The Ghost of Greville Lodge

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.

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.

I had never seen this film on television here in Canada and I purchased the DVD solely based on the reviews found at Amazon UK. After all who doesn't love a Christmastime ghost story. I just finished watching this with my wife and we were not disappointed. The story builds slowly but with suspense. A young lad, James (Jon Newman), is reunited with a great Uncle (George Cole) he never knew he had. James travels to the country to Greville Lodge where his uncle lives. Both James and his uncle are very nice people but the uncle is somewhat somber.

James soon begins to have dreams that are connected to Greville Lodge. He dreams he is a lad much like himself and he befriends a boy and a girl who worked at Grenville Lodge many years before. Why are these strange dreams happening? There is a mystery for James to unravel. Something happened many years ago that still affects his uncle. Eventually James comes to believe that if he can unravel the past perhaps he can bring some joy to his solemn uncle.

This is not a horror film with exploding skulls and gargoyles (Thank heavens). It is a gentle ghost story, superbly written and well acted. I recommend it highly as a family Christmas movie.

The Ghost of Greville Lodge was so enjoyable in every way. I had it taped and watched it over and over. The only fault I could find was with the quality of the sound. Perhaps it was the video tape I was using.

It contained all the necessary ingredients, Fear, sadness and love. Prunella Scales is always guaranteed to give a good performance.

It had a feel of one of those strange things that happen in our lives from time to time and never gets explained.We don't see enough of these type of productions. Lovely location too. I especially like the scene with the Christmas tree. I write short stories from time to time and this has encouraged me to do so more.

This film was brilliantly directed and cleverly filmed. Good choice of actors to play all parts, a very strong principal cast. Clever contrast by using a slow pace for modern day scenes compared to faster delivery of the scenes set back in 1945. Acting by young newcomers Billy Smith, Rebecca Weeks and Jon Newman was fresh and inspiring to see them alongside acting veterans Prunella Scales and George Cole. I'm sure this will not be the last we will see of these upcoming young stars. Good direction by director Naill Johnson together with a well thought out script and use of interesting camera shots. This film is a must see for all the family. 10/10