The other day I sat down and watched:
The Innocents (1961).
This classic movie, based on Gothic horror novella The Turn of the Screw (1898) By Henry James, was directed and produced by Jack Clayton with the screenplay written by Truman Capote.
We meet Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) as she is being interviewed for the job of governess. Her prospective employer known only as The Uncle (Michael Redgrave) is an incredibly rich man who has had his niece Flora, and nephew Miles, dumped on him due to the death of the children's parents. He is however completely uninterested in them, preferring to travel and do business. He does however have a sense of responsibility, and so houses the kids in his enormous country estate, Bly. He hired a governess to take care of them, but she died a year ago, and now he needs a new one. Enter Miss Giddens, who is told that she is completely in charge of children and household. The Uncle wishes to remain completely undisturbed. No contact whatsoever.
Miss Giddens travels to Bly and meets the niece, Flora, a charming but slightly weird young girl. There is also the kind and caring housekeeper Mrs. Grose as well as a few other staff members, but we rarely ever see them.
Flora seems to have a way of knowing things she couldn't possibly know, including the fact that her brother Miles who is away at boarding school will soon be returning home, and she is correct. Miles is equally charming, but has a strangely intense and adult way about him.
Miss Giddens soon sees two dark figures, a woman in black and mysterious handsome man. No one else seems to be able to see them, and the reason is, they are dead. The woman is Miss Jessel (Clytie Jessop), the previous governess and the man is the Uncle's former valet, Peter Quint (Peter Wyngarde). Quint used to be in charge of the household, until he was found dead one winter evening.
Miss Giddens learns that not only did Miss Jessel have a very unhealthy relationship with Quint, the children were devoted to them and may have witnessed things children really shouldn't see. Miss Giddens sets out to save the children from the wicked ghosts however she can. If they are real...
The Innocents is filmed in black and white, and fun fact, in order to deepen the shadows and get the necessary atmosphere, the set was lit so brightly at times that Kerr sometimes wore sunglasses between scenes. This also happened during the shooting of The Lighthouse (2019) for exactly the same reason.
The central theme of the movie is the ambiguity of the ghosts. Either they are real and influencing the children, or they aren't and it is all in Miss Gidden's head. That at least was the intent, but I think they leaned too hard on the ghosts being real, and the mystery fails a little bit. Granted this was 1961 and the filmmakers were constrained in what they could do and show, but apparently Miss Gidden's own repressed sexuality should be the cause of her own potential delusions, and to be honest I saw none of that. The Innocent's comes across as a straight ghost story.
So, do I recommend this movie? Absolutely. Despite the lack of intended ambiguity it is a great movie. Creepy more than scary, particularly today, it is a really good Gothic story. All the actors are great, with a special shout-out to the child actors, who did their job extremely well. Deborah Kerr is great, juggling caring kindness with desperate paranoia in a truly professional manner. All in all a good film, even if it isn't all that scary anymore. Well worth watching.
That's that and all that. Join me again next time and until then, have a great week!
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