The Uninvited
Blu ray
Criterion
1944 / 1.33:1 / 99 min.
Starring Ray Milland, Gail Russell, Ruth Hussey
Cinematography by Charles Lang
Directed by Lewis Allen
The story of a lonely young woman and the ghosts in her life, Dorothy Macardle’s Uneasy Freehold was published in 1941 and brought to the screen in 1944 as The Uninvited. The film follows the same trajectory as the book: Rick Fitzgerald and his sister Pamela are two Londoners searching for more peaceful surroundings when they discover their dream home on a sea-swept cliff in Cornwall – a vacant estate called Windward House. The couple’s first swing through the place is full of promise – roomy if dusty chambers, a kitchen ripe for renovation and a sunny studio overlooking the ocean. Once they take up residence, things change. One room is inexplicably cold. And at night, in what would be a deal breaker for most new homeowners, a woman’s sobs echo through the hallways.
Blu ray
Criterion
1944 / 1.33:1 / 99 min.
Starring Ray Milland, Gail Russell, Ruth Hussey
Cinematography by Charles Lang
Directed by Lewis Allen
The story of a lonely young woman and the ghosts in her life, Dorothy Macardle’s Uneasy Freehold was published in 1941 and brought to the screen in 1944 as The Uninvited. The film follows the same trajectory as the book: Rick Fitzgerald and his sister Pamela are two Londoners searching for more peaceful surroundings when they discover their dream home on a sea-swept cliff in Cornwall – a vacant estate called Windward House. The couple’s first swing through the place is full of promise – roomy if dusty chambers, a kitchen ripe for renovation and a sunny studio overlooking the ocean. Once they take up residence, things change. One room is inexplicably cold. And at night, in what would be a deal breaker for most new homeowners, a woman’s sobs echo through the hallways.
- 4/4/2020
- by Charlie Largent
- Trailers from Hell
I enjoyed watching Lewis Allen's 1944 haunted house feature The Uninvited for the first time on Criterion Blu-ray as much as I raised my eyebrows. Considered one of the first supernatural films to take the idea of ghosts seriously rather than as a punchline, it undoubtedly has an effective level of atmosphere and while it successfully takes its ghost story seriously, it also knows to balance any tension with some humorous beats and moments of romance. That said, I wasn't really buying the romance angle and making this a tale of cohabitating siblings also seemed a little... weird to me. We're introduced to Rick Fitzgerald (Ray Milland) and his sister Pamela (Ruth Hussey) on holiday in Cornwall, England where they stumble upon a cliffside house. After their dog chases a squirrel through an open window, they ultimately barge in to fetch him, realizing the house has been empty for some time.
- 10/28/2013
- by Brad Brevet
- Rope of Silicon
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