Dragonwyck (1946) User Reviews

Excellent early Price in a brilliantly Gothic mood piece

[The_Void · 7/10 · 26 October 2005]

With shades of Hitchcock's Rebecca, Dragonwyck is a lushly Gothic melodrama; abound with themes of social class; centring on the struggle between the rich and the poor in nineteenth century America. The most striking thing about Dragonwyck is the beauty of the piece. The sets are brilliantly Gothic, while director Joseph L. Mankiewicz keeps the atmosphere thick and foreboding, which in turn ensures that the film succeeds in capturing the best of it's locations. The film reunites the two strongest cast members from Otto Preminger's masterpiece 'Laura' - Gene Tierney and the master of the macabre, Vincent Price. These two are both great thespians, but it is Vincent Price that shines the most. Many people pass this great man off as merely a camp horror movie actor, but with his performance here; along with the vast majority of his later ones - Price proves that he is far more than that. His voice and mannerisms make up a lot of his performances, but it's the subtleties that he hints at beyond his immediate performance that really make him great. Just like he did with The Fall of the House of Usher; Price plays one thing, while all the time hinting at a darker side to his character.

The plot follows a young farm girl (Tierney) who goes to stay with her mother's cousin, Nicholas Van Ryan (Price), in his castle upon his request. It isn't long after her arrival that she hears strange things from the servants, and it's not long after that she realises all isn't quite right with Dragonwyck. The plot is rather thinly spread, but the film always manages to stay interesting because of the fact that it doesn't let you know anything until you really need to know. Things are hinted at throughout the film, but the audience never really knows anything for sure. Even by the time the film reaches it's climax, there are several things that have been left open. Vincent Price's performance here stands out from the rest of his oeuvre because he manages to be charming at the same time as being dark and brooding. After having seen the likes of The Abominable Dr Phibes, it's hard to imagine the man being charming; but here it's hard to imagine why Gene Tierney wouldn't fall for him. Dragonwyck has a few problems, but on the whole this is a quality forties melodrama and comes with high recommendations, especially to the Vincent Price fan.

The Debut of Joseph L. Mankiewicz

[claudio_carvalho · 7/10 · 10 September 2016]

In 1844, the Wells family lives in a small farm of their own in Greenwich, Connecticut and the sons and daughters have a rigid discipline and religious education from the patriarch Ephraim Wells (Walter Huston). When his wife Abigail Wells (Anne Revere) receives a letter from her wealthy distant cousin Nicholas "Nick" Van Ryn (Vincent Price) inviting one of her daughters to live with his wife Johanna Van Ryn (Vivienne Osborne) and him nursing their daughter Katrine Van Ryn (Connie Marshall), the naive Miranda Wells (Gene Tierney) gets excited with the perspective of traveling. Her mother convinces Ephraim to let her go and Miranda travels with her father to New York. They meet Nick and they learn that he is a patroon of farmers at the Hudson Valley. Then Miranda travels to the Dragonwyck mansion where she is introduced to the voracious Johanna and the sweet Katrine and to the housekeeper Magda (Spring Byington). Miranda also meets Dr. Jeff Turner (Glenn Langan), who is a sort of leader of the farmers that work for Nicholas, in a party and befriends him. Soon she notes that Katrine is neglected by her parents. When Johanna gets mysteriously ill and dies, Miranda returns home. But the atheistic Nick visits her family to propose to marry her. Now Miranda's dream comes true and she gets married with him and moves to Dragonwyck. Will they live happily ever after?

"Dragonwyck" is the debut of Joseph L. Mankiewicz as director. The screenplay also by Mankiewicz is based on a successful novel by Anya Seton with modification in the ending. The cinematography By Arthur C. Miller and the music score by Alfred Newman call the attention of the viewer since the very beginning. The Gothic romance with supernatural touches shows the confrontation between an atheistic arrogant man and his naive religious wife. The performance of Vincent Price is top-notch and the gorgeous Gene Tierney performs a naive character but with strong principles. Walter Huston, despite a secondary role, is also amazing. My vote is seven.

Title (Brazil): "O Solar de Dragonwyck" ("The Manor of Dragonwyck")

An evocative atmosphere of a Hawthorne's tale

[pzanardo · 8/10 · 7 May 2000]

"Dragonwyck" has the atmosphere of a Hawthorne's tale. Typical is the contrast between the clean, blessed New England farm where Miranda (Gene Tierney) lives with her parents, and the bleak, doomed ancient manor where she goes and later marries the aristocratic Van Ryn (Vincent Price). Gene Tierney's angelic beauty and wholesome look perfectly fit to a romantic heroine in Hawthorne's style: she recalls the Phoebe Pyncheon of "The house of seven gables" (the novel; I haven't seen the movie). Miranda shows another typical aspect of Hawthorne's heroines: differently from the classical romantic maiden, Miranda is not apt to be a meek innocent victim of the force of evil, but she is ready to face it and to fight for her life. Note Tierney's skill in entering into the personality of the characters she plays. She was a pattern of sex-appeal in movies such as "Laura" and "Leave Her to Heaven": here her Miranda is an example of maidenly modesty. From her arrival to the castle the scenes become increasingly darker. The black-and-white photography is outstanding. Vincent Price gives his usual superb performance in the role of the mysterious Van Ryn, whose extreme haughtiness and family pride drive him to madness. Of course, nowadays we follow the story of "Dragonwyck" with a certain amount of irony, yet, perhaps for this very reason, the movie is a treat. I wish current movies were like it (and also that present actresses had a beauty comparable to Gene's, but this is plainly unimaginable).

"Bow to the Patroon!"

[theowinthrop · 21 April 2004]

At the time that the people of the United States were gearing up for Westward Expansion (and the Mexican War was about to begin), and when the clipper ships were beginning to revolutionize our merchant marine, the biggest problem facing the nation was the slavery issue. But it wasn't the only social issue of the day with vast political and economic repercussions. New York State was struggling too - with the end of the economic system that had been in the upstate counties since the days of the Dutch colony of Nieuw Amsterdam, and it's governor Pieter Stuyvesant. This was the large estates of the patroons - people like the Van Courtlandts and the Schuylers and Livingstons (some of them were English, not Dutch). A series of local battles (literal battles) between small farmers and the patroons' men finally led to the state constitution ending these estates, which had been aristocratic remnants of a dead past. They disappeared by 1848, just in time for the slavery issue to drive all other social problems into the dust. This subject is not one of the biggies in history movies in America. So DRAGONWYK is one of the few films to tackle it - witness the scenes when Vincent Price is collecting rents from his farmers while seated in his special "patroon" throne. Harry Morgan (far from his kindly "Colonel Potter" role in television's M.A.S.H. here) is one of the more outspoken (and ultimately deadly) foes of Price and this antiquated system of organized peonage. The film is a dandy little Gothic, centering on the seemingly sane, charming Price (Nicholas Van Ryn) who invites his cousin (Gene Tierney) to his home for a visit (her father, Walter Huston, is properly suspicious of the aristocrat - Huston being a democratic, small farmer). There she meets his somewhat fat wife, who eventually gets ill, and dies (the doctor is not sure what illness killed her). And Tierney is wooed by Price, and marries him, and discovers the monster inside him - one seeking a wife like a man seeking a good breeding sow or horse. Drug addiction even gets into the story. But it does follow the end of the patroon system. Oddly enough though, the novel by Anne Seton was different from this story. Nicholas was as villaninous and crazy in the novel as in the film - but deadlier. Seton knew her history, and arranges to remind the reader of the anti-foreign "Nativist" movement of the 1840s and 50s (which is more memorably dealt with in GANGS OF NEW YORK). It seems Nicholas, in chasing an enemy, fires the gun that causes the Astor Place Riot of 1849, which caused the deaths of several dozen citizens of New York City (supposedly opposed to a British actor playing MACBETH). The novel also ends with the burning of the steamboat HENRY CLAY in 1852, also caused by Nicholas, which killed scores of passengers (including former Mayor Stephen Allan of New York City, and Andrew Jackson Donaldson, the landscape architect who helped plan Central Park). It's a pity these bits were left out, but the film still is good without them.

"Everything is what no man should ever want"

[ackstasis · 7/10 · 24 October 2008]

The success of Hitchcock's 'Rebecca (1940)' triggered a mighty insurgence of similarly-themed Gothic post-marriage melodramas – in which naive young women mistakenly fall in love with wealthy but secretly-disturbed, and usually recently widowed, husbands. They were whisked off the production shelf with admirable efficiency, each title starring a promising or established young beauty of the decade: Fontaine in 'Rebecca,' Bergman in 'Gaslight (1944),' and Bennett in 'Secret Beyond the Door (1947).' John M. Stahl's 'Leave Her to Heaven (1945)' is notable in that it turns the gender tables, emphasising the lovely Gene Tierney as the spouse whose dubious intentions could destroy an innocent lover's life. The following year, in 'Dragonwyck (1946),' Tierney appeared in a more conventional variation of the theme, as an inexperienced Connecticut farm girl who falls for Nicholas Van Ryn (Vincent Price), an aristocratic patroon who represents arrogance, injustice and everything against which her strictly-religious father (Walter Huston) had warned her. This, the fourth and final film to co-star Tierney and Price, features one of the latter's most demented, unforgettable performances.

I could tell you that I watched 'Dragonwyck' to enjoy the earliest available film from director Joseph L. Mankiewicz, but you and I both know this to be untrue: I watched it because of Gene. Her mere presence is enough to brighten up even the darkest drama, displaying a graceful poise even as the picture's innocent and vulnerable heroine. Price, in one of his early, largely-neglected roles, is absolutely wonderful, a simmering melting-pot of self-pride and contempt, obscured behind a icy blue-eyed stare. He obviously relished the opportunity to play a tyrannical aristocrat wife-hater, though his drug addiction (presumably to opium) regrettably remains unexplored beyond a brief mention. Glenn Langan, playing the obligatory nice-guy character, is a largely uninteresting creation, serving only to remind us that it's the raving maniacs whom we enjoy watching the most. Cinematographer Arthur C. Miller pulls out the usual photographic tricks, turning the looming Dragonwyck estate into a moody mansion of shadows and suffused light.

The screenplay was adapted by Mankiewicz from a novel by Anya Seton, and, despite the story's clear derivation from previous films, his writing is adequate if unremarkable. Some elements have undoubtedly aged, most especially Miranda Wells' ecstatic Bible-school exclamation of "golly Moses!," and nowadays Nicholas' fervent atheism doesn't seem like quite the evil quality it was sixty years ago. The story itself also feels half-cocked, the screenplay skipping key moments of the narrative, as though with the understanding that we've seen enough of these sorts of films to fill in the gaps ourselves. Additionally, and perhaps most damningly, the supernatural subplot – of the tragic Van Ryn ancestor who can occasionally be heard playing beautiful music – is underexplored to such an extent that I wonder why this was even included to begin with. But, of course, in my haste to criticise, I'm neglecting to mention the finer points of Mankiewicz's screenplay, with plenty of sharp dialogue and strong characterisations for the most part. This isn't 'Rebecca,' but it's worth a look.

moody film

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 27 June 2005]

Anya Seton is one of the great historical fiction writers, up there with Thomas Costain. Like my favorite novel of hers, Green Darkness, Dragonwyck is a moody, atmospheric piece set in another time, and the film version (with nice help from the musical score) is quite good.

Gene Tierney plays a radiant beauty who comes to live at Dragonwyck as a companion to Van Ryn's daughter. She soon falls under the spell of its strange master, played by Vincent Price. Young horror film fans often don't realize that before Vincent Price entered the horror realm, he was a leading man and supporting player in some very good films. With his icy voice and snobbish demeanor, Price is a perfect Van Ryn. As Miranda, Gene Tierney is gorgeous, and needless to say, attracts the interest of not only Price, but Dr. Turner, played by handsome Glenn Langan. Given the politics of Van Ryn, it is surprising to me that Miranda drifted toward him and not to Dr. Turner, with whom she seemed to have more in common, i.e., an empathy toward her fellow man. But she is swept up in the upper class lifestyle and her own childhood dreams. Always a mistake.

There are some disturbing holes in the story. What happens to the little girl and to her maid, for instance, at the end of the film? And what is Van Ryn, dressed in his bathrobe, doing in Miranda's room while she's in bed? Seems odd for those times, and given Miranda's background (the daughter of God-fearing, Bible-reading parents), it's totally out of character for her to have let him in.

A great mood piece, if a bit stiff in its clichés.

[secondtake · 7/10 · 21 January 2010]

Dragonwyck (1946)

A high drama, historical drama, and drama drama. And the drama part works, so that's most of the movie. It's a fairly stiff arrangement, however, including the purposely stiff Vincent Price, who plays a noble Dutch American (a patroon) with a fabulous estate on the Hudson. Director Mankiewicz is great at nuanced characterizations, including a zealous father played by Walter Huston. This may not be his best product, but it's rich with details and lush textures both visually and in the narrative, and it gets more intense as the small events come to conflict by the end.

What sometimes hobbles the whole thing is the simplified tenant farmer revolt, whatever its roots. (I live near to where this is fictionally set, and there is no trace of this kind of culture at all here, just some place names, and I have a suspicion it was never this exaggerated, not in the 1800s, though perhaps in the 1600s, when the Dutch really ruled the area, then called New Netherland.) The pageantry, the great house, the storms, and the big dances, all of this is romantic Bronte territory, well done, and great atmosphere. The music by Alfred Newman and the photography by Arthur C. Miller, both great talents at their professional best, do their usual best, as well.

So what works best, beyond the overall mood, is the presence of the two women: the visiting niece of course, the star, Gene Tierney, and equally, in a subtle way, Connie Marshall, the suffering wife of the patroon. Tierney has a kind of cool reserve that works here, letting the light work on her pretty head. Eventually, the handsome doctor's role takes on more complex importance (played by Glenn Langan), and Price has a fine end, which Price fans will greatly admire.

Dragonwyck an excellent movie

[twinkyeelover · 10/10 · 28 July 2005]

This is one of my favorite "gothic" romance movies of the 40s. There is a haunting melody throughout and it captures the tragedy and mystery that is Dragonwyck. Gene Tierney is wonderful in the starring role of Miranda, going from love-struck and strong-willed to heart-broken and resigned throughout the course of the movie, playing each scene to perfection.

A side note to Ms. Tierney's portrayal of Miranda in this film - The actress Gene Tierney had a fling with the young John Fitzgerald Kennedy, and first laid eyes on him, watching her, while she is playing a scene with her father, the great actor John Huston, reading the bible to her to determine her course of future action - should she accept the proposal of her cousin, or not. She looked up and there he was, clearly smitten with the beautiful Ms. Tierney, and they began to see each other directly after that - or so Ms. Tierney comments in her marvelous autobiography.

The bible figures prominently in another scene when the imperious Nicholas first makes his appearance, played to haughty perfection by the very tall and very talented Vincent Price. Very dramatic and memorable! The great Jessica Tandy also has a significant role as Miranda's feisty maid. And, what better actress to play the role of the wise and comforting mother, but the marvelous Anne Revere.

See it, if only for the atmospheric and haunting music that stays with you after the film is ended. See it, if only for the beautiful and talented Gene Tierney. See it, if only for the great actors, Vincent Price, John Huston, Anne Revere and Jessica Tandy. It is a little gem of a film!

A very enjoyable cross between "Jane Eyre" and "Rebecca".

[MOscarbradley · 7/10 · 8 June 2019]

A cross between "Jane Eyre" and "Rebecca", "Dragonwyck" was the kind of Gothic Romance that was very popular at the time and which stays just on the right side of camp, though coming when it did it might be difficult to keep a straight face at times; it's almost like a parody of the books that influenced it. It marked the directorial debut of Joseph L. Mankiewicz who handles the fairly daft material as well as can be expected. Gene Tierney is the Connecticut farm girl brought to the great house of the title by her distant cousin Vincent Price as a kind of governess to his young daughter. He's got a slightly dotty wife, (that fine and underused actress Vivienne Osborne), and, of course, a housekeeper verging on the sinister, (Spring Byington), not to mention scores of tenant farmers, all of whom hate his guts.

I always had trouble accepting Tierney as poor farm girls. Once she puts on a ballgown she becomes more like herself while Price, in the best of his early roles, is excellent as the rich patroon, (that's basically a landowner to you and me), and there's good work, too, from Walter Huston and Anne Revere, (everybody's mother in the movies), as Tierney's parents. Only the dreadfully wooden Glenn Langan, (he grew up to be "The Amazing Colossal Man"), hampers proceedings as the local doctor in love with Tierney.

It's certainly a handsome looking picture. beautifully designed and photographed in black and white by the great Arthur Miller, and there's oodles of plot to be getting on with. In the Mankiewicz canon, it's been somewhat overlooked but it's very enjoyable; 'a women's picture' to be sure but one with a very sturdy backbone.

Gothic atmosphere and Price's presence prevail

[tayandbay · 8/10 · 26 December 2004]

Although "Dragonwyck" is not a perfect film (one could quibble regarding it's over-long length), it certainly succeeds as a showcase for period atmosphere and melodrama. Gene Tierney is pretty successful in projecting a character who evolves from a wide-eyed innocent to disillusioned spouse of a cold, meglomaniac addict. Walter Huston (father of John), was a fine old-school character player, and he scores big points in his too-brief scenes as Tierney's reverent but irascible father. Best of all is Vincent Price, in a role that presages his tormented Poe characters in films fifteen to twenty years hence. Price totally inhabits the persona of Van Ryn, symbolizing his proud, gallant strength, and ultimately portraying his pathetic disintegration into weakness, drug addiction, and murder (just like any self-respecting Poe character!!). The film's cinematography and music go a long way toward making this undeservedly forgotten Fox film a winner, one that deserves a pristine DVD release.

There are a lot of flaws, but see it for Price

[TheLittleSongbird · 6/10 · 3 September 2012]

Gene Tierney, Vincent Price and Walter Huston and Joseph L Mankiewicz were reasons enough to maintain interest in seeing Dragonwyck. While I had no problem with any of them, I did have a fair lot of issues with the film. The film is overlong and is rather ponderously paced. It further suffers from some clumsy scripting, a consequence of trying to cram too many different genres, and a story that has some suspense but suffers from the fact that it doesn't go anywhere for a bit of the time and the ending underwhelmed also. However, the production values are simply gorgeous, and the score is resolutely haunting. Mankiewicz's direction is solid. Gene Tierney looks beautiful and is adorable and touching. Walter Huston, Anne Revere and Jessica Tandy give terrific support. The best asset is the performance of Vincent Price, one that is devilishly handsome, sometimes frightening and always commanding. All in all, Price makes a deeply flawed movie worth watching. 6/10 Bethany Cox

I'm in love with Gene Tierney....AND Vincent Price!

[Coventry · 9/10 · 4 October 2005]

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!

An efficient and brilliant chiller atmospherically set in an 1840s mansion

[ma-cortes · 7/10 · 19 August 2021]

An elegant and charm enough drama about an innocent young (Gene Tierney) living at her rural home along with parents (Waler Huston, Anne Revere) and brothers and she then moves to stay with a far relative (Vincent Price) at Dragonwyck castle . (DANGEROUSLY She dared to LOVE! Secret thoughts... That led to secret love... That led to rapture and terror!

Joseph L Mankiewicz's first feature movie as a filmmaker and he also wrote the storyline from Anya Seton's novella . It is basically the same Gothic territory as his later ¨The Ghost and Mrs Muir¨ , though it lacks ambivalent psychological insights . Still, it is an enjoyable enough drama in the tradition of ¨Hitchcock's Rebecca¨. The storyline relies heavily on the continued relationship between Gene Tierney and Vincent Price , but it doesn't make boring , however the film is pretty attractive and entertaining . The picture results to be a brilliant flick with romance , thrills , emotion and although is sometimes slow moving , isn't tiring , but entertaining . Mankiewics's directing debut is far cry from the acerbically scripted tales as a ¨Letter to three wives¨ , ¨All about Eve¨ for which he is best known , in fact this ¨Dragonwyck¨ is next to ¨The Ghost and Mrs Muir¨especially on the impressive mansion they inhabit . It's an agreeable and attractive drama in which the protagonist duo is magnificent . Gene Tierney is wonderful and charming with her sweet and enjoyable countenance . Vincent Price is top-notch as the sophisticated and wealthy cousin . Few surprises , but the performances are vivid and the recreation of the 1840s setting is subtly plausible. Tierney and Price are well accompanied by a good support cast , such as : Walter Huston , Glenn Langan , Anne Revere , Connie Marshall , Harry Morgan and Jessica Tandy .

The motion picture was competently directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz , in his film debut , though being inferior to subsequent films he would make . Mankiewicz was a prestigious writer, producer who made notorious movies such as : Dragonwyck, Somewhere in the night, The ghost and Mrs Muir, A letter to 3 wives, House of strangers, All about Eva, No way out, People will talk, 5 fingers, Julius Caesar, Guys and dolls, The quiet American, Suddenly last summer, Cleopatra, The honey pot, There was a crooked man, and Sleuth. His more highly esteemed films were All about Eva and A letter for three wives that won some Oscars, while the lavishly made Cleopatra was a real flop. Rating : 6.5/10 . The yarn will appeal to Gene Tierney and Vincent Price fans .

"Nothing can be thrilling that is shared with so many other people."

[utgard14 · 5/10 · 20 April 2014]

Connecticut farm girl (Gene Tierney) goes to live with her wealthy cousin (Vincent Price) and his wife on their estate called Dragonwyck. As is pretty much the standard for people who live on estates in older films, these folks ain't right. The movie's strength lies in its great cast and Gothic ambiance. Vincent Price is good in a role very similar to others he would play in horror films later in his career. Gene Tierney is beautiful and plays her part well. Walter Huston, Anne Revere, Spring Byington, and Jessica Tandy offer solid support. Unfortunately, despite the cast and fine direction from Joseph L. Mankiewicz, it's a rather dull and predictable movie that fails to build any suspense or intrigue. Obviously fans of Price and Tierney will want to check it out for themselves. Gene is certainly gorgeous, so the movie has that going for it.

Enjoyable gothic

[Oriel · 12 June 1999]

As a fan of both Gene Tierney and Vincent Price, I eagerly sought this film for years before happening upon a broadcast. Since it, most unfortunately, still isn't available on video, I was forced to depend upon network whims. Since I'm also a fervent fan of gothic books and films, I was all the more anxious to see two of my favorite stars in one of my favorite formulae. I'd like to say the film completely fulfilled my hopes. Not quite, perhaps, but it's still a lot of fun, especially for those who follow the stars. (One friend said she thought this was the only Vincent Price film not available on video.)

If you enjoyed _My Cousin Rachel_ (another tragically elusive film!) or the Orson Welles _Jane Eyre_, you'll probably have a good time with _Dragonwyck_. The classic elements are there: lovely, innocent heroine (Tierney); brooding, mysterious, wealthy man (Price); luxurious yet sinister mansion; ghostly and/or murderous plot twists. One plot twist will probably come as absolutely no surprise, given the relentless typecasting of Price (has he ever been a good guy, except in _House of the Seven Gables_? --another great gothic, by the way). Nevertheless his character has touches of subtlety and surprising developments. Tierney's character is perhaps less subtly shaded but does develop nicely over the course of the movie. Jessica Tandy is quite fun in an energetic supporting role, and Tierney's stern, craggy father is another strong supporting character.

Few have probably read the novel that inspired the film, but after seeing the film I sought out the source and I have to say the film tightens up the story considerably. Certainly it makes changes, but overall the film is more satisfying in many ways. It may not be quite in the company of such classics as _Rebecca_ and _Jane Eyre_, but it's nonetheless a lot of fun.

big-time continuity problem

[modinesuggins · 6/10 · 3 May 2005]

I caught this on TCM last night and am bewildered that no previous comments mentioned some obvious weirdness about this movie. It's as if at the moment the first wife dies, a new writer took over who hadn't read (or liked) the first half of the movie.

For one thing, the very next scene begins with Nicholas in Miranda's bedroom, she's in bed, and they're talking as if this were an every day occurrence. This is very odd for mid-19th century, and even odder considering his wife had died just hours before. I know he's on the make for Miranda, but her character is not at all likely to allow this without being very nervous about it.

And what happened to the servant Magda and the daughter Katrine? These two creepy characters were among the more interesting members of the household in the first half of the movie, yet they're never seen again after the wife dies. "Writer #2" must have decided that a slightly sassy, partially crippled female servant with a thick Irish brogue would work better than a slightly nutty and more elderly Magda - and just substituted one for the other when he felt like it! A single, more well-developed character would have worked much better.

And although a lot of time is spent showing the growing relationship between Miranda and Katrine in the first half of the movie, i can barely remember Katrine even being mentioned after the wife dies. It's especially weird at the end, both parents are now dead, Miranda has now been Katrine's stepmother for some time (and we can assume the only person with whom Katrine is close), yet at the end Miranda leaves without so much as mentioning Katrine as she rides off alone back to the farm. I guess Katrine has to stay alone in the creepy Dragonwyck so that the ghost of her great-grandmother will have a family member to torture with those doom-predicting dirges she plays! They should make a sequel about Katrine set 30 years later, she would probably make daddy's problems pale by comparison.

Overall i liked this movie, good setting and acting, but with a little tightening of the script, it could have been great instead of just slightly better than average.

A decent Gothic thriller

[sme_no_densetsu · 7/10 · 24 January 2010]

"Dragonwyck", based on the novel by Anya Seton, tells of a naive farm girl who accepts an offer from an aristocratic cousin to act as a governess at Dragonwyck Manor. Once there, however, we find that her benefactor may have ulterior motives.

The cast is a pretty good one. Vincent Price's speciality was playing characters like Nicholas Van Ryn. His suavity and seductiveness serves to conceal a malignant nature. Gene Tierney also gives a fine performance, as does Walter Huston as her disciplinarian father.

The main problem with the film, though, is the script. Writer/director Joseph L. Mankiewicz's script is well written but I find that the plot just isn't that compelling. Also, some of the mystery shrouded background could have used a little elaboration.

Mankiewicz's first-time direction is steady but unspectacular. Meanwhile, the cinematography by three-time Oscar winner Arthur C. Miller and the score by nine-time Oscar winner Alfred Newman effectively establish the film's tone.

All things considered, "Dragonwyck" is a perfectly acceptable Gothic thriller. While the story may be a little flat, the film is still worth watching due to some strong performances.

It's not about the size of your farm, but the power of your Patroon!

[mark.waltz · 7/10 · 20 March 2015]

Welcome to Dragonwyck, the American, Hudson River Valley version of "Rebecca's" Mandalay where secrets go way beyond the walls of that driveway with long, tenacious fingers. A suicide centuries before of one of the wives put a curse on the wealthy family now lead by the cool, calm and collected Vincent Price, gentle on the outside but quite sinister on the inside. When it comes to his farmers, he has no intention of giving them the land that their families have been farming for generations, even though their tributes to his ancestors have certainly paid off the land. He believes through entitlement alone, he's obligated to keep it, and with his unattraction to his wife (Vivienne Osborne), he's obviously determined to find a new wife who can produce him a son and heir, and that's where impetuous beauty Gene Tierney comes in.

The story focuses on Tierney's exotically named Miranda Wells, a farmer's daughter from Connecticut, a 9:00 girl on a 5:00 farm, determined to find something better than the dirty hands of the farmboys nearby. Parents Walter Huston and Anne Revere are decent, God-fearing Christians who are perplexed by distant relative Price's letter asking for one of their daughters to come to Dragonwyck to be companion to his young daughter (Connie Marshall). Tierney persuades the strict Huston to allow her to go, and gets more than she bargained for. Words of caution from housekeeper Spring Byington aren't enough to warn her against falling in love with Price, and even if its his title and position that she's really interested in, she allows herself to fall under his spell. This continues even after she overhears the farmers confront him at the annual Fourth of July celebration.

Lavishly produced and tightly directed by Joseph Mankiewicz, "Dragonwyck" takes the usual Gothic thriller of the European setting and moves it to two of the original American colonies. It's obvious just from the way that Tierney is made up and dressed that she is not meant to be a country girl and that even if it wasn't Dragonwyck, some millionaire's mansion would certainly have her as a resident. As for Price, this is basically the same type of melodrama that he would do much later over at American International in a series of Gothic Edgar Allan Poe tales, and at more than a decade younger in this part than those, he is appropriately cold even when complimenting his bed-ridden wife. The only time he comes alive is when he sees the feisty Tierney telling off some local social snobs and his delight in squiring her around the dance floor even though she's just witnessed him being attacked while demanding tributes from the farmers.

Byington's housekeeper is mysterious, but not dire like "Rebecca's" Mrs. Danvers, mixing kindness into her forbidding warnings. Osborne has been made up to look like a living corpse, obviously very unhappy in her marriage and consumed with an unknowing sense of doom. She's also rather cold to daughter Marshall as if knowing that she's not going to be around to see her grow into a young woman. The painting of the wife who committed suicide generations before almost resembles her as if to insinuate that the family curse is about to explode in Price's face. It is obvious that Tierney is the key to which the curse will be unlocked. There are also excellent performances by Huston and Revere, and Henry Morgan is also memorable in a bit as the farmer who vindictively attacks Price, although his motives are certainly understandable. Glenn Langan is the one weak element as the overly noble doctor who pleads the farmer's cases towards Price and is manipulated by Price into treating the ailing Osborne which leads to tragic occurrences.

A gripping epic of evil hidden underneath the nobilities' belief that they hold dominion over the poor people around them is a deeply felt drama that grabs you from the moment Tierney grabs the telescope to witness Dragonwyck off in the background, just like Joan Fontaine's first spotting of Mandalay in "Rebecca". There may be some slight unbelievable situations, but for the most part, it really is an intriguing look at sinister intentions disguised by seemingly noble behavior and the destruction to the soul this ultimately causes. It really is Price's show, and he fortunately avoids the over melodramatic line recital that would turn his American International Gothic horror films into unintentional camp.

Chilling film that leaves you wanting more!

[it_teach20 · 9/10 · 21 July 2000]

Gene Tierney is invited to stay with Vincent Price and his family at the Dragonwyck castle. When she arrives she is enamored by the new lifestyle in which she will live. Mysterious things begin to stir within the family. Price becomes equally enamormed with Tierney, his wife becomes suddenly ill, his daughter shows no love for either parents, and the mysterious tower all play an important part in this tangled web. A must see for anyone who likes suspense!

Mistress of Dragonwyck

[richardchatten · 7/10 · 22 June 2022]

A gothic mixture of 'Rebecca' and 'Jane Eyre' quite unlike the usual witty contemporary fare with which Joseph Mankiewicz later became associated. Vincent Price is suaver (and madder) even than Mr DeWinter or Rochester, and Gene Tierney's heroine shows infinitely more spirit than either of her successors.

Gothic melodrama from the 1840s with thickening intrigue all the way

[clanciai · 9/10 · 11 July 2017]

Joe Mankiewicz's first film as a director is like all his subsequent ones a paragon of clarity and thoroughness, attaching much attention to every detail, while at the same time the actors are generously given free room to reign. Consequently in all his films, all actors appear outstanding, especially in his early ones. His next film was even darker than this one, maybe his deepest dive into the noir genre, "Somewhere in the Night" about the mystery of a lost identity and even more intriguing than this one - here Vincent Price completely dominates the drama by you in suspense as you never can know or even guess what he is up to. He appears as the perfect gentleman, and yet you must suspect that he has terrible secrets to hide, which don't become evident until the very end, as he masks them so well. Gene Tierney is equally good, and they match each other perfectly - just previously they had been together in Otto Preminger's priceless "Laura".

The other actors are good as well, especially Walter Huston as the terrible but honest father, while you must observe the young Jessica Tandy entering the scene after Gene Tierney has been married. You can't recognize her, but her performance as a cripple is quite remarkable.

Alfred Newman's music is equally perfect, never too intrusive but properly enhancing the Gothic atmosphere whenever it is stressed. Only Glenn Langan as the doctor is a bit simplistic, while the tenants are impressive in every scene. A special tribute to the always admirable Anne Revere as Gene Tierney's wise and hardy mother.

Dragonwyck review

[JoeytheBrit · 7/10 · 26 April 2020]

Gothic melodrama in which the lovely Gene Tierney realises that creepy Vincent Price isn't quite the wonderful husband she thought him to be. A lot more entertaining than it should be, but it would have been nice to see more of Huston's crusty, God-fearing father of the bride.

American Gothic

[broadway_melody_girl · 10/10 · 7 August 2008]

Spoiler IN THE LAST PARAGRAPH

I truly love this movie. It's got everything - beautiful sets and costumes, a fantastic Gothic novel which it's story was taken from, a top-notch cast, a lovely haunting music score, and not one but TWO unbelievably hot men - the darkly handsome Vincent Price and blond golden boy Glenn Langan.

Gene Tierney is a happy farm-bred girl who can't help dreaming of the wealth and beauty of the upper classes. Then, surprise! Her wish is granted - Gene's very distant cousin by marriage, Vincent Price, needs a governess for his daughter and sends a letter inviting one of Ann Revere's daughters (Gene's mother) to come to his huge estate, as he is a Patroon and care for the daughter. So off Gene goes, but not without warning from her sensible Ma and her tough, God-fearing Pa, Walter Huston, who plays his role well "Everything is what no man should ever want." When Gene and Walter meet Vincent in the Astor House, she is floored by his elegant manners and handsome, youthful appearance, as everyone expected him to be an old man. With some parting words from Walter and the Bible, Gene and Vincent go to the Catskills, where Vincent's magnificent ancestral home lies - Dragonwyck. When Gene gets there, she finds that the beautiful life of the gentry is a not a happy one, at least not here at Dragonwyck, though she is drawn to it's dark beauty and to it's master. Unfortunately Vincent has a wife, Vivienne Osborne, who looks as though she could be his mother and has a passion for eating. But she meets the unbelievably handsome Glenn Langan,the good country doctor. He has some dangerous ideas about patroonships and is Vincent's rival throughout the film. After the characters, are all established, the real fun begins. Fabulous balls, an eerie voice singing in the night and playing the harpsichord, murder, seduction, drug addiction, dissapearing children...

SPOILER COMING!! SPOILER COMING!! SPOILER COMING!! Near the end, Vincent Price utters the most chilling line in the film as he is dying - "That's right... take of your hats in the presence of the patroon." His acting is brilliant throughout the whole film. The American DVD of Dragonwyck will be released on September 9th! Don't miss a chance to see this film if you're a fan of any of the actors or Gothic drama - you won't be sorry.

Changes Not Accepted

[bkoganbing · 6/10 · 24 October 2009]

It was a big day when Vincent Price called on plain Connecticut Yankee farm couple Walter Huston and Anne Revere and asked that one of their two daughters to live on his vast Hudson Valley estate called Dragonwyck. Gene Tierney was the one who wanted it more and she got it. Little did she realize she was going to a real Gothic horror show.

Curiously enough I happened to see the British film The Man In Grey a few days earlier and the action there takes place around 20 to 30 years earlier than this film, set firmly in the Jacksonian era of popular democracy. James Mason in The Man In Grey and Vincent Price in Dragonwyck are both aristocrats to the manor born. Both are living in eras of change in their countries and both refuse to accept it. But Mason's grip on reality in general is a lot firmer than Price's.

Tierney is ostensibly to be a companion for Mrs. Price played by Vivienne Osborne. Later when Osborne dies, Tierney weds Price and soon she's pregnant enough in order that the family name be kept on. That's Price's goal, it's all he ever really wanted out of Tierney, just like James Mason wanted from Phyllis Calvert in The Man In Grey. When the baby dies shortly after birth though, that's when Price really loses it.

The book by Anne Seton was quite a bit more complex and the script is rather awkwardly put together. Spring Byington plays a mysterious housekeeper who stays mysterious as she leaves the film abruptly. Price has a young daughter in Connie Marshall who's just there and then gone. It's possible there was more to their parts that got left on the cutting room floor.

Two interesting roles are those of Jessica Tandy as an Irish maid who has a club foot who Price mocks at every opportunity and Harry Morgan, a yeoman Dutch farmer who is the voice of a rising Jacksonian democracy. The patroon system which bound farmers to the land and landlords like Price that came from Dutch colonial days was finally done away with in new rent laws. It's a change that Price just doesn't recognize.

The general mood of Gothic horror is captured well in Dragonwyck. I wish the story had been better told however.

The Mystery of the Old Dark House.

[rmax304823 · 4/10 · 4 August 2012]

Stunning Gene Tierney, daughter of a down-to-earth Connecticut farmer who is a God-fearing son of the soil, is invited to stay for an extended visit with a terribly rich distant relative whom no one in the family has never met. He turns out to be Vincent Price, practicing for his later Edgar Allan Poe movies, his features emblazoned with "marks of weariness, marks of woe". He's a patroon in the Catskills and has a hundred sharecroppers working his vast estate. He's married to a mindless wife who soon dies mysteriously. This makes him available as a husband and, his being filthy rich and having a dozen servants and chilled out-of-season canolli and whatnot, Tierney falls in love with him. They marry. It develops -- well, all sorts of things develop -- and Price expires and Tierney goes back to the humble farm she's always called home.

I found it all pretty dull going. The chief problem is not with the acting or the direction. That's professional enough for most of the cast. Price is tall, sinister, with a ramrod for a spine and the face of a horse. And the magnificent cinematography is by Arthur Miller who, along with Joe August, Gregg Toland, and one or two others, was an absolute genius with black and white.

No, the problem is that Anya Seaton, who wrote the original novel, seems to have gorged herself on every other novel ever written about a young woman from a stern background who finds herself living in an old, dark mansion that guards some sort of secret. It's almost a pastiche, a shotgun approach. There are especially strong hints of "Rebecca" and "Jane Eyre" although none of them lead anywhere. There is, just for instance, a dark tower in which Price spends much of his time alone. No one is allowed in the chamber. And when Tierney finally discovers the secret, it's not an insane wife but something far more ordinary and tawdry, and it has no place in the narrative. The writers missed one cliché though. Tierney rides off alone in her carriage, leaving Dragonwyck and a mooning young doctor behind. The mansion is intact, whereas it should have been nothing more than a charred ruin.

It's clumsily written too. Characters come and go, and events take place, with no explanation. When Tierney first arrives at Dragonwyck, the only person who seems entirely candid with her is Spring Byington as the somewhat dotty old maid. She disappears like King Lear's fool half-way through. Jessica Tandy, in an early role as an Irish maid, is "a loathsome cripple" who plays an important part in the story and yet is not there for her friend Tierney's departure. Somewhere along the line the resentful sharecroppers are given some kind of lease to buy by the governor of New York, but any important consequence was lost in the editing. Price and Dragonwyck may be poorer for the collapse of the patroon system but neither of them show it. A few cobwebs would have helped, or a rotting cake and dusty drapes. Where is Miss Haversham when you need her?

The young doctor is Glen Langan, who has the mellifluous voice of an announcer on an FM radio station that plays nothing but Debussy, and the features of a mannequin in an upscale department store window. Doctors tend to be of two types in movies like this. They are either young, poor, modest country doctors, or they're mad scientists. Langan occupies the first set, except that, contrary to expectations, he may fall for Tierney (who wouldn't?) but she has no interest in him as a lover.

Others might enjoy it more than I did. I liked "Rebecca" and the various versions of "Jane Eyre" but this was a long, slow slog. Good luck.