“Whose hand was I holding?!”
-Nell Vance
Directed by: Robert Wise
Starring: Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, Russ Tamblyn
Trailer/Video: Trust me, the movie is better than the trailer makes it look.
The premise: Dr. John Markway, a scientist studying the paranormal, recruits four people to investigate a presumably haunted house.
My Familiarity With the Movie: Found it on a website’s list of “scariest movies” a few years back.
Random thoughts as I watch it:
- Right out of the gate are some spooky moments, like Abby’s father forcing his daughter to look at her mother’s corpse, the expression on the second Mrs. Crain’s face after she dies, and the circumstances behind Abby’s own death.
- Dr. Markway looks kinda like a Silver Age-era Tony Stark.
- CUTIE ALERT: Elanor Lance.
- I was kinda surprised that Luke didn’t make a joke confusing ESP with ESPN, then I remembered that this was released in 1963.
- The banging noise is certainly creepy.
- Theo seems to have a bit of crush on Nell.
- And now we have Nell’s backstory. And she’s got a crush on Dr. Markway.
- THEN WHO WAS HAND
- Oh, dang. There’s a Mrs. Dr. Markway.
- Heh. The house has style, and now it has Grace.
- Ah, what a tragic finale.
- Kinda makes you wonder if the house actually IS haunted, or if it was all in their heads.
- ...or maybe it was both?
The Good:
- The characters, hands down. All four are charming and likable in their own ways: the enthusiastic and compassionate Dr. John Markway, the emotionally-fragile loner Nell Lance, the playful lesbian psychic Theo, and the greedy, easygoing skeptic, Luke. I loved them and their interactions so much that I kinda wish this was a series so I could spend more time with them.
- On that note, each character seems to subvert any expectations the audience might have of them. Nell may have emotional issues, but is still strong with her attempts to work through them. Markway is kind and understanding to the point where one expects there to be an ulterior motive...but there’s not. He’s honest. Theo might be one of the first examples in mainstream cinema of a lesbian character being portrayed as feminine and playful, instead of jealous or predatory. Luke seems like a lecherous, selfish punk at first, but it’s soon apparent that he’s not that bad.
- The “less-is-more” approach to the scares. No actual spirits are seen, but through eerie sounds, mysterious writings, doors opening and closing (and breathing!) on their own, and the characters’ own emotional hangups, all contribute to a tense, suspenseful, subtle atmosphere of fear.
- Great camera work and set designs, with lots of memorable shots, and the house itself is arguably the best character in the flick!
The Bad:
- That said, it’s a bit slow-going. Though, that’s kind of essential for something as good at building suspense like this, so I don’t mark it down too much for it.
- The character of Grace. She feels shoehorned in at the last minute in order to create yet another emotional issue for Nell, and to push the plot along for the climax, and thus she doesn’t get much development, and what we do see of her personality isn’t exactly endearing.
Best Scare: Probably the second round of the pounding noises.
What Did We Learn Today? Don’t play poker with a psychic.You will lose.
Recommended? Absolutely. Definitely one of my favorites now.
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