THE HAUNTING (1963)

This is an adaptation of a novel, "The Haunting of Hill House", in which a researcher into the paranormal, together with some assistants, spend a few days in a supposedly haunted house.

In adapting the novel the screenwriter Nelson Gidding had the interesting idea of turning it into a story about the insanity of one of the main characters, Eleanor (played by Julie Harris) so that we are left wondering how much of what we are seeing is real and how much is in her head.   Although this idea was largely abandoned, elements of it do remain in the final film in that we see things largely from Eleanor's perspective, and there something of a question mark over her sanity.  

Eleanor has been invited to the house by Dr Markway because he thinks she is more in tune with the supernatural than the average person, having supposedly had an experience with a poltergeist in her childhood.

She's already in a bad way before she arrives, feeling guilt about the death of her mother two months before, whom she had been nursing.  On top of this she has no independence, just sleeping on a couch at her sister's home.  So initially she sees the stay at Hill House as a welcome vacation, and although she has some frightening experiences she eventually develops a strong desire to make it her home, a feeling which she feels is reciprocated by the house itself (see what I mean about her sanity?).  We get a lot of voiceover by Harris, which is needed to help us understand her feelings about herself and the house.  

The other two people taking part in the experiment are Theo (played by Clare Bloom) and Luke (Russ Tamblyn, best known as Riff from 'West Side Story'). 

Theo has ESP powers, but the more intriguing aspect of her character is that she is gay, although it being 1963 this is not made explicit.  This makes for an interesting dynamic in that  Theo is attracted to Eleanor, whilst Eleanor develops feelings towards Markway (not realising he is married).  

Luke is there simply because he is going one day to inherit the house, and it's a thankless role because he's an irrelevance to the story.

From reading about the production of the film it is clear that director Robert Wise put a lot of thought and effort into trying to make it scary but it may simply be the case that this genre was not his forte. For whatever reason I never found the story compelling.

That being said the film eventually gathers some momentum, with the introduction of Markway's wife, who is very much a sceptic and who to prove this decides to sleep in the house's nursery despite Markway's objections.  She is played by Lois Maxwell, well-known to us now as Miss Moneypenny from the Bond films. 

When inevitably she disappears, there is a very effective sequence in which Eleanor goes wandering around the house searching for her, culminating in her climbing a rickety spiral staircase in the library.

Weirdly Markway then seems more concerned about sending Eleanor away from the house than finding his wife.   What happens next to conclude the film is fairly predictable, involving as it does Chekhov's Tree, but it's an effective enough way to wrap things up.

I found this film haunting in the sense that parts of it will linger with me, but I can't say that I found it very scary or even suspenseful.  The main reason to watch it is for Julie Harris' memorable performance, without which it would be quite forgettable.  

RATING: x Curb Your Enthusiasm