La course au trésor

One of Jodie Foster's first roles, but she succeeds brilliantly despite a script with some corny verbatim. Very tomboyish but still gorgeous and her demeanor and acting ability far surpass her years. Niven is great fun playing several roles, all while trying to keep a straight face. Fight scene near end perhaps a bit overlong and typical, but maintains some humour. Average script is made up for with strong, tender performances in a children's movie (which probably only appeals to adults, now)which surprisingly is not emotionally manipulative. 7/10

I'm not sure exactly why I love this film so much. It's not like it has shockingly wonderful performances, story, or setting. But it never fails to warm my heart and make me smile.

Fans of Jodie Foster will recognize her as the young teenage star of this film. She plays Casey, a foster child and juvenile delinquent. A British con man recognizes her as being strikingly similar to a young heiress who disappeared years earlier and offers her anything she wants if she will pretend to be the missing girl. He is certain that there is a treasure hidden in the house of the girl's grandmother, and he wants Casey to find it for him.

The story of how Casey becomes a part of this odd British family is heartwarming and sweet. It is classic Disney fare, without the pathetic romance that often destroys modern Disney films.

Watch this film if only for David Niven's performance as the butler, gardener, grandmother's best friend, and chauffeur.

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 :.

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.