THE UNSEEN (1945)

11 Crescent Lane has been boarded up for years since its owner, the Commodore, died, but people insist they've seen a shadowy figure in the house from time to time, and one foggy night, an old housekeeper sees strange goings-on through the window, and then is attacked and killed a few streets over in Salem Alley. A young boy witnesses most of this from his window in 10 Crescent Lane. The next day, Elizabeth Howard (Gail Russell) arrives at #10 to take over the job of governess to the two Fielding children, Ellen and Barnaby (the boy who saw the murder). Their father David (Joel McCrea) is distracted and stand-offish and irritated that the family has not been able to keep a governess for long. The children, like their father, are distant, and Barnaby in particular still has a strong and perhaps unwholesome attachment for the previous governess Maxine. Ellen lets it slip one day that Barnaby is getting paid "wages" by someone, and after Elizabeth hears footsteps in the house one night, figures out that the boy is unlocking the door for someone to come in to the house. He also takes phone calls from an unknown woman, and soon Elizabeth suspects that Maxine has a sinister hold on the boy, though for what purpose is unclear.

The plot meanders a bit from there, but this remains a half-baked stew of elements from Gaslight and the classic Henry James story Turn of the Screw. (I even thought of The Sound of Music in its depiction of the slowly-building attraction between the governess and the distant father). Paramount undoubtedly wanted to conjure up a connection to its earlier hit The Uninvited (with which it shares a star, Russell, and a director, Lewis Allen), but they have little in common except for a shadowy house with a sinister secret. The film starts slowly and builds to a decent middle section, but it falters in the last third as it slows down again. The performances are bland, especially from the two leads; better are the two child actors, Richard Lyon and Nona Griffith. Herbert Marshall, Phyllis Brooks and Norman Lloyd give OK support. Raymond Chandler co-wrote the undistinguished screenplay. There is some spooky atmosphere present in fits and starts, but overall this is disappointing as Halloween month viewing. I do like the choice of incidental music ("There'll Be Some Changes Made" and "Beautiful Dreamer"). There are also several references to Disney characters, with a doll of Dumbo playing an important part. [YouTube]