The Unseen (1945)

Too much of everything

The Age of Commercialism

Such a frustrating disappointment

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

Most mysteries in the 2000s lack either atmosphere or good writing. This film lacked only good writing. Hard to believe Raymond Chandler could write a turkey, and even more unbelievable that John Houseman, a true giant in film, could have been the producer. Joel McCrea never made a bad movie as far as I know; but this one is certainly near the bottom of his accomplishments,One of the problems of the films is its pacing; the movie moves at a snail's pace for an hour or so, and then does the hundred yard dash to tie up all the loose ends in the last ten minutes. I will not mention the ending, but it was rather unsatisfying. Interesting to see McCrea and Herbert Marshall (one of Bette Davis's favorite leading men in a film together. A watchable film, but killed by the annoying children, and having a haunted house next to a mansion. Please.

Starting off on all the right notes, this mediocre reunion of director Lewis Allen and leading lady Gail Russell from "The Uninvited" is a frustrating misfire. Russell is hired by brooding widower Joel McCrea to look after his two rather bizarre children. There's a boarded up house next door where a nasty old man lived years before, leading to a bunch of strange goings on and ending up in murder. The film just gets odder as it goes on, bringing in a whole bunch of seemingly suspicious characters, causing nothing but more confusion. This is the type of script that seems pike a bunch of words on paper and no cohesive plot to tie everything together. Some of the characters have no real reason for being there in the first place, wasting such talented character players as Herbert Marshall, Elisabeth Risdon and Isobel Elsom, who should have been more involved in the structure of the plot, being the widow of the man who owned the abandoned house next door. What becomes clear right off is that the only thing that is unseen is a plot line, making this one of the true misfires of Hollywood in the 1940's, and perhaps the worst film of 1945.

Gail Russell was beautiful and sensitive and may have had a long, happy life if she had not become a movie star. She was contentedly working toward a career as a commercial artist when she was discovered at high school and given a Paramount contract. By the time of "The Unseen" she was already developing a drinking habit which was the only thing that could steady her nerves before the cameras. "The Unseen" was obviously designed to be a follow up to her big hit of the year before, "The Uninvited".The sad, soulful eyes of Gail Russell are put to good use as she plays Elizabeth Howard, who finds a job as a governess in the Fielding household. The blurb on the back of my DVD seems to be the plot for a completely different movie as there is no mention (in the movie) that husband Dave Fielding (Joel McCrea) is suspected of causing his wife's death. Also the oft repeated comment that this movie was a poor relation of "The Uninvited" is simply not true. Based on a story by the popular Ethel Lina White (her "The Wheel Spins" became "The Lady Vanishes" and "Some Must Watch" became "The Spiral Staircase") and with the help of Raymond Chandler on the screenplay, it meshed "The Turn of the Screw" with "Gaslight" to produce an eerie mystery. It didn't have "The Uninvited"'s production values and it didn't have the haunting theme of "Stella By Starlight" but it was still a very creepy thriller.Elizabeth finds the children distant - Ellen has a scrapbook containing accounts of the Salem Alley murder, a recent sensational crime that has gripped the neighbourhood and Barney (Richard Lyon, adopted son of Ben Lyon and Bebe Daniels, gives an excellent performance) has strange phone conversations with "unseen" people. Both children need an understanding friend. Shadows of "The Turn of the Screw" as Elizabeth fights the influence of a governess who was dismissed for being a bad influence on the children. Barney not only collects money off persons unknown, he also communicates with a mysterious stranger who comes and goes from the house at will - thanks to an open door courtesy of Barney. It turns out to be Maxine (Phyllis Brooks) the old governess and boy, is she a toughie!!! It doesn't take Barney long to realise he has been loyal to the wrong person. Another interwoven plot (ala "Gaslight") concerns the boarded up house next door that was the scene of a murder 12 years before and now seems to have night wanderers!!As another reviewer remarked, it is pretty clear who the murderer is - it was never going to be Joel McCrea!! There are several characters who pop up - kindly doctor (Herbert Marshall), Isobel Elsom as the woman who owns the house next door, her husband had been the murder victim Elizabeth Risdon as the sour housekeeper and Tom Tully as a red herring. The movie ends abruptly - within 60 seconds of a showdown in the library, the murderer is caught and there is still time for a clinch and jokes on the stairs. It's like the director is saying "We have 60 seconds to finish this movie guys so sharp's the word"!!!Recommended.

In an older London neighborhood beset with strange deaths and a spooky, abandoned house with boarded-up windows, Gail Russell arrives via Boston to accept job as governess to widower Joel McCrea's two precocious kids; quickly, she begins to realize McCrea's little boy is in-cahoots with the previous nanny and may be covering up a dangerous plot which ties in with the old house--and also with McCrea, whose mysterious comings and goings spell trouble. Over-plotted and yet ultimately slim-seeming co-feature from Paramount, stiffly directed and not very exciting. Heavy-lidded Russell, fresh off her triumph in "The Univited", was never an exceptional actress, but here she gives hint she may have become a very good one, and her terse exchanges with McCrea show a much more confident performer than in "The Univited". The screenplay, adapted from Ethel Lina White's novel "Her Heart in Her Throat", falls rather early into a disparaging rut, what with Russell continually reporting peculiar happenings to people who don't believe or listen to her, and that final clinch nearly comes out of nowhere. However, for fans of 1940s potboilers like the not-dissimilar "Gaslight", this provides minor enjoyment. ** from ****