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Post by wmcclain on Mar 13, 2020 11:46:00 GMT
The Uninvited (1944), directed by Lewis Allen. An adult brother and sister find a grand old house on the sea cliff and the price is surprisingly reasonable. Haunted? No, just a few tales and a cold room, some minor inexplicable spookiness. The ghostly midnight sobbing does not begin until minute 29... They say this is the first film to take ghosts and haunting seriously. The suspense is marred by intermittent comic relief and a romance subplot. And yet: it shows how simple things can be the most chilling. Standing on a dark staircase, looking up: "There's something up there". At the beginning they give a hint of bringing back something from the brother and sister's childhood, but then dropped it. That's how a modern film would do it: hauntings are a projection of interpersonal psychodrama. A worthy plot device, but overused. Haunted-eyed Gail Russell is only 20 here. She had a troubled career and personal life. I last saw her in Seven Men from Now (1956). Victor Young score. His "Stella by Starlight" first appears here; it became a jazz standard. Costumes by Edith Head. Criterion Blu-ray. The black levels are only fair. This title was unavailable on home video for a long time.
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Post by politicidal on Mar 13, 2020 13:30:05 GMT
7/10. Fun atmospheric ghost story.
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Post by TheOriginalPinky on Mar 13, 2020 17:39:12 GMT
A personal favorite of mine. Gail Russell was so pretty and did the part credit. Love Ray Milland in this. And a beautiful score. The movie still gives me chills.
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Post by petrolino on Mar 13, 2020 19:40:47 GMT
Ingratiating horror. Like a cosy pair of slippers you retrieve from the back of the cupboard every time autumn comes around.
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Post by hi224 on Mar 13, 2020 20:59:17 GMT
love it.
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Post by movielover on Mar 13, 2020 21:03:56 GMT
7/10 - Definitely a fun movie.
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Post by pippinmaniac on Mar 13, 2020 21:41:50 GMT
One of my favorites. This is the style of horror movies that I prefer over blood and guts and jump scares.
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Post by ellynmacg on Mar 14, 2020 20:13:27 GMT
I agree. Life can be so unfair--even to the most beautiful. Don't agree with you there. With such beautiful co-stars as Ray Milland and Gail Russell it would have been a criminal waste not to have a romance between the two of them. Unless you mean the tentative, rather awkward romance between Ruth Hussey and Alan Napier? I must admit I find that one a little jarring. As for the comic relief, I enjoy the occasional break from the tension. Alfred Hitchcock's films generally benefited from the occasional touch of comedy, and so, IMO, does this film. Otherwise I appreciate your thoughtful review, and I must add to this thread's chorus of admiration for this movie. When I think of great ghost stories on film, this is the first one that comes to mind. I am not a fan of slasher movies. When I first watched The Uninvited (on TV, well post-theatrical release but pre-home video), I felt a little disappointed that it wasn't filmed in color. But for quite a few years now, I've been glad it's in black & white, which seems to enhance the mysterious, moody atmosphere of the piece; color would probably have been too garish and glaring. One more point: in the original novel by Dorothy Macardle (which I recommend, though it may be hard to find), Roddy is a writer, who hopes that the house's isolated and atmospheric location will inspire him to craft a masterpiece. I'm so glad that the screenplay (co-written by Dodie Smith--of 101 Dalmatians fame--and Frank Partos) turned Roddy into a composer: it provided a plausible way to get the exquisite "Stella By Starlight" into the story. 9/10.
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Post by cynthiagreen on Mar 15, 2020 2:20:05 GMT
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bess1971s
Sophomore
@bess1971s
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Post by bess1971s on Mar 15, 2020 15:35:14 GMT
I've seen it several times and keep on watching. The story is enjoyable despite the appearance of the ghost, which is laughable.
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Post by hitchcockthelegend on Mar 15, 2020 16:31:46 GMT
I like it plenty >
That's not because there are more ghosts here than other places, mind you. It's just that people who live here about are strangely aware of them.
The Uninvited is directed by Lewis Allen and adapted to screenplay by Frank Partos and Dodie Smith from the novel Uneasy Freehold written by Dorothy Macardle. It stars Ray Milland, Gail Russell, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp and Cornelia Otis Skinner. Music is by Victor Young and cinematography by Charles B. Lang.
"They call them the haunted shores, these stretches of Devonshire and Cornwall and Ireland which rear up against the westward ocean. Mists gather here... and sea fog... and eerie stories..."
Wonderful old fashioned ghost story that neatly blends romance and a light comedic tone into the pot, The Uninvited is very much a movie of significance. It marks a point in cinematic time when the ghost story proved it could be played for true unnerving impact. It remains a sub-genre of horror that is sorely lacking in bona fide classics, spookers that have longevity, the ability to raise the goose flesh no matter how many times they are revisited. With a new special edition DVD recently released, and the likes of Martin Scorsese and Guillermo del Toro championing its cause by putting it on their lists of favourite frighteners, The Uninvited is proving its worth as an old sub-genre classic.
Plot is pretty conventional stuff. It's 1937 and Milland and Hussey play a brother and sister who fall in love with a cliff side house they stumble upon whilst holidaying on the southwest coast of England. Sure enough they snag themselves the house at a ridiculously cheap price, this even though they are warned of some previous disturbances at the address. Cue a mysteriously locked room that when opened reveals itself to be deathly cold, pets that will not go up the stairs and then comes the hauntings... So far so formulaic, then, but as the story begins to unravel in the second half of the movie, where the light touch is left behind, a fizzer of back story comes to the fore and one or two extra surprises leap out of the narrative. This is not lazy plotting, it is well constructed, the mystery element is strong and sidles up nicely with the spooky goings on.
"If you listen to it long enough, all your senses are sharpened. You come by strange instincts. You get to recognise a peculiar cold that is the first warning. A cold which is no mere matter of degrees Farenheit, but a draining of warmth from the vital centres of the living."
This is a spooker that, unsurprisingly for the time, is devoid of visceral shocks and blunderbuss like scares. This is more about atmosphere (Lang was Oscar nominated for his noirish photography) and fear of the unknown, where the sound of a sobbing woman in the darkness chills the blood. Perhaps surprisingly for the time? We do get to see spectral images, and they still work and create the desired effect, who needs a computer generated image spitting blood when you can have ethereal spookiness floating eerily above the ground? While we are at it, who needs a beefed up pretty boy actor fighting the good fight against evil when you can have an elegant Ray Milland doing it with a glint in his eye instead? The cast are very effective, with Russell really making a mark so early in her career, while Young's score is both sinister and tender (the song Stella by Starlight would become a popular standard) at all the right times.
A genuine ghost story for those who prefer the sparing atmospheric touch to the noisy carnage approach. 8/10
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