After the father of a family disappears one night, they move to a rural village. They haveva series of adventures, which reflects the fact that the book was originally published as a series in a periodical rather than a complete novel. They link up with a stranger on a train who they wave to, but who also ends up helping them. A wonderful family film that gave Jenny Agutter a generation of male admirers. Sally Thomsett was an unusual casting as she was 20 playing an 11 year old which she does just manage to carry off. The film is based on the book by E Nesbit and had a screenplay written by Lionel Jefferies. Some of the film's charm lies in the simple realism of the film which is told from the point of view of the children. This film influence ed the way later films were made. This was the first film that Lionel Jefferies directed.
4/5 
Jenny Agutter
Bernard Cribbins
Sally Thomsett
Dinah Sheridan 