I must let you know up front that I am not a huge fan of films about ghosts. I just don't normally find them very interesting. However, I like Ray Milland and will watch him in most anything--even his really bad films like "Frogs" or "The Incredible Two-Headed Transplant" (yuck). And, I was happy to see that while this wasn't exactly my cup of tea, it was a very good film.
Milland and his sister (Ruth Hussey) happen upon a neat looking old mansion and decide, VERY IMPULSIVELY, to buy it. The owner (Donald Crisp) does not live there and he acts a big cagey about the house's history. What he doesn't tell Milland is that the house has two annoying habits--it screams and cries at night AND there is some strange power in the house that appears to be trying to kill Crisp's granddaughter! Perhaps this is what prompted the recent Full Disclosure laws in the States! Not surprisingly, Milland and Hussey don't like the screaming and crying. But it gets a lot worse when Milland starts seeing Crisp's granddaughter (Gail Russell). And, when Russell comes to the house, mysterious forces try to get her to walk off a cliff! Much of the rest of the movie consists of Milland and Hussey trying to work through this mystery--with the help of a nice country doctor (Alan Napier). And, by the end, they come up with a plausible but bizarre answer to this crazy mystery.
As I said before, the acting is very good--the best aspect of the film. And, the film is pretty engaging--even if the solution to the problem seems a bit far-fetched. Well worth seeing.
Milland and his sister (Ruth Hussey) happen upon a neat looking old mansion and decide, VERY IMPULSIVELY, to buy it. The owner (Donald Crisp) does not live there and he acts a big cagey about the house's history. What he doesn't tell Milland is that the house has two annoying habits--it screams and cries at night AND there is some strange power in the house that appears to be trying to kill Crisp's granddaughter! Perhaps this is what prompted the recent Full Disclosure laws in the States! Not surprisingly, Milland and Hussey don't like the screaming and crying. But it gets a lot worse when Milland starts seeing Crisp's granddaughter (Gail Russell). And, when Russell comes to the house, mysterious forces try to get her to walk off a cliff! Much of the rest of the movie consists of Milland and Hussey trying to work through this mystery--with the help of a nice country doctor (Alan Napier). And, by the end, they come up with a plausible but bizarre answer to this crazy mystery.
As I said before, the acting is very good--the best aspect of the film. And, the film is pretty engaging--even if the solution to the problem seems a bit far-fetched. Well worth seeing.