English kids who already call Candleshoe home. As it becomes evident that Candleshoe is a poor estate and Lady St. Edmund grows to love her, Casey's loyalties are thrown into chaos.

Jodie Foster displays her already considerable talent in her portrayal of Casey, making this Disney's most touching of the caper movies of the 1970's. Adults will appreciate Helen Hayes, David Niven, and Leo McKern, who is wonderfully villainous in this family movie with lots of action but little violence.

Rating:
Summary: Foster, Niven, Hayes, McKern and Let's Not Forget...Disney
Review: When I was 11, I saw this movie eight times in the theater. Candleshoe has it all for kids: orphans, danger, a rags-to-riches story with pranks and an imaginative chase scene.

Candleshoe is the story of an American street kid, Casey Brown (a young Jodie Foster) who joins with con man Harry Bundage (Leo McKern) to convince the wealthy Lady St. Edmund (Helen Hayes) that she is her long-lost granddaughter. Her mission: to worm her way into the household and find a missing fortune. Protecting Lady St. Edmund is her longtime servant Priory (David Niven) and three English kids who already call Candleshoe home. As it becomes evident that Candleshoe is a poor estate and Lady St. Edmund grows to love her, Casey's loyalties are thrown into chaos.

Jodie Foster displays her already considerable talent in her portrayal of Casey, making this Disney's most touching of the caper movies of the 1970's. Adults will appreciate Helen Hayes, David Niven, and Leo McKern, who is wonderfully villainous in this family movie with lots of action but little violence.