THe UNINVITed

Reckoned to be Hollywood’s first ‘serious’ shot at a ghost story (with cinematographer Charles Lang picking up an Oscar nomination), director Lewis Allen’s atmospheric movie isn’t as serious as all that; star Ray Milland’s corny frivolities persistently lighten the tone. After buying an old Cornish cliff-top house, siblings Roderick (Milland) and Pamela (Ruth Hussey) get embroiled with the previous owners: grumpy old Donald Crisp and his naïve granddaughter (Gail Russell). There are some elegantly staged fright moments, while Victor Young’s score includes the haunting ‘Stella by Starlight’. Philip Kemp