Tags:
Film: The Uninvited
Year: 1944
Director: Lewis Allen
Writer: Dodie Smith and Frank Partos
Starring: Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey and Gail Russell
Review:
This is a movie that appeared in the Horror Show Guide Encyclopedia. Being that it starts with the Letter U, it would have been a while before I got to that letter. Thankfully, being that I'm doing my Foray through the Four, this was the next one up for working through 1944. I also believe this was the most popular from that year according to Letterboxd in genre.
Synopsis: a composer and his sister discover that the reason they are able to purchase a beautiful gothic seacoast mansion very cheaply is the house's unsavory past.
We start this with voice-over narration where I believe we’re told the name of cliffs and the beach below as the haunted shores. The siblings from the synopsis are Roderick (Ray Milland) and Pamela Fitzgerald (Ruth Hussey). They're with their dog that knows there is something amiss with this area. He gets away from them, chasing a squirrel into the house from the synopsis. They discover it is empty inside. Their dog also won't go up the stairs. What they see intrigues them, so they inquire to its owner.
This leads them to the home of Commander Beech (Donald Crisp). Before seeing him, they meet his granddaughter, Stella Meredith (Gail Russell). She informs them that the house isn’t for sale. There are ulterior motives there. When they meet with her grandfather, he confirms that he is willing to sell. There are conditions, but with what they're offering, he cannot refuse.
From that first night staying there, they noticed there was something wrong. They hear crying close to dawn and it wakes them up. This also comes with random cold spots. They befriend Stella, who is in love with the house as her parents lived there before tragically passing away. Rick is interested in seeing more of her, to her grandfather's dismay. Stella has similar feelings. She is more intrigued by the house though, that seems to draw her in.
The siblings aren't sure that it is a good idea for her to visit them there when she flees toward the cliffs. Rick must catch her before she falls over the edge. This group also meets and becomes friendly with the local doctor, Scott (Alan Napier). It is through him that they learn more about the local lore. There is a Miss Holloway (Cornelia Otis Skinner) who had history with Stella's parents. There is more to the story of what happened to Stella's mother Mary and her friend Carmel. It needs to be figured out before history repeats itself.
That is where I'll leave my recap and introduction to the characters. Where I want to start is that head of hitting play to watch this, I saw voices that I respect rating this film. A couple had this high and another, who I know is a notoriously hard rater had this at a decent score. That intrigued me to check this film out. As a bit of a teaser, I rather enjoy what this movie is doing. It is a neo-gothic, romance style story. There is heavy subject matter that is also ahead of its time.
Where I want to start is that we have that familiar premise ahead of a family moving into a haunted house. I do find it interesting that Rick and Pamela are siblings. They're both from London where he is a composer who is struggling so to make money he writes critiques. His sister falls in love with this house and they use their savings to buy it. The silver lining is that the price they're paying is a steal. He can also write articles about great composers that his publisher is interested in. The premise that we'll see for decades to come is that they just can't leave due to financial reasons.
I did see another reviewer reference that this is in a similar vein as Rebecca from Alfred Hitchcock. That is one that I've seen years ago and I can see the comparison. They're not the same movie, but we're using the idea of the ghost of someone who has passed. This uses it more and the haunting is more prevalent here as well. This is modern or neo-gothic, falling in line where the ghosts aren't necessarily the villain. They seem to warn the Fitzgeralds and they want Stella to come to the house. What I like here is that there is more to the haunting as things go on. There is a séance that is done with the siblings, Stella and Dr. Scott. They hope that it will help Stella break her obsession. It has the opposite effect and drives her even more to want to be in the house. I like that this is subdued with the hauntings while still making it an important part of the story.
Where I want to shift then would be the idea of love. There are different forms here. We get love shared between brother and sister. Rick falls for Stella. I don't get the idea that she feels the same, but she is young. She does seem to fall for him since that allows her to be at the mansion more. We also get the love between a grandparent with Commander Beech toward Stella. He is part of society though. He did love his daughter before her passing. There is also the idea of forbidden love. I saw people referencing this before watching, so I was looking. It isn't all that hidden as it was speculated in the world of the movie that Mary and Carmel were lovers. There could be more to this as well which might have led to death. It was thought to be suicide, but the deeper our characters look, there might be hidden information that needs to be discovered. This had a deeper story than I was expecting and that was appreciated.
I don't think there is anything more to go into the story here so let's shift to the acting. Milland was a name I recognized and I realized it was from Dial M for Murder and more of his later works like Panic in Year Zero and The Pyjama Girl Case. He's solid here as he brings a bit of levity. His chemistry didn't fully work with Russell, but I think that helps the story work. Hussey and he do feel like siblings. Russell was solid as Stella who brings naivety to the role that's needed. Crisp is good as this ornery grandfather. He knows more than he's letting on which helps the mystery. Napier is solid as the doctor. A creepy role that develops belongs to Skinner and I like what happens there. Other than that, the rest of the cast rounded this out for what was needed.
All that is left then is filmmaking. I thought cinematography does well in capturing how small and tightknit this area is. Being that the mansion that is center is close to the cliffs adds tension. Plus, that little bit of information to start us off helps. There are in-camera effects for the ghost/haunting aspects. I thought there was charm there. They are blurry, which was probably due to limitations. That added an element for me. This is a slow burn that picks up as things go on, so keep that in mind. Other than that, I thought the soundtrack fit what was needed.
In conclusion, this is an interesting early haunted house film that I don't know if it gets talked about enough. It is a slow burn so part of it could be that. It is a neo-gothic story with an interesting mystery. The acting is good with Milland and Russell leading the way. The setting is good with the cinematography, framing and effects adding to it. We are seeing troupes in one of their early introductions. One I'd recommend to fans of this era or if you want to one of the earlier haunted house films.
My Rating: 8 out of 10