The Innocents (1961)

Directed by Jack Clayton. Starring Deborah Kerr, Megs Jenkins, Martin Stephens, Pamela Franklin, Michael Redgrave, Peter Wyngarde.

Sinister hair-raiser, inspired by Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw, of Kerr’s newly-appointed governess at an English country estate growing to believe that spirits haunt the grounds, and that the oddly-behaved children she is overseeing are becoming possessed. Understated, with a chill that spreads its bite slowly, yet still quite effective; its psychological suggestions and Stephens’ mannered maturity were likely additions from the pen of Truman Capote, brought on for a rewrite that eliminated all certainty. Long-distance specters, scaly soundtrack noise, and an ambiguously deviant ending rank high among the accumulation of skillful horrors, yet the more the script explains, the less credible it becomes, even in these murky what’s-real-and-what’s-imagined waters. Freddie Francis’ deep-focus black & white photography incites claustrophobia even in open spaces, and the ominous way he lights Wilfred Shingleton’s sets with blazing lights and deep shadows maintains an elegantly spooky discomfort. Filmed at Shepperton Studios in Surrey.

82/100