The Woman in White (1948)

Good start, but then it gets ruined

A Masterpiece!

The thing I enjoyed most about the film is the fact that it doesn't shy away from being a super-sized-cliche;

A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

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

The best version of The Woman in White is the outstanding 1982 one with Diana Quick, which is very faithful to the book(not that that has to be important in adaptations), has the ideal pace and length and is superbly acted with not a weak link. The 1997 version does have flaws, with Count Fosco and Sir Percival Glyde being under-characterised, being rushed and too short and some of the changes(namely the reason for Glyde's persecution of Anne) not making as much sense but is much better than it's given credit for because it is atmospheric, very well made and the rest of the cast are fine. This film is not the most faithful to the book either, though closer in spirit to 1997, on its own it's very good. It is let down by the wooden and rather pallid Walter of Gig Young and the very contrived ending. But it is very attractively photographed and the production values generally being hauntingly Gothic. Max Steiner's score is sweeping and has some menace and eeriness to it, while the dialogue is literate with its funny, poignant and foreboding touches and the story moves along with seldom a dull stretch, it is coherent and keeps you interested. It is not as complex or as intricate to the book but it does respectably still. The film is very well directed and the performances are fine. Eleanor Parker is positively luminous in appearance and is a sympathetic Laura and a touching Anne, she is better as the latter, which is a more interesting role to begin with. Alexis Smith brings the strong-willed passion that Marian should do, while John Abbott is most amusing and condescending as Frederick Fairlie. Madame Fosco's decent from madness to murderous insanity is chillingly depicted by Agnes Moorhead and John Emery's Glyde is charming yet oily. Sydney Greenstreet is the one who makes the film, not only is he is the actor that most resembles one of literature's most interesting villains physically but he brings both the charming intelligence and monstrous evil of Count Fosco. Overall, very good, 1982 is the superior adaptation but this is a worthy second best. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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

I love these old spooky classics. This one has all the elements of the Gothic novel. It has the forced marriage, the mysterious woman in the woods, the young lover who has to go, and some great villains. At the top of the list is one of the greatest character actors ever, Sydney Greenstreet. Did he ever make a bad movie? He has total control of every scene in which he appears. One of my favorite scenes is when they are at dinner and the young count is eating with Greenstreet's monkey on his shoulder. Greenstreet throws his wine at him. It is to say, "I'm the boss of everyone here. Don't forget that." Otherwise, with some pretty dramatic silliness involving women and Gig Young's sort of dull character, it comes out quite well. It contains suspense and darkness and a satisfactory conclusion. it has some very nice camera work, and the house is quite magnificent.