An old house, which has a terrible story behind it. Is taken over by an elderly couple, and the spirit of a murdered girl possesses the mistress's young companion from time to time. But it takes awhile for the occupants of the house to pick up on it, as they think that the strange happenings are caused by their staff and don't think too much of it. That's until they learn more about the tragic history of the house and come to accept that they share the estate with a depressed spirit.
RKO studios turn out a nicely made ghost story, which holds a certain amount of charm, and on show is a beautifully elegant production. Although saying that, it not terribly thick in depth. A lot of things are totally glazed over, with certain plot details being pushed aside or briskly concluded. Meaning it does lack tension in parts and the mystery of the house does get rather bogged down to be totally effective. It leans more towards drama/mystery and adds a romance story, than really showing anything horrifying or drumming up suspense. Although there's one scene that stands out from the rest towards the end
it's a neat twist to end it off with. But nonetheless it's a family drama with light touches of horror, where the awkward love sub-plot seems to make the ghost story play second fiddle to it. Which is too bad, as there's a mystery around every turn with the strange occurrences building up slowly from our mysterious ghost. I just wished it shared a bit more focus on it.
Overall, it's a polished effort with the house being the centrepiece, (sometimes you could easily tell it was small model) and the disquieting nature of the building fills the atmosphere. There's no real score other than for the thriving one in the intro and ending credits. Well, you got one of your characters playing the piano in the film. But I thought it benefited from not having one run throughout the film. The photography was rather outstanding, especially the moving angles throughout the house.
Bernard Knowles directs a simple, but yet slightly engrossing picture that has a solid plot (if rather slow going), with a tight script and exceptional performances from the likes of James Mason and Barbara Mullen.
