Product Details

• Actors: Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, Donald Crisp, Cornelia Otis Skinner, Dorothy Stickney
• Directors: Lewis Allen
• Writers: Dodie Smith, Dorothy Macardle, Frank Partos
• Producers: Buddy G. DeSylva, Charles Brackett
• Format: Black & White, HiFi Sound, NTSC
• Language: English, Spanish
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 1
• Studio: MCA/Universal Home Video
• VHS Release Date: January 1, 1998
• Run Time: 99 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (124 customer reviews)
• ASIN: 6302503493
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #321 in Video (See Bestsellers in Video)

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Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

One of the spookiest ghost stories ever put to film, The Uninvited is also one of the few classic haunted-house movies to treat the subject with respect and seriousness. Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey play a brother and sister who leave the city to live in a beautiful old house dramatically perched on a cliff overlooking the Cornish coast. As they discover some of the house's peculiarities--the unexplained chill that settles in certain rooms, the aroma of mimosas that wafts through the house, flowers that wilt when brought inside--they are told by local girl Gail Russell that the house is haunted, by the spirit of Russell's mother no less. The rationalist city folk first scoff at the idea but as Milland slowly falls in love with the frightened girl he investigates the legends and discovers some startling hidden truths. Donald Crisp costars as Russell's humorless, hard-bitten grandfather who forbids her visits to the house. Handsomely shot against the beautiful Cornish countryside, director Lewis Allen wisely suggests more than he shows and the uneasy tone and quietly restrained direction looks forward to such films as The Haunting and The Legend of Hell House. Though Allen ultimately reveals a suitably spine-tingling apparition, some of the film's best moments are chilling in their simplicity: nocturnal moans, slamming doors, and the dog's whimpering fear of the upstairs. --Sean Axmaker

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

52 of 53 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Good Old Fashioned Ghost Story Effectively Told, December 31, 2001

By	Gary F. Taylor "GFT" (Biloxi, MS USA) - See all my reviews (TOP 50 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

Neatly playing light-hearted daytime fun against unsettling nighttime hauntings, THE UNINVITED is very much a traditional ghost story. When Ray Milland and sister Ruth Hussey buy a house on the Cornwall coast the purchase seems ideal--particularly as Milland is attracted to the seller's granddaughter, beautiful Gail Russell. But once settled in, Milland and Hussey soon find they are not quite alone in their new home.

The film is particularly notable for an "every day ordinary" style: there are no manipulative camera angles or unexpected editing tricks; there is no foreshadowing soundtrack; there are precious few special effects--and by refusing to use such time-honored elements, the story's ghostly elements seem all the more disturbing by comparison. The strong cast, which also includes Donald Crisp, Alan Napier, Cornelia Otis Skinner, is first rate and plays expertly, and Lewis Allen directs with restraint but never allows the pace to drag. THE UNINVITED is not a horror movie by any stretch of the imagination, and viewers who expect to rocked, jolted, shocked, and shuddered will probably be disappointed. But as a traditional ghost story with a mysterious and truly creepy plot it has more than a few chills, THE UNINVITED more than holds it own.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars YOU CAN ALMOST SMELL THE MIMOSA!, December 21, 1999

By	Jarrod Kirkland (CHERRYVALE, KANSAS) - See all my reviews

Based upon Dorothy Macardle's 1942 novel "Uneasy Freehold" THE UNINVITED is a wonderful and unique film which keeps the viewer mesmorized throughout. On the last day of their vacation in May, 1937, Rick and Pam Fitzgerald (brother and sister!) find an empty house on the seaside which they purchase for a ridiculously low price. Naturally, the place has "disturbances" in the form of two spectres,one of which just happens to be the daughter of the previous owner, Commander Beech (Donald Crisp).The other ghost is the spirit of Carmel Casada an artist's model. The commander's grand-daughter, Stella Merideth makes friends with the Fitzgeralds and she is ecstatic about visiting them in the childhood home she loves dearly. Gail Russell is luminous as the moonstruck Stella; this was her second film and her lack of acting experience is actually an advantage-her eerie lustre and shy, naive demeanor suit her role perfectly. There is a great sequence involving a seance, complete with Russell going into a trance (as a Spanish Gypsy) and the mysterious scent of mimosa which permeates the room. The very tall Dr.Scott is played by Alan Napier of BATMAN fame. The unsavory Miss Holloway is played to the hilt by Cornelia Otis Skinner (hers is a key role in the mystery) That's Angela Lansbury's mother Moyna MacGill in the tobacconists shop asking for a copy of "Amateur Gardening". The Cornish sets are done quite well and Windward House is a gothic beauty which I've always wanted to own myself! Ruth Hussey had to sleep with the lights on while making this movie! The voice of Mary Merideth was provided by Betty Farrington and Victor Young's "Stella by Starlight" is the lovely theme. Absolutely brimming with charm, this movie has ingenious atmospheric touches: the scent of parfum mimosa, a rose which wilts in the cold, dank studio, candles that burn dim and the classic scene where the French doors abruptly burst open. THE UNINVITED is chilling old-fashioned ghost story which takes itself seriously; there's no trick ending in this ingenious film. Highly Recommended.

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SUPERB GHOST STORY, December 8, 1999

By	Scott Barkley (Carmel,California) - See all my reviews

An usual and fascinating item, a ghost story which takes itself seriously. A "classy" film with considerable charm, "The Uninvited" is a ghost story with Freudian overtones which lingers in the mind long after one has seen it. During their fortnight vacation from their London flat, brother and sister Rick and Pamela Fitzgerald (excellently portrayed by Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey) buy an old Georgian house on the Cornish coast which is haunted by the spirits of two women. One of these ghosts is found to be Mary Merideth and the other a model who posed for Mary's artist husband Llewellyn, a Spanish gypsy girl named Carmel Casada. Gail Russell,in her best-known performance, luminously plays the ethereal Stella, and her strong performance is no small part of the effectiveness of the picture;her limpid eyes seem to conceal the mysteries of life and death. Stella believes it is the spirit of her mother who haunts Windward house (it was her Grandfather who sold the house to the Fitzgeralds for TWO THOUSAND POUNDS!) The strange happiness which steals over her in the house along with the mimosa scent awakes her intuitive recognition that "somebody loves me with all of her heart". Stella's faith is rewarded at the seance which Pamela arranges to be held at Windward; when the spirits are asked why they stay at the house, the reply is "I Guard". Carmel is there to prevent Mary from driving Stella into throwing herself off the cliff, something she tries to do twice in the film. There are many key scenes which are chilling, the most famous being when the French doors fly open at breakneck speed; the audience is totally unprepared for this start. Based on Dorothy Macardle's "Uneasy Freehold" this film is considered Hollywood's first attempt at filming a serious ghost story and it's still among the top 5 classics of the genre. Cornelia Otis Skinner is magnificently sinister as Miss Holloway and Donald Crisp is fine as Stella's over-protective Grandfather. That's Alan Napier (he played Alfred on "Batman" in the sixties) as Dr. Scott and Dorothy Stickney has a memorable cameo as Miss Bird (Stickney died at the age of 101 in 1998) Gail Russell was a tragic figure in real life (see was referred to as "Hollywood's Haunted Heroine". An insecure introvert, she developed a drinking problem and died at the age of 36 in 1961.The astonishingly beautiful Russell (she looks rather demure in this early role) was perfectly cast as Stella Merideth since her vulnerable personality and eerie lustre suited the role she was playing. Lizzie Flynn, the Irish housekeeper is amusingly played by Barbara Everest (notice in the scene where everyone holds candles at the foot of the stairs Everest looks straight into the camera for an instant.)The film's theme is the beautifully haunting "Stella by Starlight" It would be 20 years before Hollywood produced another dilly of a ghost story ("The Haunting") Highly Recommended!