In the 1960s and 70s, Disney produced a slew of family friendly live action movies to offset their animated feature films which were released every three to four years. Hand-drawn animation is a long, painstaking process when compared to CGI (Computer Generated Images) which is the standard today for animated films. Computers of the day were barely able to produce any image (you might get a pumpkin for Halloween if you typed everything into BASIC properly), and the first full CGI Film was Toy Story in 1995. CGI quickly replaced hand-drawn animation and rapidly phased out the traditional method with the last hand-drawn film by Disney being Winnie the Pooh in 2011.
So, to keep the coffers filled, Disney relied on live action films, which turned out to be pretty successful with children and adults. In the 60s and 70s, Disney released three to four live action films per year, and most of them were pretty good but unless this was part of your childhood you probably won’t recognize most of them. Candleshoe is definitely one of these films. Every time I mention the film, I get blank stares in return.
Candleshoe is a family action/adventure that starts in Los Angeles and quickly transitions to England for the remainder of the film. The lead character, Casey Brown, is played by Jodie Foster who was 14 at the time of filming, making this one of her earliest films. Casey Brown is a foster child who has been passed between multiple families and has no memory of her birth parents.
The film quickly, and a bit heavy-handedly, establishes her downtrodden situation by implying she has joined a gang and that her foster parents are poor, dirty, and uncaring. In fact, the foster parents are willing to “sell” her to a headhunter hired to find girls that fit the description of the long lost grandaughter of Lady St. Edmund who was kidnapped at age four.
I want to pause for a moment to discuss the use of “gangs” in family movies of the time. For some reason, movie studios felt that the surefire way to portray a character as a “bad seed” was to have them be part of a gang in a city like New York, Chicago, or Los Angeles. Unfortunately, since these movies are almost always PG and family friendly, the gangs come off light-hearted and fun, not dangerous or life-threatening. I remember thinking it was so cool to be in a gang that I actually started a gang with my nextdoor neighbors, both girls, in my small West Virginia town. I know, really hardcore, but this is kind of the opposite of what kids should have been thinking. Anyway, I digress…
Casey Brown is taken by the headhunter to Harry Bundage (Leo McKern), a con man interested in finding the lost treasure of the famous pirate, Captain Joshua St. Edmund. Harry’s cousin Clara (Vivian Pickles) discovered a message from Capt St. Edmund hidden in a bed post at Candleshoe, the stately manor of Captain Joshua St. Edmund. Clara worked at Candleshoe as a maid until she “resigned.” (She was sacked). If Casey poses as Margaret, the granddaughter, then she would be free to roam the property searching for clues to the treasure.
Harry manages to convince Casey, but not before slapping her and threatening her with “You take care your smeller don’t end up where your ears oughta be!” Watching this part of the film, I couldn’t help but marvel at our societal change in child discipline. In the 1980s, nobody really blinked an eye at this behavior, but now, I’m surprised Disney hasn’t censored it on Disney+ yet. Casey does willingly agree to join the team for a percentage of the cut, which is interesting because I thought she was already sold to the headhunter by her foster parents. I guess it doesn’t matter, because we never see them again and it was only a plot device anyway.
Casey gets a quick education on the habits and likes/dislikes of Lady Margaret and off we go to Candleshoe. Upon arrival, Casey and Harry are met by Priory (David Niven) who escorts them to meet Lady St. Edmund (Helen Hayes) for tea and shortbread (so British). During the discussion, Casey consistently stares at the fireplace, quite rudely, and then informs Lady St. Edmund she is not really Margaret and apologizes for wasting her time.
Harry, of course, berates and threatens Casey as they exit to the car. Just before they leave, Priory chases down the car and asks them to step inside once more. Inside, Lady St. Edmund shows Casey a music box that was hidden in the fireplace. Casey, who was made aware of the hidden object by Clara, is able to sing the music box song and is immediately welcomed to Candleshoe by Lady St. Edmund.
The remainder of the movie follows Casey as she searches for the remaining clues to Captain Joshua St. Edmund’s treasure while trying to appease Harry and resisting the urge to care about Lady St. Edmund. Soon after moving in, she finds that four other foster children have been allowed to stay at Candleshoe due to overcrowding at the local orphanage. Casey, naturally, doesn’t get along with the older female child, providing for entertaining conflict between the two.
Casey also discovers that Candleshoe is financially in dire straits, barely making tax payments. Priory has been forced to let all of the staff go but hasn’t told Lady St. Edmund. Instead, he dresses in costume and plays the part of the gardener, the chauffeur, and even the visiting neighbor. This leads to some of the most entertaining parts of the movie where David Niven really shines with some truly laughable hijinks.
Leo McKern also provides a commendable performance as Harry Bundage. His character portrayal provides for not only a believable villain, but one with which the audience may even sympathize. I must admit that I am ashamed of my narrow-mindedness as a child. Mr. McKern appears to have a lazy eye, and as a child I just found that creepy and unsettling. I wish I had been more accepting of differences back then.
I won’t spoil how the movie ends or where the treasure was hidden, but I will say there is a dramatic fight scene and that I was thoroughly entertained throughout the movie. A little bit of nostalgia, maybe, but the movie had a solid, believable plot. It didn’t feel extremely dated and the lead character performances were top notch, including Jodie Foster who never seemed like a child actor other than her age. This is probably why she was nominated for an Academy Award for her performance in Taxi Driver.
I was debating on giving the film 3 1/2 stars, but David Niven’s performance as the gardener, Gipping, pushed it up to 4 stars. I would definitely watch the movie again and would love to introduce it to the younger generation in my family, with the pretext that it is never ok to slap or threaten people. Give this one a try, especially if you have kids.
