The Woman in White (1948)

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

I have a soft spot for this particular story, because I played the villain in a very slapstick stage version in high school and got to have a knock-down-drag-out fight with the character of Countess Fosca (played in this film by the always welcome Agnes Moorehead). This film version is a much more serious adaptation of the Wilkie Collins novel, but it still manages to be pretty funny, and it's absolutely dripping in Gothic atmosphere. Eleanor Parker (so young) is fetching in dual roles (one of them the eponymous character), while Gig Young makes for a dashing hero. The villain that I played is much more of a supporting character in this version, while true villain honors go to Sydney Greenstreet, who delivers the goods and then some. "The Woman in White" would make a great Halloween night movie if you wanted something that gets into the ghost story spirit without being scary in any way.Grade: A

Over the weekend, I saw two wonderful films, both of the English Gothic variety. The first was Guillermo del Toro's marvelous "Crimson Peak" (2015), which must surely go down as one of the most gorgeous-to-look-at horror films ever made, but one that is surely not for the squeamish. And the second film was also a decidedly Gothic affair, "The Woman In White" (1948), a product of the Warner Brothers studio. This is an Eleanor Parker film that I had never seen before, and costars Alexis Smith, Gig Young, the great Sydney Greenstreet, John Abbott (who most viewers, including me, will probably best remember as the bearded Organian Ayelborne in the classic "Star Trek" episode "Errand of Mercy") and Agnes Moorehead. Yes, it really is a terrific cast. Eleanor, who has rarely looked more beautiful, plays two roles in this one; twin cousins. The FX used when the two appear on screen at the same time are very convincingly brought off, I might add. Here, Gig plays an art instructor who goes to a lonely English estate, Limmeridge House, to tutor Laura (our Eleanor). But on the road there, he is approached by the ghostly woman in white of the title (Eleanor again), who would seem to be an escapee from a lunatic asylum. What later develops is a scheme by Greenstreet and some others to marry Laura off and strip her of her fortune, replete with poisoning, murder, hypnotism, blackmail, family secrets, secret passageways, etc. The film's plot is marvelously complicated, thanks to the Wilkie Collins novel of 1859 on which it was based, and the script is deliciously literate, delivered by that great cast of pros. The film was directed by somebody named Peter Godfrey, with whom I was not familiar, but who does a terrific job here. And the film's music was provided by Max "King Kong" Steiner, so say no more, right? Alexis Smith is given top billing in the film, although Eleanor does get top billing on the poster, as you'll notice. And for me, she easily steals the film, with her extraordinary beauty and double role. This is the first time that I had seen an Eleanor film from the '40s--previously, 1950's "Chained Lightning" and "Caged" were my earliest films of hers--and it was interesting to see how wonderful she could be at this younger stage in her career. She and Moorehead were excellent together in "Caged," and are terrific paired in this earlier picture, as well. This film comes more than highly recommended by yours truly....

For a number of reasons, I wanted to like this film. And it is interesting, but being interesting is not the same as being good.On the positive side, it's interesting to see Gig Young in an early role where he wasn't the leading man's buddy...which he got typecast as later in his career. I'm not saying he was great, nor was he bad, just okay as the sort-of leading man.Also on the positive side is the casting of Sydney Greenstreet as one of the primary villains. You'll note that I said it was good casting. However, I'm not so sure this was one of Greenstreet's more memorable performances. In the early part of the film he did well and stole a number of scenes, but later in the film his performance seemed to go flat.Also on the positive side is the performance by Alexis Smith; I enjoyed here in this role.On the negative side is the way the script was put together. The motive behind Greenstreet's behavior and intent was strung out too long. In my view, this is one film where laying that out early on would have enhanced the film. But as is, it seems like the story kind of lumbers along unevenly.Also on the negative side is the performance of John Abbott as a hypochondriac to the extreme. To be honest, not only is it bad acting, but I'm surprised it got past the censors. The character is so gay that it's way over the top. It's amusing, even though it's not supposed to be. Further, his role in the swindle is rather obtuse.Eleanor Parker, Agnes Moorehead, and John Emery turn in performances. No, I didn't mis-write that. They turned in performances that were "okay". I was the least impressed with Eleanor Parker here as compared to any other film I have ever seen her in; I generally like her acting. Moorehead's role suffered from being unclear until late in the film, which harmed the role since it also got little screen time even though it is the key to the whole film. I won't criticize Moorehead; I'll blame it on the writers and directors. And Emery...what a waste; I felt he had no understanding of the role at all.Earlier I said the film was interesting. It was interesting to watch how badly it turned out, compared to what could have been. I won't say don't watch it, but I will say that you shouldn't expect too much here.

The Woman in White is directed by Peter Godfrey and adapted to screenplay by Stephen Morehouse Avery from the novel of the same name written by Wilkie Collins. It stars Alexis Smith, Eleanor Parker, Sydney Greenstreet, Gig Young, Agnes Moorehead, John Abbott and John Emery. Music is by Max Steiner and cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie.England 1851 and artist Walter Hartright (Young) makes his way through the woods to the Limmeridge Estate where he is to teach drawing to Laura Fairlie (Parker). But he is stopped in his tracks by a woman dressed all in white, she is vague and frightened and runs off when she hears a carriage approaching. Walter will soon find out that once he gets to Limmeridge House things will get even stranger than his meeting with the mysterious woman in white…It's the sort of Gothic period film noir that is an acquired taste, on one hand it has ambiance and suspenseful mystery in abundance, on the other it's desperately slow and a bit too complex for its own good. Narratively there is an array of devilish strands at work, with insanity, hypnotism, murder, greed, hypochondria and hints of other unhealthy doings bubbling away in this most creepy of Estate Mansions. Visually and aurally it's a treat, as Steiner layers the mood with haunting virtuosity and Guthrie and Godfrey imbue it all with threatening shadow play and ethereal focus shots.Greenstreet takes the acting honours with one of his shifty and sinister turns, but Moorehead is one classy lassy for sure, while Parker in a dual role shows the graceful eloquence that many directors failed to utilise in her career. Set design (George Southam) is a period delight, as is the costuming (Bernard Newman/Milo Anderson), all told it's a hugely impressive production, one that is both bursting with funereal atmospherics and pungent with weirdness. A strange film for definite, hypnotic even, its draggy middle section makes it far from flawless, but those with a bent for Gothic noir and Lynchian like mysteries, this is most likely one for you. 7/10