DVD/150: THE INNOCENTS (Jack Clayton, 1961)

Jack Clayton had read Henry James' ghost story THE TURN OF THE SCREW when young; as a director he only made eight films, luckily THE INNOCENTS was one of them.

20th Century Fox owned the rights having bought a 1950 Broadway adaptation called THE INNOCENTS by William Archibald.  Clayton had Archibald write a screenplay but was disapponted he delivered a straight ghost story with no ambiguity.

John Mortimer gave it a more Victorian flavour, but it was Truman Capote who wrote the final chilling adaptation. 

With Freddie Francis' astonishing cinematography and Jim Clark's editing, Clayton made an extraordinary, disturbing film that haunts the memory.

Onscreen throughout, Deborah Kerr subverts her prim screen persona as Miss Giddens, the inexperienced parson's daughter who becomes the governess of two small orphans.

She soon suspects the house is haunted by two dead servants and determines to save the children... but from what... and whom?

Shelf or charity shop?  Haunting the shelf; the perfect combination of director, script, cast, cinematography and editing, THE INNOCENTS' ominous shadows grow longer and more chilling as the years go by.  Having to use Fox's Cinemascope process, Freddie Francis keeps the focus in the centre of the screen but one is always aware of the shadows at the edges which might hold terrors.  The film's triumph is it's ambiguity: are Miles and Flora haunted by the malevolents ghosts of Quint and his mistress or is Miss Giddens projecting it onto them through her inexperience and puritanical upbringing?  Clayton leaves it up to the viewer - exactly how he told Deborah Kerr to play it.  Kerr is sensational, slowly becoming unhinged by the forces around her - or inside her.  Clayton was gifted with two remarkable child actors Martin Stephens and Pamela Franklin, he never gave them a full script but only gave them the lines for the scenes as they filmed them so they play their characters totally in the moment. Megs Jenkins is fine as housekeeper Mrs Grose who cannot protect the children from Miss Giddens' suspicions, and there is a marvellous cameo from Michael Redgrave as Miles and Flora's uncaring, London-based uncle, more than happy to give the untried Miss Giddens complete control over them.  The ghosts are memorably played by Peter Wyngarde and  Clytie Jessop.