Buying an old house can be troublesome...and not just from bad plumbing. As a classic ghost film once warned us, purchasing an aged manse can lead to...
By STACI LAYNE WILSON (Introducing a new addition to HORROR-WOOD roster of writers, Staci Layne Wilson. Staci is a published writer, an artist, and a web designer--and her father is one of the original members of "The Ventures" band! Staci lives in the Southern California beach community of Rancho Palos Verdes. Ever eclectic, she's had short stories published in magazines varying from children's pony tales to supernatural erotica. Her first collection of short stories, Horrors Of The Holy, is being released in January 2000. Visit her website.)
The lonely house on the craggy cliff overlooking rough seas. Phantoms that cry plaintively in the night. A madwoman, a scandal, and an orphaned child. The Uninvited has all the elements of a great ghost story. This is the perfect movie to curl up with on a rainy afternoon, sipping a cup of hot Earl Grey tea. Though the story is set in Devon, filming could not take place in England, due to the war. Welsh actor Ray Milland (who would’ve thought then that the light, romantic leading man would end up playing one of the title roles, along with football player Rosie Grier, in 1972’s schlock horror flick The Thing With Two Heads?) teams up with Ruth Hussey to play a brother and sister who buy a haunted house.
Roderick and Pamela Fitzgerald are driving along the Devonshire coast one day, when they see a magnificent mansion. They pause to look, and their dog jumps from the car. The pooch dashes after a squirrel and into the house, and the Meredith’s give chase. Once inside, they are captivated. It’s the quintessential dream house everyone wants. And guess what? It just so happens to be for sale. It’s almost too easy. Once they buy the house from old Commander Beech (Donald Crisp, who plays the ultimate curmudgeon), Roderick and Pamela begin to hear some of the town gossip about their house. About how a distraught young mother went over the cliff, twenty years before, falling to her untimely demise. They find out that Commander Beech’s twenty year old grand-daughter, Stella Meredith (Gail Russell, in her movie debut), is the daughter of the unfortunate ghost, Mary Meredith (portrayed by three actresses — one for the portrait that hangs in Stella’s bedroom, one for the voice, and one for the apparition).
Before long, the ghost of Mary Meredith makes an appearance. She pulls out all the stops: moaning, freezing the air, and bringing the cloying smell of flowers with her. The characters almost calmly accept the spectral visitations, as though they were everyday occurrences. They do fear her though, and fear that she has come to claim her daughter. Many ghostly pranks ensue, using the newest special effects of the time, in the dark, lonely nights. It’s easy to see why the cinematographer, Charles B. Lang, was nominated for an Academy Award; even in the inkiest, barely candle-lit moments, the picture is crystal clear and the actors all look as ethereally beautiful as the she-ghost. The director, Lewis Allen (who would later direct the acclaimed film, Suddenly), does a superb job of keeping tension up throughout the film by eking the Deep, Dark Secret out just a little at a time.
To break up the tension there is a little comic relief, and a plausible, unobtrusive romance emerges between Roderick and Stella (less so is the mutual attraction of sister Pamela and the local doctor; a few things in the movie are just a little too pat). When Roderick, a composer, serenades her with his piano, the popular song "Stella By Starlight" makes its debut. When it’s revealed that Stella’s father, an artist, was having an affair with his fiery Spanish model, Pamela Fitzgerald says wryly, "Father must have been a bit of a bad hat." Even though it’s an American film, the dialogue and feel is wonderfully English. As you watch it, you feel as if a friend of yours is telling you a good, old-fashioned, spooky ghost story. In fact, the tale is supposedly based upon true events.
Once the film’s Deep Dark Secret is revealed (courtesy of a maestro "mad speech" by supporting actress Cornelia Otis Skinner--only Judith Anderson as Mrs. Danvers did it better), Roderick is able to single-handedly exorcise the estate and claim Stella as his bride. The Uninvited remains 100% watchable and enjoyable to this day, as it has the main ingredients that never go out of style: a solid story, likable actors, and lots of interesting visuals. I think this film best viewed when you’re alone, on a gray, damp day...Look for it on video or satellite--happy haunting. Thanks, Staci, for "digging up" a wonderful and grand old ghost story for these dark and chilly Halloween nights! Cheers! |
