This is one of those movies I know inside out after watching it on HBO every time it was on (which was quite often). These live-action Disney flicks don't seem to get a lot of attention nowadays, but when I was a kid I was more into movies like "Candleshoe" than the animated Disneys.

Obviously the charm of "Candleshoe" is the talent involved. Helen Hayes and David Niven are on hand, and Jodie Foster is splendid as the American orphan who becomes part of a con man's plot to swindle Hayes's Lady St. Edmund out of a fortune that is hidden somewhere in her very own manse. Goaded by Leo McKern, Foster poses as Hayes's long-lost granddaughter in order to gain admittance to the mansion, where she must follow up on a series of clues regarding the hidden treasure's location.

Although definitely made for kids, the best thing about "Candleshoe" is that it's just as fun watching as an adult. The plot has a certain giddy excitement to it--after all, who could resist a treasure hunt in an old mansion?--and David Niven's many disguises are pretty funny (especially his grouchy Scottish gardener who has an amusing argument with Lady St. Edmund). The other kids in the movie are enjoyable, too.

What really strikes me about the film today are the two surprisingly adult scenes between Hayes and Foster. The way Hayes wins over the distant Foster is a little abbreviated, but the film's denouement between the two of them at the train station is genuinely touching.

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!"

The long lost heir(heiress) gambit has been used in theater and film it seems like forever. In this film conman Leo McKern has heard of and searched out a 15 year old girl who could be the heiress to a minor title of nobility in Britain. He flies her over from Los Angeles to rural Britain and has her meet her purported "grandmother" Helen Hayes.

Of course this is old stuff for Hayes. Ingrid Bergman was also to be her granddaughter in Anastasia. Here it's Jodie Foster. I don't think even Jodie Foster now would compare herself to Ingrid Bergman, but Candleshoe is a great deal lighter than Anastasia. Still Helen Hayes is a less formidable grandmother than the Dowager Empress of Anastasia, but as it turns out not quite as dotty as everyone believes she is.

So now we've got elements of Kidnapped, Anastasia and now to add to that mix, a sprinkle of Kind Hearts and Coronets. David Niven as her devoted butler Priory also gets to play a chauffeur, a gardener, and a neighbor. And come to think of it, the neighbor character is a bit of a spoof on what Niven won his Oscar for in Separate Tables. It's a joy to watch David Niven do these nice little turns as other characters.

So Disney taking the best of at least four films I count now and other viewers might spot some more.

Candleshoe is a nice little stew of an entertaining film. And incidentally the title is the name of Helen Hayes's estate.