Unpretentious and entertaining

A good ghost story with some interesting plot twists, this film is entertaining, if not genuinely frightening. Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey turn in solid performances as brother and sister who stumble upon a house in Cornwall, buy it, then discover that it is haunted. (The house, by the way, is gorgeous.) Milland is a composer who write musical criticsm to support himself; Hussey appears to be a lady of leisure.

Gail Russell is appropriately innocent, and sometimes a little weird, as Stella Meridith, a young woman in the neighborhood who has strong, potentially lethal connections to the house. As Commander Beech, her grandfather, Donald Crisp gives the most detailed characterization, a tyrant, but a loving grandfather who wants to protect his grandchild.

Cornelia Otis Skinner comes close to eating the scenery in her few scenes as Miss Holloway, a physotherapist quack on the verge of insanity. Her final scene has a little of the Norma Desmond in it, providing unintended humor at a most unwelcome point. Dorothy Stickney is absolutely delightful in her short walk-on as Miss Bird, one of the "guests" at the asylum. On her entrance, her slightly loopy expression and walk immediately establish her character -- a great character actor at work.

The score, which relies heavily on Stella by Starlight (supposedly composed by Milland's character who is a composer,) is excellent as are the ghostly sound effects. In in the ghostly sequences, the lighting is very effective -- full of shadows and movement but not obscuring bodies and faces when they are focal.

This is an unpretentious film that seems to have the sole purpose of entertaining, which is does admirably.

A REAL BEAUTY OF A CHILLER.

Tastefully acted, with witty lines and visually beautiful, this well-loved ghost story is a perennial classic among fans. Pam and Rick Fitzgerald are siblings who are spending their holiday on the coast of Cornwall, England. While walking along a seaside path, they come into view of a beautiful old Georgian house. Because their terrier (Bobby) has chased a squirrel through an opened window, the Fitzgerald's follow suit and find they are in awe of the small empty mansion after "checking it out". As if by fate, the siblings indeed purchase the seaside abode for a very low price...Donald Crisp is staid and very proper as Commander Beech and as his fragile, ethereally beautiful Granddaughter, Stella, Gail Russell gives a luminous portrayal: a classic performance which concerns a moonstruck girl being spiritually lured into a maze of dangerous "dark influences". I agree with James L. in that Cornelia Otis Skinner is a bit overripe in her portrayal of Miss Holloway (she acts as if she's the grande dame of the Theatre) but fortunately, she doesn't wreck the film in any way: She's nuts, after all, isn't she? Dorothy Stickney is amusing as the very odd Miss Bird and Barbara Everest lingers in the memory as that old tyrant, Lizzie Flynn, the Fitgerald's loyal housekeeper ("Saints preserve us"!). Moody, classy, charming and unforgettable, memorable moments in the film are many: the French door scene is startling in its unexpected abruptness, Lizzie exclaiming "Twas a mist, a mist of a woman"!!, Holy Holloway's mad scene, Rick eating an apple while listening to "My Silent Love" on the wireless - soon after which his bedroom door slams shut - the intensely enacted seance sequence, and the scene where Carmel Casada gets in her two cents worth by turning the pages of an old doctor's registry journal. The nightlight in the nursery and the scent of mimosa are symbolic of Stella's REAL mother... The THE UNINVITED is totally deserving of all the kudos given it by most all the previous reviewers. An astonishingly entertaining film, it benefits from many things. Obviously filmed on a Grade "A" budget by Paramount (in 1943; it was originally theatrically released in early 1944) the cinematography is genuinely excellent. The Victor Young music score is beautiful and appropriate: few melodies are as perpetually haunting as is the lovely, ethereal STELLA BY STARLIGHT. The Cornish village set is charming, but not too cutesy. For fans of films in the ghost genre, this is highly recommended as perhaps the epitome. Enjoy!

It will send chills down your spine

I don't normally like ghost stories as movies because all too often they turn out to be silly, obviously fake, or overly gory. The Uninvited, however, was a pleasant surprise. It has a lot of elegance and class, and instead of trying to scare you outright as other films do, it succeeds in establishing a chilling, uncanny atmosphere with great economy of means. Special effects are kept to a minimum, and this, along with strong performances from the cast, keeps things subtle enough to be believable.