Jack Clayton directs Our Mother’s House, which Jeremy Brooks and Haya Harareet adapted from Julian Gloag’s novel. The film features Dirk Bogarde, Margaret Brooks, Pamela Franklin, Louis Sheldon Williams, John Gugolka, Mark Lester, and Yootha Joyce; Georges Delerue composed the music and Larry Pizer was in charge of cinematography. After their bedridden mother dies, seven children conceal her death to avoid being separated and placed in orphanages. They manage quite well on their own, until one boy invites a friend to join them, coinciding with the unexpected arrival of their estranged father at their home. Initially, it seems like a story perfect for Ealing Studios—a lighthearted tale about charming children overcoming adversity. However, Our Mother’s House is something else entirely! It's an unsettling film of considerable quality, offering psychological observations on how seven children adapt to life by establishing their own rules. The experience is both illuminating and disturbing; they hold weekly séances believing they are communicating with their mother, administer punishments themselves, and even create fake checks. Naturally, this independent existence can’t continue forever… The movie presents a portrait of children who have been misled. When their supposed father, Charlie (played brilliantly by Bogarde), appears, everything changes. He stirs up conflicting emotions in the children, both positive and negative, but initially seems like an honest man. However, both Charlie and the children are hiding secrets, which come to light in a powerful and dramatic final section of the film. The young actors deliver excellent performances, skillfully directed by Clayton (who also directed *The Innocents*), who elicits various emotional responses related to their mother’s death. Joyce is effective in a serious role as Bogarde's counterpart, Delerue’s music perfectly complements the strange nature of the story, and Pizer’s cinematography effectively underscores the film’s psychological themes, especially striking during the final scene when a doorway to something ominous is revealed. Clayton and Bogarde reportedly weren’t satisfied with the completed film, but this doesn't diminish its quality. The plot stretches believability at times, but it rarely fails to engage. 8/10

Source on TMDB