David Niven, Helen Hayes & Jodie Foster in Candleshoe (1977)

Obscurity factor: 4

Yesterdays post on Fitzwilly reminded me of this film. David Nivin plays a character similar to Dick Van Dyke's Fitzwilliam. Lady St. Edmund (Hayes) is the owner of an English estate that consists of a beautiful house and grounds, but no money to run it. She gets by with the help of her butler Priory (Niven) and a house full of orphans. They sell the produce the estate produces. Meanwhile, crook Harry Bundage (Leo McKern) believes that a great deal of money is hidden in the estate somewhere and sets out to steal it by enlisting the help of American street urchin Casey (Foster), who poses as Lady St. Edmund's long, lost grandmother. Of course, the rough and tumble Casey has a hard time adjusting to life on a country estate and is down with Harry's plan, until she's won over by the good hearted people of Candleshoe. Will they find the fortune before the estate is lost to back taxes? Will they foil Bundage's attempts to purloin it?

Candleshoe is one of those Disney films that tried to be entertainment for both adults and children. It's moderately successful on both those fronts. There are some tough moments for Casey that smaller children will find uncomfortable to watch and it's touch and go up to the very last moment as to whether the bad guys will win. The performances are nicely crafted and it's fun to see David Niven playing so many different types, even if the circumstances are a bit ginned up.

This film is available on DVD, though it's out of print. Above is a television spot for it, uploaded to YouTube by permvw. Turn up your speakers - the sound is low. The poster above is available from MoviePosterShop.com.

Obscurity factor: 4 (on DVD, known to Disney-o-philes and Jodie Foster fans)

Helen Hayes & Myrna Loy in Do Not Fold, Spindle or Mutilate (1971)

Obscurity factor: 9

Four bored Pasadena matrons (Hayes, Loy, Sylvia Sidney & Mildred Natwick) decide to amuse themselves by creating a fictitious woman on the rolls of a computer dating service. Their dalliance in the world of computer dating turns up three responses, a dull accountant, a smart-alec and a stalker. Mal Weston (Vince Edwards in a particularly creepy performance with a constant internal running dialog) becomes obsessed with their avatar Rebeca Mead and won't take no for an answer after he stakes out their home and scams their phone number out of an operator. He insists on meeting her at a cocktail lounge and the ladies go along to spy on him. They see him leave with a girl he thinks is Rebeca and the next day see her photo in the paper after she has been murdered. They (led by Hayes) decide to investigate! This made-for-TV movie resulted in a series of mystery movies of the week in rotation with the likes of McMillin & Wife called The Snoop Sisters starring Hayes and Natwick.

While The Snoop Sisters have made it to DVD, this film has yet to. It is, however available in full on YouTube, thanks to an upload by CDeanWatcher.

Obscurity factor: 9 (not on DVD, available on YouTube, largely forgotten)