If you don't like this, we can't be friends.

Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

The tone of this movie is interesting -- the stakes are both dramatic and high, but it's balanced with a lot of fun, tongue and cheek dialogue.

This is one you don't want to miss. I waited a long time for this movie to be available on DVD, and it was well worth the wait. The only other black and white haunted house movie that even comes close is House on Haunted Hill, starring Vincent Price. For a more contemporary haunted house movie I recommend The Woman in Black, starring Daniel Radcliff. Scary !

Considered the First Real Haunted House Movie, that isn't Played for Laughs. Horror Film Historians can Trace the Lineage Back to this Well Received and Popular Ghost Story and Sight this as the Archetype, complete with Flickering Candles, Swirling Etherical Entities, and Ouija Board Encounters.The Atmospheric Lensing of Charles Lang was Nominated for an Oscar. Ray Milland, Ruth Hussey, and Gail Russell Headline, but are Supported with a Great Cast of Character Actors that Bring to Life some Creepy and Eccentric Odd-Balls.Donald Crisp as "Grandfather", Cornelia Otis Skinner as a "Spiritualist" and Off-Her-Rocker New Age Type (that most read Lesbian), and Charles Napier as a "Country Doctor" who lends an Atypical 'Open Mind" to the Paranormal.It is also Against Type for Hollywood to give Credence to the Intervention of the After-Life that isn't Completely Judaeo-Christian Dogma. With all of that, it is a Film of Importance.The Story is Intellectually Complicated and one Needs to Pay Attention to get all of the Ramifications of the Plot and for a Clear Understanding of the Third Act.The Movie does have its Detractors that say it is too Comedic and Aloof at times, and Fails to Scare. But these, mostly Modern Oriented Folks, are in the Minority. It Holds Up quite well and has its Share of Spooky Scenes. The Dark Frame is Consistently Foreboding and Gail Russell's "Far Away Eyes" are something to Behold.

SYNOPSIS: A moderately well-off Londoner (Ray Milland) and his sister (Ruth Hussey) buy an old house, perched near the dangerous edge of a cliff on the Cornish coast. Although they are soon made aware that the house is haunted by a ghost, they fail to realize the ghost's particular animosity towards a sensitive young woman (Gail Russell) who lives nearby. NOTES: Charles Lang was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Black-and-White Photography, but lost to Joseph LaShelle's Laura.COMMENT: Just as well the photography is so wonderfully atmospheric, because the script now seems a little strained and doesn't quite add up to the shock impact it originally had on audiences in 1944. Too many ghost stories have intervened. The humor too (some of it contributed by producer Charles Brackett) fails to jell at times. Perhaps the modern setting is also a drawback. Maybe "The Uninvited" would have survived more effectively as a period piece. As it stands, the writers are forced to utilize a haunted house which, while it is connected to the electricity supply, has no electric lights—a mystery for which they proffer no explanation whatever. We watch all these people running around with lamps, whilst Ray Milland listens to the radio and makes regular telephone calls. In this sort of caper, automobiles look anachronistic. Furthermore, Ray Milland, competent actor though he is, fails to measure up here as a romantic hero. Whilst he's certainly quite pleasant to watch, his performance lacks the polish that all the other players, particularly Cornelia Otis Skinner (an unforgettable villainess), Gail Russell (who skillfully projects an enchanting vulnerability), Donald Crisp (a particularly well-rounded performance) and Ruth Hussey (beautifully efficient) bring to their roles.Lewis Allen's direction is professionally competent, but lacks the imaginative vigor that transforms mere entertainment into a masterpiece. In fact, he throws most of the burden for carrying the artistic effectiveness of the film on to the photographer, the set designer, the music composer and the special effects technicians. These men all render superlative work. The music score in fact is one of Victor Young's most memorable. It's hard to believe it wasn't even nominated for an Academy Award. Who remembers some of the nominated scores like Frederic Rich's "Jack London" or Edward Paul's "Up in Mabel's Room" today?

This was a lovely ghost film from Hollywood's Golden Age, with an impeccable lustrous production from Paramount and an excellent array of actors to put the hokum across. And it is hokum – there's nothing wrong with that at all, and usually I prefer it that way; usually it's much better than being considered capital letter Art.An erudite brother and sister are smitten by and decide to buy a windswept quaint house on the Cornish coast which although it was signalled to them in various ways prior to purchase, turned out to have a houseful of secrets. After a degree of ghostly detective work the Past (a mere 17 years previous) gave up a torrid love affair, an illegitimate baby, murder, lesbians, a seance and above all a seemingly malevolent ghost – or two. And by the end the portly Ray Milland was going to shack up with a young Gail Russell, while his sister Ruth Hussey was being sized up by the always avuncular looking Alan Napier. Yes, it's a post-Rebecca woman's picture par excellence, novel written by Dorothy Macardle. In civilised Western society the ladies rightly or wrongly are perceived to always speak from a position of Belief in the Afterlife, the gentlemen always from a position of Scoffing. Although main man Milland initially frivolously vacillates overall this film is in no Doubt: ghosts exist as surely as there has to be a point in living. It's all done very well with a spooky atmosphere you could cut with a knife. And dim or dark rooms or passages, creepy studio sets and a flowery romantic script acted with dignity and straight faces and with some classic crackpot wispy dialogue that might make the ladies nod their heads sagely and the gentlemen guffaw loudly. In that sense it's probably more comparable to Now Voyager than to The Innocents. It has a rushed ending that doesn't invite scrutiny, but it certainly doesn't outstay its invitation.I still love this wonderful film even though I can be even more frivolous - but hopefully more consistent - than Ray Milland! Except, I too believe in ghosts