How do you heal a haunted house?
🌊 Standing proudly on a cliff overlooking the roaring beauty of the Cornwall coastline stands Winward House. A seemingly abandoned 18th-century home, with large windows, breathtaking views and an enchanting magnetism.
While vacationing on the English coast, composer and music critic Roderick "Rick" Fitzgerald (Ray Milland) and his sister Pamela (Ruth Hussey) come across the property when their cheeky pup, 🐶 Bobby is led in through one of the open windows by a speedy squirrel, keen for a spot of "tag."
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| Climbing the cliff face to Winward House |
Drawn in to the property, initially to retrieve their mischevious doggo, Rick and Pamela fall for Winward's charm and potential, and set out to track down its current owner in the hopes of purchasing the property and leaving the hustle and bustle of London behind them. The owner, Commander Beech (Donald Crisp) is willing to part with the property for the relatively low price of £1200, despite the emotional pleas and objections raised by his 20 year old granddaughter, Stella Meredith (Gail Russell).
Despite these potential 'red flags' and mumblings of 'strange happenings' and complaints from former tennants reaching the pair, the Fitzgeralds' go ahead with the purchase and set about making Winward their own.
However, upon gaining entry into a previously locked door on the second floor, Rick and Pamela discover an abandoned studio space, filled with a bone-numbing chill. From this point on strange sounds find their way to the siblings ears in the middle of the night. Odd scents waft in and out, candles start to flicker without the aid of a breeze and Rick and Pamela's initial infatuation with the property begins to falter as they realise that Winward is haunted 🫣.
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| (Milland's side-eye 👀 absolutely cracks me up here 😂) |
For someone who readily admits that she is a bona fide scaredy-cat 🙋♀️, I thoroughly enjoyed myself watching this one!
I thought the direction was masterful, the lighting was pitch-perfect, the score hit all of the right notes and above all the atmosphere and tone see-saw'd throughout the picture, beautifully.
I do love me a playful, affable and bouncy Ray Milland and his Rick Fitzgerald did indeed embody those traits, so I fell for him instantly 🥰
Ruth Hussey's performance was also solid and highly polished. I adore her when she plays characters whose caustic, sarcastic claws come out, but in this film, she too presented an affable, playful side which was equally becoming. I also felt that the success of the film ultimately rested on her character's shoulders, as she was the bravest, most earnest and unflappable in her steadfast believability in the supernatural shenanigans that were going on.
Which brings me to the reason why I think this film really did hit its creepy beats so well overall. All of the characters were in no doubt that something fantastical and bizarre was going on inside Winward House. The fact that such grounded, rational and logical people as the Fitzgeralds', the town physician, Dr. Scott and every other respectable character in the film didn't display a single ounce of doubt that something disturbing was going on added such weight and seriousness to the credibility of the story.
🎩✨ Above all though, I must tip my hat to the brilliant performance given by Gail Russell as Stella Meredith.
✨ I thought she brought such an engaging vulnerability to Stella that was utterly heart-rending. Her eyes alone captivated me in every scene she was in. So big and limpid and expressive and oh my goodness, she was wonderful. I've since come to read that Russell did have some trouble on set when it came to pleasing some of her co-stars and her director, however I applaud her for overcoming her trepidations and gifting us with such a memorable performance. I loved her 💝
🎹 I also must take a moment to appreciate my favourite scene in the film...
🎶💞 The serenade "Stella by Starlight" flows from Rick's fingers in honour of his newfound affections for Stella in a truly lovely scene that pushes away the chills and oddities from the viewer's mind and allows the spark of love to traverse the keys and melt our hearts.
Honest to goodness when Rick gently said “...this is the only way I can paint you. With some black keys and some white…” 🫠💗 That was me completely gone...
👻 So if you are in the market for a story laced with mystery, steep crumbling cliffs, flickering candles, portraits concealing secrets, chills, thrills and even a creepy seance thrown in for good measure, I highly recommend checking out The Uninvited this Halloween season 🌫️🎃
💌🎞 Have you seen The Uninvited (1944)? I would love to hear your thoughts! Xx
