"The Haunting"
Reviewed by Heather Picker
Directed by Robert Wise. Written by Nelson Gidding. Starring Julie Harris, Claire Bloom, Richard Johnson, and Russ Tamblyn. 1963, 112 min., Rated G.
In 1963, as movie-goers were being treated to a new Hitchcock experience that would leave them afraid of birds, director Robert Wise ("The Body Snatcher," "West Side Story") brought to the big screen a chilling, literate adaptation, thanks to screenwriter Nelson Gidding, of the classic Shirley Jackson novel "The Haunting of Hill House." A haunted house story, how scary can it be? Well, it is fairly nerve wracking and lots of fun to behold, in this instance.
Hill House has a long history of depression and death and it is supposedly haunted. Dr. Markway (Richard Johnson) is the expert on the supernatural who has asked a few people who've had otherworldly experiences or gifts, to join him in a stay at the house, during which time he'll be investigating and hopefully observing the reported paranormal events that occur in the house. Eleanor (Julie Harris) is an emotionally fragile woman whose life, until recently, has been consumed by caring for her ill mother, which she greatly resents but feels somewhat ashamed to admit. This provides a bit of a parallel between Eleanor's fate and that of a young woman who was once brought to Hill House to care for one of it's original inhabitants.
Theodora (Claire Bloom), who was chosen for her acute sixth sense, is one of the first screen lesbians to not be written or portrayed as evil and predatory, which is refreshing. However, the overtones concerning Theo and Nell aren't all that subtle at times, which becomes distracting. Rounding out the group is skeptic Luke (Russ Tamblyn), heir to the mansion. At first he cares only about how much money the house and it's possessions will fetch him (as his aunt puts it, he has intended to live off the house, but never in it), but that will eventually change.
Gripping, great entertainment with a bravura Harris performance that many Sandy Dennis roles evoke. Bloom's nicely underplayed Theodora, and Tamblyn's wisecracking Luke were my favorite characters, though Johnson is appropriately authoritative as Dr. Markway. Wise employs a visual style that was ahead of its time, and Gidding's script is first-rate. Moody lighting and the Gothic mansion look beautiful, and the story never panders to the "I've gotta see it to believe it" notion, which makes the suspense all the more delightful.
© 1999 Heather Picker
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