ersinkdotcom Here's another forgotten piece of film history. So many great movies get lost in the shuffle of time and an always crowded box office. They never get the attention they deserve. Some just don't get the proper media coverage or struggle to find the right audience, which I believe was the case when this was originally released in 1967.In "Our Mother's House," Mrs. Hook (Annette Carell) dies after refusing to take medicine owing to her fundamentalist beliefs. She leaves her seven orphaned children to fend for themselves. Not wanting to be put in foster homes, the siblings bury their mother in the garden and successfully keep her death a secret. When their long-lost father (Dirk Bogarde) returns, it's initially a happy reunion, as he helps perpetuate the fraud. But soon he shows his true colors -- drinking, carousing and scheming to sell the house.What a touching and disturbing film "Our Mother's House" is. Every single actor on screen is completely invested in their role. Dirk Bogarde makes you hate the scheming loser he portrays as he lies and mistreats the children. The child actors are incredibly talented and all establish their own individual characters so that the viewer truly empathizes with them.I would consider "Our Mother's House" to be a drama with sprinkles of thrills and chills here and there. The scenes of the oldest daughter (Pamela Franklin) trying to contact their dead mother via a sort of séance add a little supernatural flavor to the movie as well. They never really tell you whether she's actually talking to the deceased or faking it to make the children listen to her. Franklin was perfect for the role and continued to freak people out as a clairvoyant in "The Legend of Hell House" a few years later.Although it's unrated, "Our Mother's House" would garner a PG at the least by today standards. It's a pretty intense film that deals with death and the effects it has on children. The movie contains light profanity, brief adult situations, alcohol and smoking, and some frightening and intense sequences. The part where the mother is lying lifeless in bed with the children surrounding her is one of the most shocking and realistic depictions of death I've ever seen on screen. "Our Mother's House" is another fine example of a classic film somehow being overlooked by cinema enthusiasts. It's a brilliant family drama blended with just the right amount of effective creepiness to keep you in suspense. The child actors never failed to impress me as they moved from emotion to emotion.

oyoukid True this movie is close to a classic but it's so darkly chilling and gloomy that it was hard to tolerate. The performances of some of the kids were so intense that I wonder how they were effected. Talk about child actors spiraling downward. That poor little Gerty must be a basket case. One reviewer shares my sentiments in perceptively calling 'Our Mother's House' an "ancestor of 'The Cement Garden'." As a child my daughter was traumatized when I took her to see 'Cement Garden' and she still reminds me that it damaged her psyche. So, despite excellent portrayals by talented, professional young actors I would advise against exposing children, even horror/thriller jaded kids of today, to this dark, creepy story.

David Spalding Having only seen the last fifteen minutes on a rare TCM broadcast, the film is unmistakably the work of a master, Jack Clayton. He'd already directed the classic The Innocents (1961) with Deborah Kerr. Later he'd direct the cult favorite, Something Wicked This Way Comes (1983). He only directed ten films, but his deft touch is recognizable. The impending suspense and doom as the child question their father isn't relieved by the climax ... one has no idea what will happen but it will be a shock. The great films maintain such suspense and the greatest films pay off without seeming cheap. One day, we can only hope, one day this will be shared in a DVD release.

irishpalM Not many people know that Our Mother's house is owned by TCM. If you go to there web site you can vote to have it released on DVD. You can also ask them to show it on television. They will forward it to their programming department. You can vote on many movies on TCM to be released on to DVD. When they get enough votes they forward this to their distributors.You can even vote for films not owned by TCM because they work with the AFI. The American Film Institute. You can also vote for The Third Secret or other movies to be released. Please take the time to vote for Our Mother's House to be released on DVD. They will only allow one vote per computer!