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Don't listen to the negative reviews

Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

Probably the greatest ghost story ever filmed, this is not about a traditional "haunted house", but a one consumed by something unknown, making this more a supernatural mystery than a horror film. Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey play brother and sister who decide to buy a house on the rocky shores of Cornwall and find something they don't quite understand. The previous owner (a commanding Donald Crisp) only reveals enough about the strange past of this gorgeous house to open the mystery, and Crisp's young granddaughter (Gail Russell) reveals strange traits that strengthen the mystery and bring her and Milland closer together.It appears that Russell is haunted by the memory of her mother who died a horrific death on those very same cliffs, and exhibits behaviors that make it appear that she is either possessed by her mother's spirit or possibly visited by it. The house itself is a character all its own, beautiful but remote and distant, as Gothic as Wuthering Heights or Mandalay, and as seemingly dead as its spirit bound abortions, never seen until the thrilling conclusion but heard, yet physically alive and surrounded by growing beauty, but nonetheless sinister without being deadly. Broadway star Cornelia Otis Skinner adds further into the mystery as an old acquaintance of the deceased who makes an 11:00 appearance to treat Russell, but at what cost, and more mysteriously, why?An outstanding musical score and breathtaking photography makes this a haunting example of how an artistic film could have popular appeal. For director Lewis Allen, it is his crowning achievement, and for its three young stars, their own entry into a type of ghostly immortality. Russell would have her own demons to face in life, but as the troubled heroine of the story, gives the best performance, giving her a place in film history as a star of Gothic thrillers. Like another Gothic thriller ("The Cat People") with horror overtones, this had an unofficial follow-up ("The Unseen") with unrelated characters that may not be as well remembered as the original, but worth seeking out as well.

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.

This movie has a good setup. The house on the cliff is very picturesque with the waves crashing against the rocks below and the expansive staircases. I think that when it was made, it must have been very impressive visually as well as for including Ouija boards and vengeful gypsy spirits. However, it does not hold up for several reasons. The story, which may have covered new territory at the time, feels very simplistic and light-hearted. Comparisons get made between the Uninvited and 1940's Rebecca, but that story feels so much more layered and sinister. At the beginning of the The Uninvited, the characters are enjoying a seaside vacation, and that is the tone that persists. Midway through the movie, when a young woman's life is in danger from the influence of a hateful ghost, we get a scene where she hides on the floor of a car so she can get a ride to church and not be seen by her grandfather. The film is trying to establish life or death stakes, but the characters may as well be discussing their breakfast toast. I didn't necessarily dislike it, but it was not what I expected from the descriptions I had read.

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