Remembering Stanley Baker: Talking Pictures with Glyn Baker

studio: made at Nettlefold Film Studios, Walton-on-Thames

Nettlefold Studios, Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England, UK

Maggie Smith and George Nader in Nowhere to Go (1958)

Michael Craig, William Lucas, Françoise Prévost, and Billie Whitelaw in Payroll (1961)

Timothy Bottoms and Maggie Smith in Love and Pain and the Whole Damn Thing (1973)

Clifford Evans and Patricia Roc in Suspected Person (1942)

Hillary Brooke, Paul Carpenter, Sidney James, Alex Nicol, and Susan Stephen in Heat Wave (1954)

Petula Clark, James Donald, and Googie Withers in White Corridors (1951)

A 1956 Golden Era Film for Eros Films, this was another tear-jerker for child star Mandy Miller to strut her stuff after the box office success "Mandy."  

You picked on me because I was headed for success. Stephen was pure charm and all failure. You loved him but you loved my prospects better.

Why are you bringing all this up now? It's ridiculous to hear you call something love that I knew even at the time was mere youthful infatuation. What's it got to do with the child's behavior anyway?

If you'd married Stephen as you really wanted to, Elizabeth might have been your daughter.

Now I suppose you're blaming me because we never had a child?

I blame you for swindling me into a loveless marriage. You chose me because I was a good choice as a husband, but you never gave me a single moment of that one indispensable thing: real love. Our marriage was bound to be barren. And your hatred of this child is the natural outcome of an unnatural life!

The contractual "Credit Block" shown in the re-release by VCI Entertainment in their "BEST OF!" British Classics. Pictured (from left) MANDY MILLER; STANLEY BAKER; MOLLY URQUHART; CHRISTOPHER TOYNE; PHYLLIS CALVERT and DORA BRYAN.   

Elizabeth (MANDY "Mandy" MILLER) moves in with her uncaring aunt (PHYLLIS CALVERT) and uncle (ERIC PORTMAN) while her fugitive father (STANLEY BAKER) is on the lam. Elizabeth must never reveal his whereabouts, even to her best friend Peter MacNally (CHRISTOPHER TOYNE.) She must now choose to tell the truth or be loyal to her father. 

Mandy Miller in Child in the House (1956)

Stanley Baker and Mandy Miller in Child in the House (1956)

Phyllis Calvert

Eric Portman

Stanley Baker

Janet McNeill

Aubrey Danvers-Walker

Cy Endfield

Young Elizabeth is left with her relatives, a married couple, while her mother is in the hospital. The friendly husband likes her, but the wife hates kids. One day her father, an often-absent crook on the lam, visits her in secret.

Child in the House

A child&apos;s loyalty

Happened to stumble across &apos;Child in the House&apos; when staying with my godparents, where my godfather had written numerous titles of films (a very interesting list by the way, mostly consisting of films not yet seen) to watch in the evening, for each evening of my stay with them. And &apos;Child in the House&apos; stood out, despite a somewhat generic title the summary when described to me was intriguing.

Watching it, while reading no reviews beforehand which were actually not a lot when checking them out afterwards, &apos;Child in the House&apos; turned out to be a pleasant little film deserving of more exposure than it gets. It does not deserve to be a film that is practically forgotten. It&apos;s not perfect, great or anything to be overly thrilled by, but there is nothing here that will annoy or offend anybody in any shape or form and to me it wasn&apos;t one of those films that made me feel nauseous from any overdoses of sugar.

&apos;Child in the House&apos; does get a little mawkish in places agreed, particularly towards the end and occasionally the pace is a touch staid.

The ending did seem on the too neat and pat side, there was a real opportunity for the film to end on an exciting and maybe even daring note but instead played it too safe and it undermined the tension of the last portion of the film in my mind.

On the other hand, &apos;Child in the House&apos; is beautifully designed, absolutely loved the interiors of the house and the equally elegant costumes. Equally attractive is the photography, which clearly loved the interiors of the house and revelled in it. The music fits well, not obtrusive or so it felt that way to me (speaking as somebody who has an issue with music, a big lifelong part of my life, being intrusive/obtrusive), and is a nice sumptuously orchestrated score in its own right. The title song is a very charming one, without being sugary, and sticks in the mind.

Script provokes thought and avoided being too melodramatic or too overly-talky, despite being a pretty dialogue-heavy film. Though will say that when seeing it that the sound was not always great, meaning with the dialogue delivery tending to be so clipped that it was not always easy hearing it. The story is engaging on the most part and didn&apos;t feel too stagy or too much of a filmed play (some may disagree and that&apos;s fine in that respect). It&apos;s also agreeably directed and performed, one does wonder as to why Mandy Miller is not better known after this because it was a very appealing performance she gave without any sugariness or precosciousness. She more than holds her own against more experienced and distinguished cast members, such as a no-nonsense Phyllis Calvert and a more sympathetic Eric Portman. Stanley Baker is the most &quot;likeable&quot; adult cast member and does a nice job, though Calvert and Portman (though they did have more to do) have stronger written roles.

In conclusion, pleasant. 7/10

Happened to stumble across 'Child in the House' when staying with my godparents, where my godfather had written numerous titles of films (a very interesting list by the way, mostly consisting of films not yet seen) to watch in the evening, for each evening of my stay with them. And 'Child in the House' stood out, despite a somewhat generic title the summary when described to me was intriguing.

Watching it, while reading no reviews beforehand which were actually not a lot when checking them out afterwards, 'Child in the House' turned out to be a pleasant little film deserving of more exposure than it gets. It does not deserve to be a film that is practically forgotten. It's not perfect, great or anything to be overly thrilled by, but there is nothing here that will annoy or offend anybody in any shape or form and to me it wasn't one of those films that made me feel nauseous from any overdoses of sugar.

'Child in the House' does get a little mawkish in places agreed, particularly towards the end and occasionally the pace is a touch staid.

The ending did seem on the too neat and pat side, there was a real opportunity for the film to end on an exciting and maybe even daring note but instead played it too safe and it undermined the tension of the last portion of the film in my mind.

On the other hand, 'Child in the House' is beautifully designed, absolutely loved the interiors of the house and the equally elegant costumes. Equally attractive is the photography, which clearly loved the interiors of the house and revelled in it. The music fits well, not obtrusive or so it felt that way to me (speaking as somebody who has an issue with music, a big lifelong part of my life, being intrusive/obtrusive), and is a nice sumptuously orchestrated score in its own right. The title song is a very charming one, without being sugary, and sticks in the mind.

Script provokes thought and avoided being too melodramatic or too overly-talky, despite being a pretty dialogue-heavy film. Though will say that when seeing it that the sound was not always great, meaning with the dialogue delivery tending to be so clipped that it was not always easy hearing it. The story is engaging on the most part and didn't feel too stagy or too much of a filmed play (some may disagree and that's fine in that respect). It's also agreeably directed and performed, one does wonder as to why Mandy Miller is not better known after this because it was a very appealing performance she gave without any sugariness or precosciousness. She more than holds her own against more experienced and distinguished cast members, such as a no-nonsense Phyllis Calvert and a more sympathetic Eric Portman. Stanley Baker is the most "likeable" adult cast member and does a nice job, though Calvert and Portman (though they did have more to do) have stronger written roles.

In conclusion, pleasant. 7/10

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