Search - Georges Delerue, Peter Katin :: Our Mother's House/The 25th Hour

Our Mother's House

Only-A-Child | 10/06/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is the atmospheric soundtrack for one of the best psychological horror films ever made, "Our Mother's House". I don't know about "25th Hour".



"Our Mother's House" has seven children working to keep their mother's death a secret. They are menaced by the arrival of Dirk Bogarde who they believe to be their father. Bogarde agrees to help them keep the secret, recognizing an opportunity to ingratiate himself with the children and pilfer their mother's estate.



The oldest child (Margaret Brooks-daughter of the screenplay writer) recognizes the threat but the others are taken in for a wide assortment of reasons; mostly just the desire for the security of having a parent in their lives. Daughter number two (Pamela Franklin) develops a father-figure crush and pulls off the best performance of her career. If you wonder what all the fuss is about concerning this actress (who never really became a major star but has a huge cult following) you need to see her nail this challenging role. Her character undergoes enough transformations for ten films and Franklin is believable throughout the process.



Brooks is very good also, watch for the death-bed scene at the start of the film. There is a close-up of her face at the moment she first realizes that her mother has just passed away. It may have been a happy accident, a lucky moment during one of the takes, but the editor would have flipped when he saw how perfect it was.



Some may dispute whether this is actually a horror film (as they do with "The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane). It has some Hitchcock elements, a bleak old mansion, dead bodies, séances, and moments of intense suspense but no monsters or gore.



Director Jack Clayton, ("Room at the Top," "The Pumpkin Eater" and "The Innocents"-where he directed an even younger Pamela Franklin) keeps his young cast firmly restrained and they come across as very real-especially for characters in a very off-kilter family. Julian Gloag's source novel placed more emphasis on the children's twisted decent into madness. Clayton appeared to be heading in the same direction but allows Charlie's arrival to pull everyone back into a relative (if temporary) normalcy.



Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child."

George Delerue - Our Mother's House Soundtrack

PamelaFranklinFan | 10/30/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"A haunting theme with numerous variations expressing the mood of each scene in a wonderful, lost movie from the late 60s. This recording is a must in any collection of Delerue music. Try to get a DVD of the movie as well to put the music and the scenes together - the whole is much greater than the sum of the parts."

Delerue's OUR MOTHER'S HOUSE...Superb !

shureman | Oakville, On Canada | 07/29/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"We have Film Score Monthly to thank for this 2003 CD re-issue. The score for OUR MOTHER'S HOUSE was previously issued on LP legitimately in Canada ONLY. Sadly, by the time of the CD issue, the original analogue album masters had disappeared so a second-generation digital copy was utilized. This results in a rather "hissy" sound quality for one of Georges Delerue's most introspective, melodic and melancholic scores -- probably my personal favorite. THE 25TH HOUR, another 1967 M-G-M score is included on this release and features some more haunting tracks. Turner is to be heartily thanked for allowing these two scores to see the light of day again, in spite of the sonic shortcomings. And OUR MOTHER'S HOUSE deserves a DVD release ASAP to help popularize this intriguing music score !"