For the month of March, we decided to spend some time with the supernatural and enjoy some ghost stories. Join us for MACABRE MARCH!
RODNEY BOWCOCK: Suspicious doings are taking place at 10 Crescent Drive-- to say the least. Barney Fielding, a young boy, witnesses a murder take place from his bedroom window. In short order, Elizabeth Howard (Gail Russell), the new governess arrives. The circumstances surrounding the dismissal of the last governess and Barney’s strong devotion to the departee is curious and mysterious. On top of that, there are potentially mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of the children’s mother and a murder investigation. Oh wait, I also forgot about the widow next door, whose husband “The Commodore” had died many years ago and their house has been closed up. Needless to say, there is a lot going on here.
SAMANTHA GLASSER: Hagar Wilde started the script, but fell ill and Raymond Chandler finished it which gave it a noir touch. It could also explain some of the convoluted nature of the plot.
On the plus side, there are many elements that enhance the spooky atmosphere of the film. The houses are old and situated on cobblestoned streets near a narrow alley where a murder has occurred. Many of the scenes take place at night. There are children involved, one of which is unruly. The patriarch of the house is a man of few words and the circumstances of his wife’s death are fishy to some. The previous governess left with hard feelings, but the reason why isn’t disclosed. With a smaller budget and less attention to detail, the story could have been a routine programmer, but the atmosphere makes it spooky.
RB: There’s SO many wheels within wheels in this movie that it’s difficult to keep it all straight and explain what’s happening. While there are no clear signs of Raymond Chandler’s dialogue, one can definitely see signs of his complicated plotting. I haven’t read the story that the film was based upon (Midnight House by Ethel Lina White), but that’s how it seems to me.
SG: Gail Russell’s performance contributed a great deal to the feeling. In one scene she played fright so realistically, she pounded on a door so hard she broke her hand. Russell refuses a drink from McCrea’s character in the film, citing her abstinence from alcohol. The actress had no such restraint, and her addiction killed her by age 36. She turned to alcohol due to extreme nervousness at the recommendation of a makeup artist on set of one of her first films who saw her struggle. She had a lot of potential. According to Photoplay, only a few years prior to making The Unseen, she was discovered by talent agent William Meikeljohn when he picked up two hitchhikers, one being a classmate of Russell who recommended her for the movies.
RB: Russell is really great in this, by my estimation. That makes knowing about her tragic illness and death even more unsettling. She was a far better actress than she had given herself credit for, quickly moving from small roles in films like Henry Aldrich Gets Glamour to a breakout role in The Uninvited. Her promising career was thwarted as she was noted as a full blown alcoholic within a few years, although she did continue to work in a fairly steady manner in films of decreasing budgets into the 50’s.
SG: I was excited to see Norman Lloyd in the cast, but his part was a bit of a red herring and he sort of disappeared.
RB: Lloyd is always a welcome appearance, no matter how small the role although I tend to agree that this film is barely a footnote in a career of unparalleled length and quality.
SG: Movieland magazine called it, “a superb picture with a superlative cast.”
Film Bulletin reported, “Well directed by Lewis Allen, the picture boasts standout performances by two young newcomers, Richard Lyon, as a spoiled, sullen boy who aids the murderer, and Nona Griffith, a completely natural youngster who is appealing without ever resorting to cute mannerisms.”
Box Office Digest agreed: “The children carry important parts, unusually important to the psychological impact of the entire shudder, and their contributions are outstanding.” I was impressed with their performances as well. Griffith is charming and sweet and her character is written in a believable way. Lyon was the son of Bebe Daniels and Ben Lyon and subsequently had a longer career.
RB: Young Nona Griffith, whose IMDB credits only amount to two (the other film is 1946’s The Perfect Marriage) is by all accounts still with us. She was a natural actress in The Unseen, engaging and innocent, but as the Film Bulletin reviewer noted, never overly cute. Sometimes that can be grating in classic movies, but she handles things quite well. Richard Lyon handles his role well himself and while he had a few more film credits, both in the US and abroad, his larger success was arguably co-starring with his parents in the long running BBC light comedy radio series Life With the Lyons.
“You’re a nasty destructive little boy!” “Ellen!” “He is, Miss Liz. He’s killed all my passengers.”
SG: Herbert Marshall biographer Scott O’Brien said, “While the early portions of The Unseen succeed in creating atmosphere and suspense, the film lapses into a monotonous mix of chatter and shadows.”
The New York Post’s critic said, “The Unseen had better stay that way.”
Photoplay said, “Don’t tell us this is an attempt to duplicate The Uninvited (a really swell mystery). In the first place, the whole idea is garbled in the story construction and the direction doesn’t clear things up materially.”
RB: This is typically where I would interject with some reviews from the neighborhood exhibitors, but there’s not much to add here. Most everyone hated it. Melville Danner of the Kozy Theatre in Granite, OK heaped praise upon the film heralding it as a “pretty good picture of its kind.”
SG: I had no preconceptions that this film was meant to be a response to The Uninvited, so my reaction to it was much more positive than that of contemporary audiences. The beginning is certainly stronger than the ending, but it captured my interest entirely and the kids held it. I was guessing until the very end. Three stars.
RB: This film was generally difficult to see due to a few licensing complications including the use of a Popeye cartoon in a theater scene (Warner Brothers owns the rights to the Fleischer and Famous Popeye cartoons, which were released by Paramount at the time) and several shots of Disney characters in the bedrooms of the children. However, there’s currently a pretty good copy on YouTube (probably from a recent Imprint release in the UK). I found this to be an engaging though overly complicated spooky mystery film that exceeded my expectations. Like you, I see no real parallels to The Uninvited aside from a bit of casting, the same director and a similar title. That said, I thoroughly enjoyed it and with the right expectations I think many of our readers would as well. Three and a half stars from me.
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