El secreto del castillo

This movie is the movie that made me truly fall in love with jodie foster! I don't particularly know why but there is just something about her in Candleshoe that is different from even "Freaky Friday". The acting in this movie is generally very good, with stars like David Niven and Helen Hayes (Of course Jodie), to liven up the cast. This movie is great for younger and older audiences! The fight scene at the end is a bit long, but other than that the movie is awesome!

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.

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!"

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.

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 :.