ALL SCI-FI Forum Index ALL SCI-FI
The place to “find your people”.
 
 FAQFAQ   SearchSearch   MemberlistMemberlist   UsergroupsUsergroups   RegisterRegister 
 ProfileProfile   Log in to check your private messagesLog in to check your private messages   Log inLog in 

The Uninvited (1944)

 
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Movies in Other Genres
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Sat Oct 17, 2020 10:41 pm    Post subject: The Uninvited (1944) Reply with quote



"The Uninvited" released on February 10, 1944 from Paramount Pictures and directed by Lewis Allen.

Plot: London music critic Roderick "Rick'' Fitzgerald (Ray Milland) and his sister Pamela purchase the beautiful seaside manor known as Windward house.

Shortly after moving into the house they begin to experience strange and frightening unearthly sounds and sights.

As they endeavor to unravel this mystery in order to remain in their dream house, they encounter mystery, romances, and ghosts along the way.

I've always enjoyed this film and the compelling way the story unfolds. The cast does a wonderful job.

The lighting & sets all greatly contribute to the scary atmosphere; and the ghostly visual effect remains pretty darn impressive even 76 years later.

It is also a notable film because it really does have a specter in it.

Generally, the majority of motion pictures up to 1944 that were set in haunted mansions or castles would establish in the story that there were ghosts in those settings.

But the payoff usually was that the ''ghosts'' were human beings attempting to frighten, or kill, the innocent individuals occupying those places.

That's not to say that such films couldn't be entertaining such as Bob Hope's "The Cat & The Canary'' as an example.

However, so many films used that trope that it became quite commonplace to see.

"The Uninvited" was one of the first films of its kind to eschew that old trope. It presented a ghost story that really was about a deceased (evil) spirit.

The villain was not some person lurking behind secret passageways using gadgets in an attempt to scare occupants out of some place.

It was a angry & vindictive poltergeist taking no prisoners.

It remains a marvelous and spooky ride to this day.


__________
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 12:25 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

I've seen this highly enjoyable movie often on TCM and all the way back in the 1960s. Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Gail Russell, and Cornelia Otis Skinner are terrific.

The few FX that were used were quite effective. This is a fine movie.


________________ The Uninvited (1944) trailer


___________

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)


Last edited by Bud Brewster on Sun Feb 20, 2022 12:22 pm; edited 3 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Krel
Guest





PostPosted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 4:41 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

I've tried to see this movie more times than I remember, but something always goes wrong. Power goes out, cable goes out, cable image goes out. (Hey! It's TV radio. NO!), or it gets preempted because someone dies and they wart to do a marathon of the poor person's films, or an emergency pops up. I think the spirit doesn't want me to see the movie.

I had the same problem for years trying to see "His Kind of Woman".

David.
Back to top
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Sun Oct 18, 2020 5:40 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Krel, your tale of woe is plum supernatural! Shocked

Perhaps you should keep an eye on the TCM schedule and try to thwart the Dark Powers who want to prevent you from enjoying this movie.

If that doesn't work . . . I'd advise you to accept your fate and avoid this film, rather then risk the dire consequences!

Better safe than sorry, I always say. Sad

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Pow
Galactic Ambassador


Joined: 27 Sep 2014
Posts: 3400
Location: New York

PostPosted: Thu Oct 14, 2021 11:09 am    Post subject: Reply with quote

Associate Producer Charles Brackett met with Alfred Hitchcock but Hitchcock was unable to work on the movie. Hitchcock did give Brackett some suggestions for the film.

Filming locales included Fort Bragg, California, San Francisco, and Phoenix, Arizona.

~ Funny, the movie never felt like it had such a diverse scope of shooting scenes in all these locations to me.

Although this was a Paramount Pictures movie, the exterior village scenes were shot on the M.G.M. back lot.

Some of the interior of the Windwood Manor, such as the main staircase and parlor, were re-dressed sets from the movie I Married a Witch (1942).

Filming proved difficult with lead Gail Russell for director Lewis Allen. Gail had intense, crippling stage fright. She would only be able to do five or six lines before she would burst into tears. Ray Milland would gently take Gail aside & continuously practice her lines with her in order to help her and calm her down.

Donald Crisp did not like to work with non-professional actors, so he was displeased with having to perform with Gail.

The head of the make-up department suggested to Gail that she should drink in order to calm her nerves. Gail began to do this. Sadly she would descend into alcoholism and die at the age of 36 in 1961.

~ Gail was a fine actress. It's a shame she never developed the confidence in herself. She was a very shy and introverted person who originally wanted to be an artist. Ironic. given that Stella's father in this movie was an artist.

~ The movie drew some criticism for its lesbian undertones regarding Miss. Holloway and Mary Meredith.

~ In the 1940's! I'll bet it did, I'm stunned it got past the censors, or they plain missed it entirely.

The song Stella By Starlight was written specifically for the movie.

Paramount added the special effects for the ghostly apparitions in the movie at the last minute. The studio wanted to emphasize the supernatural premise of the film.

Director Lewis Allen had wanted the ghosts to remain off screen entirely because he wanted to leave the supernatural elements up to the imaginations of the audience.

~ A rare instance where the studio had the better idea than the director. Doesn't happen often in Hollywood but it does come up now and then. Ya know, like winning a lottery.

The specter special effects for the movie were removed by censors in England when the movie was released there.

In 2009, acclaimed director Martin Scorsese placed The Uninvited on his list of 11 scariest films of all time.

The Uninvited was among the first Hollywood feature films to portray a haunting as an authentic and serious supernatural event.

Previously ghosts had often been played for comedy or as practical jokes. Sometimes they were revealed to be subterfuge by living people in order to obscure illegal activities.

The movie cost $1.5 million dollars and took 40 to 48 days to shoot. Most prestige movies require three months to film.

By setting this 1944 produced film in 1937 the filmmakers were relieved from having to refer to anything regarding World War II.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Bud Brewster
Galactic Fleet Admiral (site admin)


Joined: 14 Dec 2013
Posts: 17016
Location: North Carolina

PostPosted: Tue Mar 29, 2022 4:56 pm    Post subject: Reply with quote

________________________________

Pow and I watched this movie as an All Sci-Fi Live Chat today (at his request) and I absolutely loved it . . . again.

_________________
____________
Is there no man on Earth who has the wisdom and innocence of a child?
~ The Space Children (1958)
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message
Display posts from previous:   
Post new topic   Reply to topic    ALL SCI-FI Forum Index -> Movies in Other Genres All times are GMT - 5 Hours
Page 1 of 1

 
Jump to:  
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum


Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2005 phpBB Group