I first saw THE UNINVITED on television back in the early 1960s. I was home from school and saw it on the early morning movie (in the first 2 decades of TV they used to show old movies all the time). I was just beginning to develop my love of classic supernatural horror and this film was the spookiest movie I had seen up to that point. It was a genuine ghost story without a pat ending giving a natural explanation to the supernatural proceedings as was usually the case. It was also very similar to certain episodes (THE HUNGRY GLASS, GOD GRANTE THAT SHE LYE STILL) of Boris Karloff’s early 1960s show THRILLER.
Looking back I see now that while those episodes about ghosts borrowed from this movie, THE UNINVITED borrowed heavily from Hitchcock’s REBECCA with its old house, sinister portrait and devoted matron plot elements. In fact, one could call it REBECCA “Lite”. After its initial TV run, THE UNINVITED disappeared and was not available again until the advent of VHS. I obtained a copy, watched it, then forgot about it until this DVD which was released some 20 years later. I purchased the DVD because it’s a Criterion edition and that means a quality picture with lots of extras and after all this time I wanted to see it again.
The story takes place in England in 1937. Brother & sister Rick and Pamela Fitzgerald (Ray Milland & Ruth Hussey) buy a seaside house overlooking a cliff. After moving in, they become aware of a presence inside the house. The seller’s granddaughter (Gail Russell) believes the presence to be the spirit of her mother who died there many years ago. THE UNINVITED is meant to be an old school ghost story and it contains some occasionally appropriate lighting with polished camerawork and a simple but effective representation of the fateful ghost.
However the film is too well lit in too many places and the background music undercuts any prolonged attempt at suspense. Milland and Hussey are a congenial brother and sister while Gail Russell acquits herself nicely in the best role as the haunted daughter. Old reliable Donald Crisp reprises yet another stern but kindly grandfather. Cornelia Otis Skinner as the matron definitely channels Judith Anderson’s Mrs Danvers from REBECCA. Although still highly regarded by most people, Val Lewton’s RKO thrillers which were made at the same time were far creepier.
The Capsule Critic 