Lawrence Gordon Clarke was behind the BBC's wonderful "Ghost Stories for Christmas," a series of creepy tales (most borrowed from the writings of M.R. James, though 'The Signalman (1976)' was a Dickens adaptation) to enjoy on a quiet, wintry Christmas night. 'Lost Hearts (1973)' is one of the lesser-known entries, but nonetheless proves a handsome ghost story with more chilling atmosphere in 35 minutes than most feature-length horror movies. Stephen (Simon Gipps-Kent) is a young orphan sent to live with Mr Abney (Joseph O'Connor), a kindly, doddering old scholar. From the moment he arrives, Stephen begins to see and hear apparitions of two children – a boy and girl of his age – whose intentions are obscure. Stephen comes to learn that the children are former orphans taken into Mr Abney's home.
One thing Clarke does very well is create mood without even a hostile ghost ('The Sixth Sense (1999)' and 'The Others (2001)' would do this very well decades later). The two children, their faces pale and their fingernails talon-like, stand cross-armed outside the house, silent sentries; the boy plays an instrument called the hurdy-gurdy, and walks with an unsettling, lopsided toothy smile. Perhaps the film would have been even better had Clarke withheld the children's identity until the final act. By introducing the previous orphans – not just through dialogue, but images, as well – he humanises them, and their intentions immediately become less sinister. It would have been more effective, I think, if we didn't understand until the last moment that the ghosts were, in fact, trying to warn Stephen, not harm him.
One thing Clarke does very well is create mood without even a hostile ghost ('The Sixth Sense (1999)' and 'The Others (2001)' would do this very well decades later). The two children, their faces pale and their fingernails talon-like, stand cross-armed outside the house, silent sentries; the boy plays an instrument called the hurdy-gurdy, and walks with an unsettling, lopsided toothy smile. Perhaps the film would have been even better had Clarke withheld the children's identity until the final act. By introducing the previous orphans – not just through dialogue, but images, as well – he humanises them, and their intentions immediately become less sinister. It would have been more effective, I think, if we didn't understand until the last moment that the ghosts were, in fact, trying to warn Stephen, not harm him.