The Uninvited

In 1940s Cornwall, a London brother and sister, composer Roderick Fitzgerald and Pamela, buy a large house on a cliff for a remarkably low price. They settle in, but their rest is soon disturbed by a woman's weeping in the night. The siblings learn that the house has a troubled history, and that Stella Meredith, granddaughter of the nearby Commander Beech, refuses to see strangers living there. Roderick becomes drawn to Stella, and the haunting appears tied to her family's past.

Lewis Allen directed this 1944 release, the first entry in the chronological list of films he made, from a screenplay by Frank Partos and Dodie Smith. Charles Brackett produced it for Paramount. Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey play the Fitzgeralds, Gail Russell plays Stella, and Donald Crisp, Alan Napier and Cornelia Otis Skinner appear in supporting roles. The film mixes fantasy, horror, mystery and romance across 99 minutes.

Its standing rests on a durable reputation. On IMDb it holds 7.2 out of 10 from around 13,000 votes, while on TMDB it sits at 6.9 out of 10 from roughly 235 votes. A critics' rating of 8 out of 10 from 22 reviews places it above the audience scores, indicating that reviewers have long regarded it more warmly than the general public has.