Good start, but then it gets ruined

Excellent, Without a doubt!!

The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

Fortunately this CFF movie is (combined with "Trouble at Townsend" (1946)) available on DVD and also still available as a book by Malcolm Saville who wrote the story for CFF (Children's Film Foundation)."Treasure at the Mill" was filmed in the summer of 1956 at the Ardleigh Mill near Colchester, Essex, UK. The owners at the time, the Harry Pettit family, participated as actors in the movie. The main character John Adams was played by Richard Palmer (who played Julian Kirrin in the 1957 CFF movie "Five on a Treasure Island" based on Enid Blyton's Famous Five series of books, also available on DVD). Hilda Fenemore who played his mother also participated in several other CFF movies.It's a suspenseful story which moves along fast and is lots of fun to watch for any child over 7 years or those like me who grew up watching CFF films on TV. Definitely 9 stars worth compared with many other CFF movies from the same era.