The Woman in White (1948)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

Peter Godfrey

Writers:

Wilkie Collins (novel)
Stephen Morehouse Avery (writer)

Release Date:

15 May 1948 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Mystery | Romance

Tagline:

CAUGHT IN THE BLACK SPELL OF TERROR! (original ad - all caps)

Plot:

A young painter stumbles upon an assortment of odd characters at an English estate where he has been...

Plot Keywords:

Inheritance | Estate | Artist | Blackmail | Stormy Night

Cast

Alexis Smith	...	Marian Halcombe
Eleanor Parker	...	Laura Fairlie / Ann Catherick
Sydney Greenstreet	...	Count Fosco
Gig Young	...	Walter Hartright
Agnes Moorehead	...	Countess Fosco
John Abbott	...	Frederick Fairlie
John Emery	...	Sir Percival Glyde
Curt Bois	...	Louis
Emma Dunn	...	Mrs. Vesey
Matthew Boulton	...	Dr. Nevin
Anita Sharp-Bolster	...	Mrs. Todd
Clifford Brooke	...	Jepson
Barry Bernard	...	Dimmock

Runtime:

UK:109 min | USA:109 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1

Sound Mix:

Mono (RCA Sound System)

Certification:

Australia:G | Finland:K-12 | USA:Approved (PCA #12009)

Company:

Warner Bros. Pictures

Trivia:

Filmed in 1946, but not released until 1948.

Movie Connections:

Version of Tangled Lives (1917)

Sydney Greenstreet's Performance Carries a Lot of Weight!

Gothic, eerie, studio vision of what a Wilkie Collins novel should and would look like, The Woman in White manages to successfully transcend the written page and give the viewer a good, old-fashioned mystery with some excellent performances and some crafty direction. Though the trimming/cutting/changing of the novel is awkward at times(sometimes even downright blunt), the script does manage to convey the basic premise of the story about a mysterious woman shrouded at night who asks a walking stranger for the time and then tells him that she is being hounded by forces she cannot explain. The walking stranger, an artist on his way to a new job, is then introduced to a household of unique personalities and a woman who could be the exact double of the woman he met on the road. This is a Victorian mystery all the way and the script is heavily aided by the skill of Godfrey the director. Swirling fogs, moonlit nights, and the ever-engaging, ever-looming, ever-massive presence of one Sydney Greenstreet make it more than what is could and would have been without them. Greenstreet gives a wonderfully droll, pernicious, charming portrayal of Alessandro Fosco, the primary villain in the piece. His Fosco is witty and yet can make a wicked look faster than any actor I have seen. Greenstreet and his agile bulk glide in oily joy from one scene of menace to another. Watching him smugly and contemptuously speak condescendingly to each and every character was great fun. Greenstreet is ably aided by some other equally memorable turns: Agnes Moorehead in a brief role as his wife, beautiful Alexis Smith as Marian, Eleanor Parker in dual roles, John Emery as a British blighter in the Terry-Thomas tradition, and John Abbott creating a minor comedic gem as Frederick Fairlie with all his "problems." Gig Young is the male lead and even though he probably is miscast he does do a decent enough job and does not detract in any way. The Woman in White is not a great film but a very good film with some wonderful atmosphere, skilled direction, and the indomitable Sydney Greenstreet. Should you, could you, would you need more than that? In the words of Greenstreet himself, "Ha, ha, Hmm - I should think not. Most definitely not. Ha. Hmm."