As this Halloween Horrors entry was written by me, I see no real reason to write an intro for myself. Well, other than what you are reading right now. Hopefully, you know who I am by now.

The Uninvited is a 1944 supernatural-themed film produced by Paramount Pictures and released on February 10th, 1944. The first feature film from director Lewis Allen, The Uninvited features an exceptional cast, including previous Oscar nominee Ruth Hussey (1940’s The Philadelphia Story), future starlet Gail Russell (who would appear in The Unseen, another haunted house film, in 1945), Alan Napier (“Commissioner Gordon” on TV’s Batman), and future Oscar-winner (for 1946’s The Lost Weekend) Ray Milland. Milland, in particular, should be well known by many older horror film fans from his multiple turns later in his career as a curmudgeonly old bastard in films such as The Thing with Two Heads, The Attic, and (Fourth of July standard) Frogs. Hell, he was even the “bad guy” in Escape to Witch Mountain.

As the film opens, we are introduced to Rick and Pamela Fitzgerald (Milland and Hussey, respectively), a brother and sister on holiday in Cornwall. While out for a walk one afternoon, they come across a seemingly abandoned house set high on a cliff, overlooking the ocean below. Almost mansion-like in size and elegance, the house is still in excellent condition and the siblings quickly become enamored with the place, so much so that Pamela convinces her brother that they should buy the home and that he should quit his job as newspaper music critic and become a full-time composer himself.

The Fitzgeralds learn that the home belongs to a Commander Beech, portrayed by yet another Oscar winner, Donald Crisp (1942’s How Green Was My Valley). They visit the man at his home, but are first met by the Commander’s granddaughter, Stella (Russell). Upon stating their intentions, Stella attempts to dissuade them from purchasing the home as it once belonged to her parents and was the place where Stella’s mother, Mary, fell to her death many years prior. However, the Commander soon appears and seems to be more than eager to part with the place, and for a miniscule sum as well. He does admit that the house is not the easiest to part with as most of the locals believe the place to be haunted, but assures the siblings that these stories are just baseless rumors.

Rick and Pamela move into their new home and soon begin to experience bizarre phenomena, such as their dog’s aversion to the home, disembodied moans that can be heard just before dawn, or a room that features an inexplicable coldness to it. Smitten with the young woman, Rick invites Stella to the house, referred to as Windward House, against her grandfather’s wishes. This only seems to escalate the strange phenomena at Windward House, with Stella first sensing a presence in the home that she believes to be her mother’s ghost, before falling into a trance-like state and almost running straight off the edge of the cliff before Rick is able to stop her.

Rick is determined to find out just what truly happened in Windward House years prior, and why this supernatural force would want to harm Stella. Of course, this leads to most parties involved learning that the rumors and stories of how Stella’s mother died may not be exactly accurate. Well, of course they aren’t. Even classic haunted house tales need a good twist.

Now, while The Uninvited was a box-office success for Paramount, pulling in more money than Universal Studios’ House of Frankenstein and The Invisible Man’s Revenge (both also released in 1944), and the film is now considered one of the true classics of the era, I personally hesitate to call the film “horror” as there just isn’t much that I consider “scary” or “chilling”. A little eerie? Sure! A suspenseful mystery? Definitely! However, The Uninvited is just a much a love story, which is something that more than likely wouldn’t interest many modern horror fans as the only “mush” we generally care to see in our horror films of today is someone’s guts spilling out. Then again, maybe it’s closer to the truth to call this a “lust” story as our two love interests barely know each other and have only recently met.

Despite claims from some reviewers of the era, The Uninvited also features a fair dose of comedic relief, mostly in the form of the Fitzgerald’s housekeeper, Lizzie (Barbara Everest, who appeared in another 1944 thriller, Gaslight), who generally breaks into hysterics at just the thought of supernatural happenings taking place within the house. Milland’s “Rick” also tends to be a rather exuberant and charismatic fellow, a far cry from roles such as “Jason Crockett” in the aforementioned Frogs, which also adds a touch of levity to the proceedings.

Ultimately, The Uninvited‘s surprise revelation in its final act isn’t all that surprising. What was surprising, at least for the era, is that unlike many supernaturally themed films of the era, The Uninvited doesn’t attempt to explain away its paranormal elements with causes grounded in the physical world. There is no “Scooby Doo” ending where the forces at play are revealed to be some associate of the main character’s with ulterior motives or a grudge to bear. The Uninvited actually gives its audience a legitimate ghost. Possibly two.

Screenshot

Again, it may be a “hard sell” recommending The Uninvited to many modernized horror fans, but those who appreciate the older eras of horror cinema should definitely give this film a watch… and probably already have. In this day and age, you’d be hard pressed to find a ghost story or haunted house film that isn’t saturated in cheap jump scares or over reliant on visual effects. Make no mistake, The Uninvited does feature its share of visual effects as well, with its spectral presence manifesting itself as a fog-like mass that slowly takes on the outline of a woman. Although the effect is fairly simplistic, it’s still highly effective 80 years after the film’s release. Sometimes in stories such as these, a subtler approach is the more appropriate one.

In closing, I thank you for taking the time to read not only my retrospective on this supernatural classic, but all of the entries that have been posted during this year’s Halloween Horrors series. I sincerely wish you all the happiest of Halloweens and look forward to doing this all over again next year. Until then… Stay Spooky!