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The Innocents

Deborah Kerr (Actor), Peter Wyngarde (Actor), Jack Clayton (Director) Rated:

Unrated

Format: DVD

873 ratings

IMDb7.8/10.0

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Format	Widescreen, NTSC, Anamorphic
Contributor	Michael Redgrave, Martin Stephens, Peter Wyngarde, William Archibald, Clytie Jessop, Truman Capote, Isla Cameron, Eric Woodburn, Jack Clayton, Pamela Franklin, Megs Jenkins, Deborah Kerr, Henry James, John Mortimer See more
Language	English
Runtime	1 hour and 40 minutes

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Product Description

Deborah Kerr stars in this "horrifying Gothic ghost tale" (Newsweek) based on Henry James' "The Turn Of The Screw,' a powerful psychological drama about innocence possessed by evil. Shortly after coming to live with orphans Flora and Miles in their dark, eerie mansion, the new governess (Kerr) mistakes their strange behavior for preciousness. But she soon comes to believe that the charming, beautiful children are possessed by evil, malicious spirits - the souls of their previous governess and estate manager who are now dead. With its shocking conclusion and sinister cinematic effects. The Innocents "catches an eerie, spine-chilling mood right from the start" (Variety) that never lets up.

Product details

Aspect Ratio ‏ : ‎ 2.35:1
Is Discontinued By Manufacturer ‏ : ‎ No
MPAA rating ‏ : ‎ Unrated (Not Rated)
Product Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 0.7 x 7.5 x 5.4 inches; 0.01 Ounces
Item model number ‏ : ‎ FOXS2230296DVD
Director ‏ : ‎ Jack Clayton
Media Format ‏ : ‎ Widescreen, NTSC, Anamorphic
Run time ‏ : ‎ 1 hour and 40 minutes
Release date ‏ : ‎ September 6, 2005
Actors ‏ : ‎ Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Jenkins, Michael Redgrave, Martin Stephens
Dubbed: ‏ : ‎ Spanish
Subtitles: ‏ : ‎ English, Spanish
Language ‏ : ‎ Spanish (Dolby Digital 1.0), English (Dolby Digital 2.0 Stereo), Unqualified
Studio ‏ : ‎ 20th Century Fox
ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0009X75EC
Writers ‏ : ‎ Henry James, John Mortimer, Truman Capote, William Archibald
Number of discs ‏ : ‎ 1

Best Sellers Rank: #54,601 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
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materialgirl8707

The most infinitely spine chilling and frightening film ever made in the history of cinema.

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on July 24, 2015

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One of the most frightening films I have ever seen in my life and one of the most if not the most frightening movies ever made in the history of cinema. This movie makes Psycho look like Bambi!!!!!!! It is infinitely extremely spooky, creepy, terrifying, and frightening to Kingdom Come. The beginning credits will already frighten you to death; will already send chills behind your spine with the hauntingly and ghostly voice of that creepy little girl singing "Oh Willow I Die" and especially the picture is just pitch black and then you see a creepy candle flickering. If you think The Haunting (1963) is the scariest movie of all time--wait till you see this one. The Innocents is about a governess played by Deborah Kerr who takes care of two orphaned children; Flora and Miles. They only pretend to be "The Innocents"!!!! They seem like very sweet and fun children but don't let that deceive you. They are possessed by evil spirits or ghosts of their late governess and her lover. At first Deborah or Miss Giddens doesn't find anything wrong with them and befriends the nice old maid Mrs. Gross and both just watch the children play in the beautiful garden of their creepy English mansion. When Deborah Kerr or Miss Giddens first arrives at Bly Mansion; she already encounters a spook; she wanted to walk through the beautiful lake and rose garden and as she was walking by the lake, she hears a haunting and ghostly voice softly callling "Flora, Flora..." (just gives me chills and goosebumps remembering that voice) then Ms. Giddens finds Flora looking at her reflection on the lake. Flora sweetly and cheerfully greets Ms. Giddens and takes or pretends to take an instant liking to her. Flora and Ms. Giddens go into the house to meet their maid Mrs. Gross and Anna and their butler. Ms. Giddens and Mrs. Gross have fun playing with Flora and decide that it is time for her bath. The two women bathe her together and all three of them are having fun but suddenly Flora blurts out that Miles is coming home soon and Mrs. Gross says "Don't be silly child. Miles is away at school." Miles is away at boarding school. That night as Ms. Giddens was falling asleep the windows frighteningly just burst open and the candle burned out which scared the daylights out of her.So anyway, Flora, Ms. Giddens, and Mrs. Gross are having tea in the terrace and Ms. Giddens is looking at the mail; then suddenly she has a look of terror in her face and becomes pale as if she's seen a ghost; (even though the movie is black and white you know she turns pale with fright). Anyway, she asked Flora about that thing about Miles coming home soon the night before; and Flora nonchalantly says yes, he's coming home. The letter said that Miles was expelled due to strange behavior; that he injured a lot of his classmates. Things get infinitely darker from that point. The next day they pick up miles at the train station and he seems like a nice boy so Ms. Giddens just shuts her mouth about the matter of him being expelled and just plays along with him and Flora and is charmed by his sweetness and flattery. But that night; as Miles was in bed; she confronted him gently and sweetly about his being expelled and Ms. Giddens begged him to behave better and not do those awful things again. A tear streamed down his face and Ms. Giddens wiped it tenderly and motherly and begged him to TRUST her and all of a sudden the windows burst open again and the candle light flickered out. And he creepily and chillingly says "It's just the wind my dear. it's just the wind." Creepy!!!!!!!!!!!! The next night things got infinitely more frightening as Ms. Giddens and the children were playing hide and seek before bedtime. (It was their trick for her to encounter the two apparitions) So she joyfully plays along and roams through those dark, practically pitch black spooky hallways of that creepy English mansion with only an oil lamp (this is set in 19th century England--no electricity yet) and suddenly Ms Giddens comes across a ghostly woman at the end of the hallway just wondering aimlessly and Ms. Giddens thinks that it is just Anna but looks to the direction that woman walked to and discovered it was just a wall and couldn't find a trace of that woman anymore. She was infinitely terrified and yelled at those children to come out from hiding and she comes to the attic and finds the music box of the dead governess and in it a picture of her lover and the tune is "Oh Willow I Die". She was buried under the willow tree in the garden of the estate. Then the attic door slowyly creaks open and Ms.Giddens sees a hand and almost faints with fright and sees that it is only Miles then he laughs wickedly and hugs her so tightly as if he were about to stangle her and demands that he let her go and yells at him that he is hurting her. She then sees the ghost of the late governess' dead lover standing on the terrace and looking at her with cold eyes and a terrifying look. She screams to Mrs. Gross and exclaims to her that she saw the ghost but she does not believe her. Then the next night Miles and his sister walk creepily down the stairs in fancy clothes with an oil lamp and Miles reads this chillingly macabre poem about the dead. Mrs. Gross finally tells Ms. Giddens that the lover died one wintry night as he was coming home because he walked up the icy slippery stairs and fell and cracked his skull and died instantly and Miles found him with the deceased man's eye's open. From then on, Miles has been possessed by the dead lover's evil spirit. Mrs Gross then tells Ms. Giddens that shortly after his death; the late governess just sank into utter infinite misery and deep depression and killed herself one day by drowning herself in the lake of the estate. That Sunday as the four of them were about to enter the church for Sunday service; Flora goes to the graveyard in the back of the church and Ms. Giddens hides herself and quietly observes her and once Flora entered the church; Ms. Giddens ran to the grave that Flora visited and it said the dead governess' name. The next day is the most frightening point of the movie. Flora is dancing in the gazebo beside the lake and Ms. Giddens is disturbed of why she has that creepy music box with that creepy song "Oh Willow I Die" she demands that Flora tell her where she got it but Flora screams and screams and cries "Leave me alone!!!!! Leave me Alone!!!!!!!!!!! I HATE YOU!!!!!!!! I HATE YOU!!!!!!!!!" Then the sky suddenly turns black and scary thunder emits; and it rains terribly hard and all of a sudden Ms. Giddens with an infinite look of terror on her face and eyeslooks across the lake and sees the infinitely frightening apparition of the late governess; all dressed in black and just horrifyingly staring at Ms. Gidddens!!!!!!!! Ms. Giddens decides that it would be best to tell their uncle about the strange frightening things going on in the estate. Before she leaves, she goes to the library of the mansion to get some books to read for the train ride to London and another frightening moment happens; as she chooses three books to take with her she hears a book drop but knows she didn't drop anything and especially that no one is in the library but herself and she suddenly has a look of terror on her face and eyes again she slowly turns her head and sees the ghost of the dead governess dressed in all black again sitting in the main desk of the library. Ms. Giddens decides to finally and bravely confront the ghost and walks slowly to her but with her heart beating with terror. But the ghost disappears as Ms. Giddens gets next to her. She decides to not go at all to London but just write to the Uncle. Then she orders that everyone except Miles leave the house because she wants to privately spend time with him and finally rid him of the evil demons. Miles destroys the letter of Miss Giddens to the uncle. She becomes angry at Miles for doing that. That night when everyone was gone except for only Ms. Giddens and Miles now, she confronts him and asks him to tell the truth of why he has been behaving so evilly and then he runs and to the creepy statue garden and they see the ghost of the dead lover. Then Ms. Giddens screams and Miles says i'm sorry to her and tells her that he loves her but falls on his forehead and Ms. Giddens says to him you are finally free my darling I love you too but then finds out that he's dead with his eyes open just like the dead lover. WARNING: DO NOT WATCH THIS MOVIE ALONE, ESPECIALLY WITH THE LIGHTS OFF!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Infinitely spine chilling; spooky, creepy, macabre, frightening, terrifying, and horrifying. If you love or at least think that my synopsis of this movie is frightening and terrifying, wait till you actually watch it yourself and see my frightening synopsis come to life. This movie infinitely scared me to death; I couldn't even sleep that night after I watched this because I was looking around all over my bedroom if there were any dead apparitions staring at me of people I know who have died. I was so infinitely frightened that I slept with the lights on that night and the T.V. on with a bunch of comedies on. I always thought that The Haunting was the most frightening movie ever made but not anymore when I watched The Innocents. The Haunting is #2 now in my book for the most frightening films; what would have made it tie with for #1 with The Innocents is if they could have had an apparition of Abigail Crane standing in front of the nursery door. The Innocents: The most frightening film ever made in the history of cinema. Oh!!!!!!, this is definitely a great movie for Halloween night!!!!!!!!!!

10 people found this helpful

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cookieman108

"Truth is very seldom understood by any but imaginative persons..."

Reviewed in the United States 🇺🇸 on October 23, 2006

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Produced and directed by Jack Clayton (Room at the Top, The Great Gatsby), The Innocents (1961), based on the short story "The Turn of the Screw" by Henry James, was adapted for the screen by William Archibald (I Confess), Truman Capote (Breakfast at Tiffany's, In Cold Blood), and John Mortimer ("Rumpole of the Bailey") and photographed by Freddie Francis (The Elephant Man, Dune). Starring in the film is Deborah Kerr (From Here to Eternity, The King and I, An Affair to Remember), the only actress, to date, to have been nominated for six Academy Awards and never to have won (she received an honorary Oscar for her achievements in 1994). Also appearing is Megs Jenkins (Oliver!), Martin Stephens (Village of the Damned), Michael Redgrave (The Lady Vanishes), Peter Wyngarde (Night of the Eagle), and Pamela Franklin (The Legend of Hell House, The Food of the Gods), in her silver screen debut.

As the film begins we meet a middle-aged woman named Miss Giddens (Kerr), who's in the process of interviewing for a position as governess for two, young orphaned children left in the charge of their rather well to do uncle (Michael Redgrave). Seems the man, a somewhat dedicated bachelor, has neither the time nor desire to look after the children, so he's looking for someone he can give complete authority of the children to, removing himself as far from the burden as possible. Miss Giddens accepts the position and soon finds herself whisked away to a large, lonely country estate in the English countryside, populated by a handful of servants including Mrs. Grose (Jenkins) and the man's niece Flora (Franklin)...turns out the nephew Miles (Stephens), is currently away at boarding school. After Miss Giddens settles in, she learns Miles is coming home after having been dismissed (i.e. expelled) from school under curious circumstances, but after finally meeting him, he, or his sister for that matter, seem hardly the type to cause any trouble. As time goes by one can't help notice a subtle weirdness in the children given the fact they're constantly whispering to each other and they, especially Miles, seem to speak and act beyond their years. As the strangeness persists, Miss Giddens begins asking questions about the previous governess, a woman named Miss Jessel, and learns of an `improper' relationship Miss Jessel had with a valet named Quint (who was described as being handsome and obscene), both of whom were close to the children and both of whom died under mysterious circumstances. She also learns Quint, an abusive sort, had complete control over the estate while his master was away, and often abused his authority in various ways (no one seemed all that broken up when Quint was found dead, except for Miss Jessel). Anyway, Miss Giddens soon comes to believe the children, given their close relationship to Miss Jessel and Quint, have become corrupted in someway, and their increasingly odd actions not necessarily their own...

As far as gothic ghost stories, The Innocents is one heck of a humdinger. If you're looking for atmosphere, this film has it in spades...a huge, lonely Victorian house complete with creaking doors, clattering windows, squeaking floorboards, flickering candlelight, ethereal voices wafting in on the wind, shadowy corners, and so much more. From the moment we first enter the house there's a persuasive sense of creepiness, one that continues to grow as the story goes on...throw in a couple of spooky children and the occasional apparition and you've got most everything you need for a frightful cinematic experience, the kind rarely enjoyed in this day and age given the heavy reliance on computer generated effects. There are a number of aspects about this feature I thought immaculate, including the performances, the direction, the photography, eerie music, and the writing. I thought both Deborah Kerr and Martin Stephens (who played Miles) did a wonderful job. I really appreciated Kerr's character in that she was fleshed out enough for us to understand why she didn't get while the getting good. In another film we, the audience, might find it questionable why a character wouldn't remove herself from a situation she thought fraught with peril but here it's clear Kerr's character's motivation, along with her belief that the children aren't to blame for their situation or held accountable for some of their wicked behavior. Both the children came off as spooky, but Miles more so as his manipulations and deceitful ways were less obvious (and more sinister). I think what bothered me the most about his character was the way he'd talk to Miss Giddens. His tone felt a little condescending at times, as if it was all some sort of game, one that he was orchestrating, his sister more or less a pawn following his lead. The story is actually pretty simple, but that doesn't make it any less frightening (there's no, cheap `pop out' scares here). The pacing may appear slow at times, but I found it appropriate to the creepy nature inherent within the material. As far as flaws apparent in the production I really couldn't find any, but then I wasn't really looking. I suppose someone could make the argument some aspects of the story weren't fully explained but I felt everything in the story, including the ambiguity, were intentional. The best ghost stories, in my opinion, often leave one feeling unsure, asking questions that may never be answered...and it's not like anything within the story came out of left field, as if it didn't belong. As far as endings go, this one featured a real doozy. All in all, if you're interested in a fantastic chiller reliant heavily on solid storytelling, strong performances, and excellent production values, The Innocents will definitely fit the bill.

I thought the picture, available in both widescreen anamorphic (2.35:1) and fullscreen (1.33:1), came across clean and clear, and the audio, available in Dolby Digital stereo in English and Dolby Digital mono in Spanish, came through well. There's not much in the way of extras except for subtitles in English and Spanish, a goofy theatrical trailer for the film, and trailers for The Cabinet of Caligari (1962), The Legend of Hell House (1973), and Phantom of the Paradise (1974).

Cookieman108

10 people found this helpful

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David Benson

First class restoration of a divisive classic

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on September 8, 2018

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I have loved this film ever since it scared the hell out of me when it was shown on our murky b/w telly early one evening in the early 1970s. I have shown it to many friends across the decades, in ever more clarity with each successive format. Sometimes I wonder if the old, fuzzy VHS copied-from-telly version wasn't the best, as it gave a haze of mystery and indistinctness to the images which now, in blu-ray clarity, are anything but ambiguous. To my great disappointment I now find that friends to whom I introduce the film tend not to 'get it'. They laugh at the acting and are not in the least bit chilled when Miss Jessel appears amongst the rushes on the edge of the lake, neither do they recoil in horror as the hideous form of Quint looms up at the window behind poor Deborah Kerr's shoulder. I have to watch the film on my own, through half-closed eyes to get the effect that terrified me as a teenager.

17 people found this helpful

Jonglier

Oops! Beware of the “classic” label: sometimes it just means “worthy”

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 12, 2020

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This is one of those legendary British “semi-supernatural” stories. Careful now: in that tradition, there are both (a) those endless Hammer horrors, with Freddie Francis — the DP on this film — teamed up with the great Peter Cushing. But then there is also (b) the psychological thriller, where to not-quite-real is supplied not by ghouls and ghosties but by the extremes of the psyche: hence The Servant, Dial M, etc etc. Type (a), whether Hammer or no, guarantees harmless fun, with or without the hoped-for shockers and scares; type (b) is trickier to pull off, requiring well-rounded, yet preferably deranged characters doing scary things to each other and themselves.

Alas, The Innocents falls between two schools. Hammer's creakings, smashes and stabbings require careful timing and editing to permit them to sneak up on the scared-stiff audience (or to amuse them, if the shoot is the more camp kind of Hammer); (b), the character-horror, on the other hand, requires far, far more than poor Deborah Kerr can deliver in terms of subtlety and variety in the performance.

Indeed, if there is a single factor killing any sense of suspense, never mind horror, in this film, it is the dreadful woodenness of Kerr. Her “fear” is a frozen-in-stone face, often offered where no fear needs to be conveyed... She... no, it would be cruel to go on, she simply can't cut it here.

A bright spot is a profoundly sinister 7-year-old played by the brilliant Martin Stephens, who mysteriously vanished from the screen after a career as the most popular child actor in Britain. But even his turn is spoiled by an inept script: a hint of both incest and paedophilia (more than a hint, in one shocking clinch near the end) delivers a prurient punch without in any way advancing or explaining the narrative. It is not often that this reviewer raises moral objections, but what the child had to do — and audiences endure — to deliver some absurd non-sequitur about adults reincarnated as children, simply wasn't worth it.

2 people found this helpful

Mancuimum

Spooky

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on April 8, 2017

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This film is a classic black and white ghost story. Deborah Kerr stars as a governess to two young children, she gradually starts to believe that the children are being possessed by their uncle's valet and the former governess. This film didn't get much credit when it was released but many critics have come to realize that it's a brilliant spooky film and Deborah Kerr gives the performance of her career. DVD includes a commentary, filmed introduction, a short story, original U.S. trailer, gallery of production stills and costumes (all under extras) subtitles and a 21 page fully illustrated booklet

7 people found this helpful

Numinous Ugo

Still Chilling After All These Years

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on November 24, 2008

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In my youth the BBC ran a strand of films on Saturday evening entitled The Saturday Thriller. First off was Psycho, which was the first time I'd seen that movie, then came The Innocents which had a much greater effect on me. I have seen the former many times since and it is obviously a classic but I have only just seen The Innocents again and I was stunned at how creepy it really is, especially as I see more in it now than I did as a child.

At the time I first saw this movie my grandmother was living in a lodge house next to a rather neglected large country house, in front of the house was an area of long grass that was reminiscent of the scene where the figure of the previous, dead, nanny had appeared in the reed bed next to the lake in the film. I still get goose pimples thinking about the first time I stood there and remembered a scene from the film and ran back to my gran's house in terror. I never talked to anyone about it at the time but just recently found that my sister had had the same experience, scary indeed.

When I watched it again recently I was amazed at how powerful it is and only in a couple of places did the dramatic music and the histrionics snap me out of my suspended disbelief, this is a true classic of the genre but it is not comfortable viewing, leaving the audience unnerved for some time afterwards. I had over 40 years between viewings and I still remembered how creepy it was first time round.

56 people found this helpful

Spike Owen

Oh willow I die, oh willow I die.....

Reviewed in the United Kingdom 🇬🇧 on October 13, 2011

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Based on Henry James' novel, The Turn Of The Screw, The Innocents is a thoroughly absorbing chiller that pot boils with almost unbearably knowing glee as to what it's doing to the viewer. Deborah Kerr stars as Miss Giddens, the lady hired by Michael Redgrave to act as governess to his young niece and nephew. We find ourselves in Victorian England, out on some country estate at Bly Mansion, where the children are angelic and enchanting in equal measure. Yet there's an eeriness hanging over this place and it starts to seemingly play tricks on Miss Giddens' mind, she thinks she sees and hears things. It's only when she talks to housekeeper Mrs Grose (Megs Jenkins), that she starts to piece things together, but worryingly it's the children that appear to be at the root of the problems. Aren't they?

Kerr is fabulous here, carrying an elegant gait around with her, she does a fine line in borderline hysteria caused by something unknown bubbling away under the surface. Filmed on location at Sheffield Park and Gardens, and the Bluebell Railway in East Sussex, this lovely Gothic chiller does justice to its literate source. Being co-scripted by Truman Capote, William Archibald and John Mortimer, that's really not much of a surprise in truth though is it?! Choosing to play on the viewers imagination more than pandering to shocks, director Jack Clayton superbly creates a sort of itchy like sense of dread. He's fully aware that here in and around the Gothic abode, it's more often than not what you don't see - or think you see - that is more frightening.

Ace cinematographer Freddie Francis does a marvellous job with the photography, with deep focus and shadows the order of the day, and with Clayton sharp cutting and dallying with angles; and Georges Auric's sinister music floating around the estate like some spectral peeping tom, the atmosphere created is akin to claustrophobic foreboding. In many ways it's actually an uncomfortable watch, but for all the right reasons, the themes that rumble away are grim in texture, the question of malevolent evil or otherwise is a constant, and fittingly the finale offers up a shocking denouement that is nigh on impossible to shake off. With great performances from the child actors (Pamela Franklin/Martin Stephens) sealing the deal, The Innocents is one of the smartest and most effective chillers to ever have come out of Britain. 9/10

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