The Uninvited | |
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Directed by | Lewis Allen |
Produced by | Charles Brackett |
Screenplay by |
Frank Partos Dodie Smith |
Based on |
Uneasy Freehold by Dorothy Macardle |
Starring |
Ray Milland Gail Russell Ruth Hussey Donald Crisp Cornelia Otis Skinner |
Music by | Victor Young |
Cinematography | Charles B. Lang |
Edited by | Doane Harrison |
Production
company |
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Release date
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Running time
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99 min. |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
The Uninvited is a 1944 American supernatural mystery/romance directed by Lewis Allen in his feature film debut. It is based on the Dorothy Macardle novel Uneasy Freehold. The film stars Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, and Donald Crisp, and introduces Gail Russell.
Charles Lang was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Black and White Cinematography at the 17th Academy Awards.Edith Head designed the costumes.
In 1937, London music critic and composer Roderick "Rick" Fitzgerald (Ray Milland) and his sister Pamela (Ruth Hussey) fall in love with Windward House, an abandoned seaside house, during a holiday on Cornwall's rocky coast. They purchase it for an unusually low price from Commander Beech (Donald Crisp).
Rick and Pamela meet Beech’s 20-year-old granddaughter, Stella Meredith (Gail Russell), who lives with her grandfather in the nearby town of Biddlecombe. Stella is deeply upset by the sale because of her attachment to the house, despite its being where her mother died. The commander has forbidden Stella to enter the house or to see Rick. However, she gains access to Windward House through Rick, who has become infatuated with her.
The Fitzgeralds' initial enchantment with the house diminishes when they unlock an artist's studio where they feel an inexplicable chill. Just before dawn, Rick hears the eerie sobs of an unseen woman, a phenomenon that Pamela investigates whilst awaiting her brother's return with their Irish housekeeper, Lizzie Flynn (Barbara Everest). The superstitious Lizzie notices a peculiar draft on the stairs. Rick and Pamela must face the obvious: Windward House is haunted.