The Ghost of Greville Lodge

James Greville is a teenager who has lived in children's homes ever since being orphaned as a child. He has always assumed that he has no living relatives, so is surprised when he learns that he has a great uncle who has invited him to stay at his home in the countryside, an old manor house named Greville Lodge. James does not, however, find life at Greville Lodge much to his taste. His great uncle is a quiet, lonely and reclusive old man, living with only his elderly housekeeper Sarah for company. His manner seems to hint at some great sadness in his distant past. Apart from Sarah, the only friend James makes is Billy, the eccentric gravedigger at the local church, who has a strange, unsettling manner.

To make matters worse, James becomes convinced that the house is haunted and that mysterious figures are watching him. He begins to have strange dreams in which he is another James Greville, in this case the son of the owner of the house back in 1939. This James Greville has formed a close friendship with Ben, an orphan who has been employed by his father as an assistant to the gamekeeper. James, however, needs to keep this friendship a secret from his autocratic father, who would not approve of his son fraternising with members of the servant class. As the film progresses we learn about the tragedy which struck the house one Christmas and which explains the sorrow which has haunted James's great uncle for so long.

Jon Newman, who plays James in both his modern-day and 1939 incarnations, is not particularly memorable, but there are good contributions from two senior members of the British acting profession, George Cole as Great Uncle and Prunella Scales as Sarah. The film is an intriguing mixture of ghost story and period drama, a sort of M R James meets L P Hartley. There is a strong narrative drive; the story is clearly and succinctly presented and the action builds inexorably to its shattering climax when we discover the tragic secret of Greville Lodge. This is a thoroughly enjoyable piece of entertainment.

A goof. The modern-day scenes are supposed to take place around Christmas, whereas those set in 1939 , apart from the climax, take place in late summer and autumn. The entire film, however, must have been filmed in summer, because we see trees in full leaf even in those scenes which are supposed to be set in December.

A very pleasant and charming spectral story with the very much missed George Cole.

Set amidst a sleepy village where James, a young man from a care home, goes to live in a mansion owned by his great uncle.

There is of course a backstory involving his great uncle. Turmoil and grief.

James is visited by apparitions that hint at a tragedy that befell the mansion in the distant past. The story meanders through the past and present where we learn of the friendship between child servants and the son of the master of the house.

It's a gentle drama that can be watched by the whole family. Prunella Scales plays the housemaid that's been working in the family for generations, she and the great uncle share a history.

It lacks a high budget production but perhaps that contributes to the beauty of the film. Well recommended.

I have to say that I am not a fan of George Cole. That aside this film has the quality of the films of the Golden era. If this was in black and white you would think it was an oscar winner.

The acting is good and direction clear, the flashback effect is good and gives a lovely feeling of memories.

All in all a great film and one that should get more notice from the "bosses" in the industry.

A Good old fashion ghost story. The only problem I had with this well acted film was the season. The filming is meant to take place in an English winter. Unfortunately every tree and bush is covered in leaves. The case may be that global warming is having a bigger impact in England than previously thought. Mr Cole gives his usual excellent performance. Ms Scales also provides her usual high standards, but we are still waiting for the ghost of Basil through out. I may be faulty on that, but there are towers of a sort. I have never come across Jon Newman before, but I am sure I will again. The film takes it's self a bit serious, and could have done with a few more lighter moments. Expanding on this type of story may lead to a decent modern Ghost story film for adults in the future. Wes Craven watch and learn. Bruce.

There is a strange feel about this film, and as I watched it I thought more of L. P. Hartley and E. M. Forster. There is an aching love story at the heart of this film, and the love is there between two young men and one of the young men's sister. A lot is not made explicit, as if that love was more of a ghost in their lives than any outer occurrence. It is I believe the viewer's right to interpret film, because unlike a book a lot can be read in the actor's faces and their unspoken words and their gestures. It is not a great film, but it is a very good one marred slightly by the stupid fault of green leaves everywhere at Christmas and a slight feeling that the direction could have been slightly better. Prunella Scales says more in a glance than a thousand words and she is a great actress. But it is Billy Smith who steals the film, and he was perfect casting. I found George Cole to be the weakest element and the lead actor took a while to engage me. That said I think the film will last the years, and despite it being ostensibly a ghost story it is the lasting memory of a lost love which really haunts the film. It is well worth watching, more than once for the nuances, and fortunately in the UK the indispensable Talking Pictures Channel has it in its repertoire. Watch it if you can and like ghosts it depends very much on subjective interpretation.