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Don't listen to the negative reviews

it is finally so absorbing because it plays like a lyrical road odyssey that’s also a detective story.

At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

The alternative title for this film is The Loss of Innocence, which sounds deceptively exploitative. It is however an appropriate description of a charming yet sinister film.The film is set in the Champagne Country in France, so we get some lush views of the French countryside and even a look into the champagne caves. That alone would probably be enough for some people but we have a great story too: four children (for those who read the book, the character of Cecil has been merged with Hester) are left on their own in a grand hotel in France when their mother gets taken ill. Thirteen-year-old Hester, the second eldest, takes charge of The Littles (their name for the two young children) as she has the best knowledge of French, but it is the eldest child, sixteen-year-old Joss, that blossoms almost overnight. Her beauty captures the heart of their unofficial guardian, middle-aged Englishman Eliot, and Joss soon becomes entangled in a love triangle between her, Eliot, and co-owner of the hotel, Madame Zizi. Further complications arise when Eliot proves himself to be untrustworthy, perhaps even criminal...The novel has been diluted in the transition to film. The novel's equivalent of Hester, Cecil, is the narrator of the novel, so we see her sister's sexual awakening through her eyes. Cecil also undergoes a transition into womanhood, however all hints of this are eradicated in the film. Whether this is due to time restrictions or trying to please the censors is unclear. The focus of the film is on Joss and her coming-of-age. Fans of the book may be disappointed that Susannah York does not have the exotic dark beauty that Joss is supposed to have, but she is suitably pretty and passes as a sixteen-year-old who is just turning into a woman. She also resembles Sue Lyon in Lolita, which came out in the same year, and the two films have some similarities in that relationship. Kenneth More is a bit old to play Eliot so one might have to stretch their imagination to believe that Joss fancies him. He also doesn't have the suaveness or mysteriousness of Eliot in the novel. However he does have a chirpy charm and works well with the children. A mention should also go to Jane Asher, who plays Hester's curiosity of the adult world very effectively.Although the film does not capture the darkness and perfection of the novel, it remains a nice exploration of the process of growing up.

I note that a number of people have written enthusiastically on The Greengage Summer and I agree. It was a charming film with great performances and a lovely score. I note one contributor has found difficulty getting a copy of the book from which the film was drawn. I managed to obtain a copy from the Folio Society in London last year but their print is now sold out and you have to be a member in any case to purchase books. Like others I have also tried to find a copy of the film in VCR or DVD form without success. I have been told by someone in the film business that one of the British studios destroyed many of their original prints and so quite a number of old films will never be available again. I cannot remember the name of the studio/distributor but The Greengage Summer might be one of the affected films which would explain why no one can find a copy. I hope I'm wrong! I also have never seen The Greengage Summer on TV.

Saw this film in a last-run unspooling at a neighborhood Los Angeles theater and was stunned by the overpowering sensuality of its cinematics. More than four decades later, I can still recall the sun- and moon-drenched humidity of a Midi summer, and the flowering of an adolescent Susannah York in the precincts of a charismatic Kenneth More, at his charming best. That this film is no longer recognized in latterday compendia of film is something beyond my understanding, even in the resumes of both stars. Someone, surely, should resurrect same in the DVD mode, completely "remastered," and I, for one, would cheerfully plunk down my admission fee. This one, and maybe "Reds" as well.

Susannah York is nothing short of sensational in her first starring assignment as the eldest sister in charge of two sibling during a summer "holiday" in France. She lets us into her heart and mind in a most disconcertingly yet effectively personal way. We learn with her the delicate balances needed between vulnerability, responsibility, and the dangers of reacting with protective cynicism.Director Lewis Gilbert excels in showing lead characters battling with the difference between infatuation and love. The Greengage Summer, known here in the US as "A Loss of Innocence", may be his crowning achievement in this area. Kenneth More and Danielle Darrieux, two of the European cinemas very best, are extraordinary in their key supporting roles.Don't miss this unique gem.