The Uninvited

The film is particularly notable for an "every day ordinary" style: there are no manipulative camera angles or unexpected editing tricks; there is no foreshadowing soundtrack; there are precious few special effects--and by refusing to use such time-honored elements, the story's ghostly elements seem all the more disturbing by comparison. The strong cast, which also includes Donald Crisp, Alan Napier, Cornelia Otis Skinner, is first rate and plays expertly, and Lewis Allen directs with restraint but never allows the pace to drag. THE UNINVITED is not a horror movie by any stretch of the imagination, and viewers who expect to rocked, jolted, shocked, and shuddered will probably be disappointed. But as a traditional ghost story with a mysterious and truly creepy plot it has more than a few chills, THE UNINVITED more than holds it own.


SUPERB GHOST STORY   December 8, 1999
Scott Barkley (Carmel,California)
23 out of 24 found this review helpful

An usual and fascinating item, a ghost story which takes itself seriously. A "classy" film with considerable charm, "The Uninvited" is a ghost story with Freudian overtones which lingers in the mind long after one has seen it. During their fortnight vacation from their London flat, brother and sister Rick and Pamela Fitzgerald (excellently portrayed by Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey) buy an old Georgian house on the Cornish coast which is haunted by the spirits of two women. One of these ghosts is found to be Mary Merideth and the other a model who posed for Mary's artist husband Llewellyn, a Spanish gypsy girl named Carmel Casada. Gail Russell,in her best-known performance, luminously plays the ethereal Stella, and her strong performance is no small part of the effectiveness of the picture;her limpid eyes seem to conceal the mysteries of life and death. Stella believes it is the spirit of her mother who haunts Windward house (it was her Grandfather who sold the house to the Fitzgeralds for TWO THOUSAND POUNDS!) The strange happiness which steals over her in the house along with the mimosa scent awakes her intuitive recognition that "somebody loves me with all of her heart". Stella's faith is rewarded at the seance which Pamela arranges to be held at Windward; when the spirits are asked why they stay at the house, the reply is "I Guard". Carmel is there to prevent Mary from driving Stella into throwing herself off the cliff, something she tries to do twice in the film. There are many key scenes which are chilling, the most famous being when the French doors fly open at breakneck speed; the audience is totally unprepared for this start. Based on Dorothy Macardle's "Uneasy Freehold" this film is considered Hollywood's first attempt at filming a serious ghost story and it's still among the top 5 classics of the genre. Cornelia Otis Skinner is magnificently sinister as Miss Holloway and Donald Crisp is fine as Stella's over-protective Grandfather. That's Alan Napier (he played Alfred on "Batman" in the sixties) as Dr. Scott and Dorothy Stickney has a memorable cameo as Miss Bird (Stickney died at the age of 101 in 1998) Gail Russell was a tragic figure in real life (see was referred to as "Hollywood's Haunted Heroine". An insecure introvert, she developed a drinking problem and died at the age of 36 in 1961.The astonishingly beautiful Russell (she looks rather demure in this early role) was perfectly cast as Stella Merideth since her vulnerable personality and eerie lustre suited the role she was playing. Lizzie Flynn, the Irish housekeeper is amusingly played by Barbara Everest (notice in the scene where everyone holds candles at the foot of the stairs Everest looks straight into the camera for an instant.)The film's theme is the beautifully haunting "Stella by Starlight" It would be 20 years before Hollywood produced another dilly of a ghost story ("The Haunting") Highly Recommended!


YOU CAN ALMOST SMELL THE MIMOSA!   December 21, 1999
Jarrod Kirkland (CHERRYVALE, KANSAS)
20 out of 20 found this review helpful

Based upon Dorothy Macardle's 1942 novel "Uneasy Freehold" THE UNINVITED is a wonderful and unique film which keeps the viewer mesmorized throughout. On the last day of their vacation in May, 1937, Rick and Pam Fitzgerald (brother and sister!) find an empty house on the seaside which they purchase for a ridiculously low price. Naturally, the place has "disturbances" in the form of two spectres,one of which just happens to be the daughter of the previous owner, Commander Beech (Donald Crisp).The other ghost is the spirit of Carmel Casada an artist's model. The commander's grand-daughter, Stella Merideth makes friends with the Fitzgeralds and she is ecstatic about visiting them in the childhood home she loves dearly. Gail Russell is luminous as the moonstruck Stella; this was her second film and her lack of acting experience is actually an advantage-her eerie lustre and shy, naive demeanor suit her role perfectly. There is a great sequence involving a seance, complete with Russell going into a trance (as a Spanish Gypsy) and the mysterious scent of mimosa which permeates the room. The very tall Dr.Scott is played by Alan Napier of BATMAN fame. The unsavory Miss Holloway is played to the hilt by Cornelia Otis Skinner (hers is a key role in the mystery) That's Angela Lansbury's mother Moyna MacGill in the tobacconists shop asking for a copy of "Amateur Gardening". The Cornish sets are done quite well and Windward House is a gothic beauty which I've always wanted to own myself! Ruth Hussey had to sleep with the lights on while making this movie! The voice of Mary Merideth was provided by Betty Farrington and Victor Young's "Stella by Starlight" is the lovely theme. Absolutely brimming with charm, this movie has ingenious atmospheric touches: the scent of parfum mimosa, a rose which wilts in the cold, dank studio, candles that burn dim and the classic scene where the French doors abruptly burst open. THE UNINVITED is chilling old-fashioned ghost story which takes itself seriously; there's no trick ending in this ingenious film. Highly Recommended.


STELLA BY STARLIGHT.   August 8, 2001
17 out of 17 found this review helpful

While many may find this classic film more charming than terrifying, it's an undeniably ingenious and atmospheric ghost story with a unique twist. In May of 1937, music critic Roderick Fitzgerald and his sister Pamela are nearing the end of their fort-night seaside holiday in Cornwall, England. While walking along a path, chasing their terrier "Bobby", the siblings are overwhelmed by the beauty of a gorgeous but deserted Georgian house. The Fitzgeralds meet the owner, a dour man named Commander Beech, (excellently portrayed by Scotsman Donald Crisp) and purchase the small mansion for an extremely low price......Because I am such an unbelievably avid fan of this beautiful and ingenious film, I don't want to ruin it for others by giving away details of the plot; you MUST see it for yourselves!! Just know that there's no trick ending in this classy and unforgettable movie. The acting is top-drawer and the characters are really neatly drawn. The screenplay was adapted from the popular 1942 book UNEASY FREEHOLD, (which was later re-titled THE UNINVITED in America) by Dodie Smith and Frank Partos. The author of the excellent novel was an Irish woman named Dorothy Macardle who also wrote two other novels with supernatural themes: THE UNFORESEEN & DARK ENCHANTMENT. Macardle also wrote the highly acclaimed THE IRISH REPUBLIC, which was published just before her death in 1958. THE UNINVITED - which contains sub-plots which were wisely ommitted for the film - can still be found in used bookstores. As Pamela Fitzgerald, Ruth Hussey speaks with an accent more Providence than London, but her playing of Pam is charming and warm. Hussey read the book while traveling on the train in preparation for making the film and she later stated that she literally had chills running down her spine whilst reading! - she slept with her berth light on all night! Milland is clearly having a good time playing Rick - he's flippantly boyish, a sophisticated rascal who later tells the malevolent spirit of Mary Merideth to "get lost". Mrs. Holloway is portrayed by the once highly esteemed stage actress Cornelia Otis Skinner and she's a creepy dame with an evil glare and a sinister presence (critics of the day compared widely the character with Mrs. Danvers in REBECCA). The special effects are moody, subtle and genuinely eerie - the scene in which the French doors burst open totally unexpectedly is a Hollywood classic; the seance scene is beautifully realized (and creepy in it's realism). Symbolism is rampant throughout the movie: the cold uninviting studio where a rose is seen to wilt in seconds - the uniquely sweet scent of mimosa (which symbolizes a mother's love and protection) - candles which go dim when there's oppression - the nightlight in the nursery............ Russell is very effective when she goes into a trance as the Spanish gypsy girl (Carmel Casada) and the photography during these scenes is spectacular as it invokes a mood of danger, tension and apprehension from the participants. Gail Russell plays the moonstruck Stella Merideth and she's about the most ethereal beauty you're likely to see in in a haunted house! In this, her second film, she seems born for the role since her natural awkwardness and shyness made her perfect for the part. The beautiful black and white cinematography by Charles Lang is spooky and magnificent (it was nominated for an AA, but lost to LAURA). Victor Young's haunting melody STELLA BY STARLIGHT was written for the picture and it's an inspired theme, perfectly suitable to the moody atmosphere ....... This gem is very likely the BEST ghost story ever put on film!!


A REAL BEAUTY OF A CHILLER.   November 30, 2002
14 out of 14 found this review helpful

Tastefully acted, with witty lines and visually beautiful, this well-loved ghost story is a perennial classic among fans. Pam and Rick Fitzgerald are siblings who are spending their holiday on the coast of Cornwall, England. While walking along a seaside path, they come into view of a beautiful old Georgian house. Because their terrier (Bobby) has chased a squirrel through an opened window, the Fitzgerald's follow suit and find they are in awe of the small empty mansion after "checking it out". As if by fate, the siblings indeed purchase the seaside abode for a very low price...Donald Crisp is staid and very proper as Commander Beech and as his fragile, ethereally beautiful Granddaughter, Stella, Gail Russell gives a luminous portrayal: a classic performance which concerns a moonstruck girl being spiritually lured into a maze of dangerous "dark influences". I agree with James L. in that Cornelia Otis Skinner is a bit overripe in her portrayal of Miss Holloway (she acts as if she's the grande dame of the Theatre) but fortunately, she doesn't wreck the film in any way: She's nuts, after all, isn't she? Dorothy Stickney is amusing as the very odd Miss Bird and Barbara Everest lingers in the memory as that old tyrant, Lizzie Flynn, the Fitgerald's loyal housekeeper ("Saints preserve us"!). Moody, classy, charming and unforgettable, memorable moments in the film are many: the French door scene is startling in its unexpected abruptness, Lizzie exclaiming "Twas a mist, a mist of a woman"!!, Holy Holloway's mad scene, Rick eating an apple while listening to "My Silent Love" on the wireless - soon after which his bedroom door slams shut - the intensely enacted seance sequence, and the scene where Carmel Casada gets in her two cents worth by turning the pages of an old doctor's registry journal. The nightlight in the nursery and the scent of mimosa are symbolic of Stella's REAL mother... The THE UNINVITED is totally deserving of all the kudos given it by most all the previous reviewers. An astonishingly entertaining film, it benefits from many things. Obviously filmed on a Grade "A" budget by Paramount (in 1943; it was originally theatrically released in early 1944) the cinematography is genuinely excellent. The Victor Young music score is beautiful and appropriate: few melodies are as perpetually haunting as is the lovely, ethereal STELLA BY STARLIGHT. The Cornish village set is charming, but not too cutesy. For fans of films in the ghost genre, this is highly recommended as perhaps the epitome. Enjoy!