This Halloween challenge is giving me the opportunity to catch up with a lot of horror-themed movies I missed out on as I was growing up and this genteel but utterly charming children's ghost story is yet another one such instance. Two young kids who have inherited 30,000 pounds (a fortune in 19th Century England) are about to be done in by their half-brother' (James Villiers)'s nasty in-laws – a grotesque couple almost unrecognizably played by Diana Dors (complete with funny speech impediment) and David Lodge (playing a brain-damaged ex-boxer). Unfortunately, their pleas for intervention to both Villiers and their solicitor Mr. Blunden (Laurence Naismith) fall on deaf ears, but the latter becomes so guilt-stricken that he reappears a century later and 'wills' a modern-day couple of kids back into the past to save his charges from a fiery death!

The film is highlighted by a literate script (by director Jeffries),a meticulously-detailed production (for what it's worth, the early setting in London's Camden Town brought back memories to my visits there in January 2007, highlighted by my attending an all-star Rock concert!),an evocative score (by Elmer Bernstein) and good performances by all concerned. Ill-fated Lynne Frederick is one of the children, Hammer starlet Madeline Smith plays Dors' child-like daughter, while Graham Crowden appears briefly as the newest partner in Blunden's firm whose name the old man can never remember; incidentally, the cast list isn't given at the film's beginning – rather, Jeffries has the actors introduced at the end and bowing down to the audience just like in a stage play! Incidentally, former actor Jeffries (where he specialized in eccentric, bubbly types) had a reasonable directing career (with a penchant for children-oriented, though not necessarily kiddie, fare): even if his first effort – THE RAILWAY CHILDREN (1970) – is generally the best regarded of the lot, this one's definitely a close second.

Though not genuine horror fare as such, the ghost and time-travel devices here are enough to grant THE AMAZING MR. BLUNDEN a deserving place in this Halloween challenge; even so, the Leonard Maltin Film Guide's comment regarding its "muddled plot line" probably refers to the children going forward in time before the fateful accident (the boy even says, "You can be a ghost but you don't have to be dead") – yet, in the modern-day (1918) setting, we can clearly see their graves (which are no longer there by the end, having been replaced by a monument dedicated to Mr. Blunden who has now died in their place)! In conclusion and, just for the record, my viewing of the film was unfortunately slightly – but, thankfully, not too obtrusively – hampered by the jerky motion associated with the DivX format.

1918, Camden, London: elderly solicitor Mr. Blunden (Laurence Naismith) calls at the squalid home of widower Mrs. Allen (Dorothy Alison) to offer her a job as caretaker of run-down country mansion Langley Park. Despite rumours that the property is haunted, Mrs. Allen moves into the caretaker's cottage with her three children, teenagers Lucy (Lynne Frederick) and Jamie (Garry Miller),and their baby brother Benjamin (Benjamin Smith).

In the grounds of the house, Lucy and Jamie encounter the spirits of two children, Sara (Rosalyn Landor) and Georgie (Marc Granger),who have travelled from the year 1818 looking for help: their Uncle Bertie's wicked mother-in-law, Mrs. Wickens (Diana Dors) is trying to kill the children so that their inheritance will go to Bertie (James Villiers) and his child-like bride Anabella (Madeline Smith),and they need Lucy and Jamie to help them thwart the evil woman's plan.

The Amazing Mr. Blunden is best seen when young, when paradoxical plot problems are of little consequence. As a kid, I found the film charming and thoroughly entertaining. Nowadays, I can see that the storyline is far from perfect. For example, Sara and Georgie are found buried in the graveyard, having died as children in 1818, yet Sara is the great-great grandmother of Lucy and Jamie. How could this possibly be? Also, the potion that sends Sara and Georgie into the future sends Lucy and Jamie into the past, with no explanation as to why. However, even with these time-twisting issues, the film is a lot of fun, with memorable performances from all involved and confident direction by Lionel Jeffries.

7/10, with an extra point added for gorgeous, buxom Hammer babe Madeline Smith.

The Amazing Mr. Blunden is directed by Lionel Jeffries who also adapts the screenplay from Antonia Barber's novel The Ghosts. It stars Lynne Frederick, Garry Miller, Rosalyn Landor, Marc Granger, Laurence Naismith, Diana Dors, Madeline Smith and James Villiers. Music is scored by Elmer Bernstein and cinematography by Gerry Fisher.

1918, London, England, and Mrs. Allen and her three children are visited on Christmas Eve by mysterious old solicitor Mr. Blunden. He offers them a way out of their impoverished surroundings in Camden Town. There's a housekeeping opportunity at a derelict country mansion called Langley Park, the place having been gutted by a major fire previously. There's a reason for the two eldest Allen children, Lucy and Jamie, being there, their help is needed....by child ghosts from 1818!

It has one of the worst posters ever made for a movie, a poster that hints at some guy called Blunden being some superman type magician! Which when coupled with the title of the film really sets up a bum steer for new viewers. To those in the know, the nostalgic Brits like myself, it's a lovely ghost/fantasy story about cross time redemption, resplendent in period flavours whilst operating from an intelligent script. The complex story is delicately crafted by director Jeffries (The Railway Children),this is never about scares, it's a Dickensian type drama that features ghosts of children clutching in the future for help in the past. Relationships are well formed, villains (Dors unrecognisable and immensely vile like) are afforded time to not be of the pantomime kind, and it all builds to a dramatic last quarter where sitting on the edge of your seat is a requisite. And then comes a moment to put warmth into the coldest of hearts.

A beautiful movie, directed and acted with appropriate skill from all involved. If you're looking for a family friendly period ghost story, this is for you. 8/10