With "Laura" being my all-time favorite film, I simply couldn't wait to watch "Dragonwyck", a movie that reunites Gene Tierney and Vincent Price once more, this time in a genuine Gothic setting! And although not as mesmerizing as "Laura" (that's hardly possible), this is an enchanting and sophisticated drama/thriller with brilliant dialogues and filming locations that look like beautiful postcard-images. Joseph L. Mankiewicz's screenplay contains few surprises, but the intrigue and mystery is professionally upheld thanks to the solid acting performances and the nearly flawless recreation of the 1840's life-styles. "Dragonwyck" tells the story of a beautiful farmer's daughter Miranda who leaves her Conneticut home to go and live with wealthy landlord (and very distant relative) Nicolas Van Ryan. He treats her as a princes, but Van Ryan is a man with two faces and, soon after their sudden marriage, Miranda experiences that her husband is an ill-natured, egoistic and mad tyrant. Nicolas can't accept that the farmers working on his estate stand up for themselves and he works off his hatred on poor Miranda. Gene Tierney and Vincent Price are a terrific classy movie-couple (as charismatic as Humprey Bogart and Lauren Bacall in my humble opinion) and their performances alone make "Dragonwyck" a must-see. Tierney is simply adorable and Price, still in an early phase of his great career, looks naturally evil and frightening. Director/scriptwriter Mankiewicz is mostly famous for "All About Eve", but I can't help loving "Dragonwyck" a whole lot more. Beautiful film, highly recommended!
Review of Dragonwyck
