The Uninvited (1944)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

Lewis Allen

Writers:

Dorothy Macardle (novel)
Dodie Smith (screenplay) ...

Release Date:

16 October 1944 (Sweden)

Genre:

Fantasy | Horror | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

From the Most Popular Mystery Romance since "Rebecca"!

Plot:

A brother and sister move into an old seaside house they find abandoned for many years on the English coast...

Plot Keywords:

House | Supernatural | Grandfather | Male Female Relationship | Dead Mother

Awards:

Nominated for Oscar.

Cast

Ray Milland	...	Roderick Fitzgerald
Ruth Hussey	...	Pamela Fitzgerald
Donald Crisp	...	Commander Beech
Cornelia Otis Skinner	...	Miss Holloway
Dorothy Stickney	...	Miss Bird
Barbara Everest	...	Lizzie Flynn
Alan Napier	...	Dr. Scott
Gail Russell	...	Stella Meredith

Runtime:

99 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English | Spanish

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (Western Electric Mirrophonic Recording)

Certification:

USA:Passed (National Board of Review) | USA:TV-PG (TV rating) | UK:A (1944) (cut) | Australia:PG | Finland:K-16 | Sweden:15 | USA:Approved (PCA #9337)

Filming Locations:

Phoenix, Arizona, USA

Company:

Paramount Pictures

Trivia:

One of over 700 Paramount Productions, filmed between 1929 and 1949, which were sold to MCA/Universal in 1958 for television distribution, and have been owned and controlled by Universal ever since.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the next to last scene Lizzy Flynn's cat is sitting placidly grooming himself on the stairway at Winward House, when he should be at the Jessop Farm with Lizzy Flynn.

Quotes:

Pamela Fitzgerald: Important decisions have to be made quickly.

Movie Connections:

Referenced in "Remington Steele: Steele Crazy After All These Years (#1.16)" (1983)

Soundtrack:

Stella by Starlight

Subtle, Stylish Ghost Classic

Add a beautiful, mysterious Cornish seascape - with cliff and huge house standing alone. Add the likes of veteran actors like Ray Milland, Donald Crisp, Ruth Hussey, Alan Napier, Cornelia Otis Skinner, and a charming newcomer in Gail Russell. Throw in the eerie, suspenseful story of a house with a secret - a house that is worth much, much more than it sells for but is sold for a song to new neighbors Milland and Hussey as siblings. Stir in the ever present, keen eye for mixing atmosphere with action by director Lewis Allen and a thought-provoking, interesting albeit somewhat predictable script by Dodie Smith (based on a popular novel by Dorothy Macardle). For extra measure and a stronger ghostly flavour, present a séance, an asylum for the mentally ill, a true cliffhanger, and of course ghosts with work left to do after they have NOT shuffled off this mortal coil. All these ingredients make a fine film called The Univited, a Paramount release that really tries to be a true ghost story with emphasis on atmosphere rather than action. Though the film has a few stretches which might have been enhanced a bit more with some more action, the film's overall quality succeeds in its goals. The Uninvited is a first-rate ghost story about a secret this solitary, palatial house has, and it creates its suspense with things like creaking doors, lights faintly moving, wind blowing windows in(or out), barely audible whispers floating in the air, and ethereal images casting their ghostly shadows for the living's visual consumption. Ray Milland is as ever very affable in the lead role and Gail Russell as the focus of the ghost intrigue is beautiful and talented. Hussey, Skinner, and Napier do very good jobs with the material, but Donald Crisp as Russell's strong-willed father makes the biggest impression. If you are looking for something that has all the trappings of a sophisticated haunted house film - The Uninvited is it.