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
