To be fair to this, it probably ought to be watched with an eye to the times it was made - at the height of the cold war, coupled with some adventurously far-fetched science fiction and a fair smattering of state.media-sponsored paranoia. A lot of Oliver Reed's roles in the 1960s saw him as the charismatic leader of a gang of miscreants, and this is not really any different. When "Joan" (Shirley Anne Field) hooks up with wealthy American yachtsman "Simon" (Macdonald Carey) at a seaside clocktower, he assumes she is on the game. Sadly for him, she is the lure and he is mugged - quite brutally - by Reed's gang (he is her overly protective brother "King"). Next day, she meets the badly bruised visitor on his boat and they only just manage to escape the sibling's clutches by sailing from the harbour. They seek refuge in a lonely house, but are soon tracked down and whilst effecting their escape, they stumble upon a group of children. All very polite and charming - with matching dressing gowns - but freezing cold. "King" has followed them, and he too is rescued by the bairns - what's going on? The kids believe that are on a space ship - being communicated with, daily, by their "teacher" (Alexander Knox) via television, and that their every move is being monitored from afar. The adults attempt to get to the truth and soon the snooping authorities are onto them. It's quite intriguing to watch, but the performances are pretty nondescript. It stimulates our imagination - but only insofar as it could be true? Could the military be weaponising children? Some nice seaside photography, and Losey keeps it interesting, after a pretty rotten start, til the end.