(Reviewed by Preppy) - Eerie ghost story.  A brother and sister (Ray Milland and Ruth Hussey) buy a huge, beautiful, isolated house on the Cornish coast of England. It turns out it's haunted and one of the previous tenants (Gail Russell) has a strong connection with the ghosts...

One of the first serious ghost stories ever made for movies--the only one for the 1940s. The script is pretty good and the situation is talked about in a matter of fact fashion (which helps). It was shot mostly at night and the scenes of people walking around the dark house with lit candles really works on you--you expect something to jump out at them. It has many spooky parts--the one that really scared me was the crying in the dark. There's also a STRONG lesbian subtext here! The direction and cinematography are superb--in fact this was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Black & White Cinematography.

The movie isn't perfect. There is some strained comic relief and the back story involving Russell and the ghosts is needlessly convoluted. Also the appearances of the ghosts are pretty laughable--but this was made in 1944 so it's excused. Milland and Hussey are good but Russell is terrible and Cornelia Otis Skinner is LOTS of fun as a villainess.

So a serious spooky ghost story. Watch this at night in a totally dark room--it REALLY works on you that way. Recommended. GREAT last line too!