A Place of One's Own (1949)

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

The movie's not perfect, but it sticks the landing of its message. It was engaging - thrilling at times - and I personally thought it was a great time.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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

This movie has a unique story to tell if one stays with it as it starts out a little slow but necessary. If you can also get past the British way of speaking which to Americans sometimes comes across mumbled then the story with a lot of heart awaits you. This movie has a strong "Somewhere in Time" movie flavor that Christopher Reeve did. Two star-crossed lovers keep missing each other but eventually connect. This movie has that dynamic with its own message and it is a great movie to discuss when it ends. I liked the build-up and the actors really got into their roles. The dame of the house makes a statement after finding out the place may be haunted that resonated with me. She says something to the affect of: if there is a ghost and there is an injustice then it is up to us to handle it or dissemble this house brick by brick. That is someone you want on your team. Enjoy the fresh innocence of a well-done movie back in the forties that must have brought many great entertainment joy. Good movie to eat your favorite snack with a tasty drink. Pay attention as the ghost tries to make itself known and how it all comes about that leads to a satisfying conclusion. Nicely done and thank you

James Mason and Margaret Lockwood star in this British film, A Place of One's Own. It centers on a somewhat elderly couple who have bought a new house to live in for their retirement years. They talk throughout the film about always wanting a place of their own. But then the wife hires a companion. It seems also that James bought the house for a really cheap price, due to the fact the house had been on the market for 40 years. No one wanted to live there, because the gossipers say it's haunted by an invalid daughter who had died there. Of course, signs show that it may be true and she seems to have attached herself to the young companion. What begins as a well-made curious little movie comes across, oddly enough, as very subdued and maybe too much so. Instead of going for obvious shock value and a splashy treatment, this film centers on lost love and two old souls wanting to be together in the afterlife. The film is so subdued and low-key that it has a sleep-inducing effect. The fact that the people here speak so proper and British and old doesn't help either. A lot of films seem interesting at the time and later the viewer decides it wasn't that great. This falls in the opposite category. As it goes on in what feels like a no-win situation and ultimately unsatisfying (or aggravating) throughout the film, the ending gives it a good resolution and makes the viewer vindicated for sticking with it. If you can make it through the film, given the slow-talking people, I think you will like it on the whole, but altogether it wasn't as grand as I thought it was going to be, given the presence of James Mason.

A nifty little ghost story in which possession is part of the lore. James Mason as an elderly retired draper buys a lovely old manse at a bargain price...because the real estate agent forgot to mention that it's haunted. His wife's companion, the lovely Margaret Lockwood, suddenly starts playing piano melodies she never heard before and takes to her bed, pleading "Send for Dr. Marsham." But her fiancée is Dr. Selby. Mason is marvelous as a retired old coot. Barbara Mullen is splendid as his practical wife. And a very young Dennis Price is a loving -- and bewildered -- young medic. If you enjoyed "The Haunting" and "The Uninvited," pay a visit to "A Place of One's Own."

A Place of One's Own is directed by Bernard Knowles and adapted to screenplay by Brock Williams from the novel written by Osbert Sitwell. Out of Gainsborough Pictures it stars James Mason, Barbara Mullen, Margaret Lockwood, Dennis Price and Dulcie Gray. Music is by Hubert Bath and cinematography by Stephen Dade.Retiring couple the Smedhurst's (Mason & Mullen) purchase Bellingham House and hire Annette Allenby (Lockwood) as a companion for Mrs. Smedhurst. Bellingham House had been empty for a number of years, and soon enough the new inhabitants, especially Annette, find out why.A gentle Edwardian ghost story that's full of charm and whimsical romance, it's clearly not a film for horror fans looking for a fright night in by candle light. There are a few nice supernatural touches such as hushed voices, the tinkling of the ivories, interior gust of wind, that sort of thing, while the possession angle is nicely handled by Knowles in what was his first major directing assignment.Gainsborough were hoping to replicate the success of the Man in Grey from two years earlier, which had starred Mason and Lockwood, but A Place of One's Own was a flop, with Mason himself later saying that he dropped the ball with this one. The problem is that the film is often too off-beat, with Mason cast as an elderly man and pretty much hamming it up to the point of detracting from Lockwood's fine work.Still, it's a very pleasing and harmless picture in spite of the mixed tonality, while having a Ernest Thesiger cameo is always a good thing. 6/10