THE INNOCENTS (1961): The Greatest Ghost Story Ever Filmed?

THE INNOCENTS (1961) d. Jack Clayton (UK)

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The Innocents, the spellbinding 1961 screen version of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. Producer/director Jack Clayton and cinematographer Freddie Francis conjure a haunting onscreen atmosphere with an eye for hypnotic, symbolic imagery, where the sunlit scenes are frequently more chilling than those set at night.

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The Innocents (1961) d. Jack Clayton (UK) (100 min) (4th viewing)

In Victorian England, prim governess Miss Giddens (Deborah Kerr) is assigned to a country estate to care for two orphaned children, Miles (Martin Stephens) and Flora (Pamela Franklin). Upon her arrival, in addition to being occupied with her new duties, she slowly begins to suspect that the spirits of the former valet Peter Quint (Peter Wyngarde) and governess Miss Jessel (Clytie Jessop) have begun to influence – or even possess – her youthful charges. With increasingly supernatural occurrences at odds with her own pragmatic worldview, Giddens risks both life and sanity in a battle for the children’s souls, a battle that climaxes in unforgettable and devastating fashion.

THE INNOCENTS (1961) movie review

Innocents, The (1961) d. Clayton, Jack (UK)

Deborah Kerr is the prim governess assigned to a country estate to care for two children in this spellbinding screen version of Henry James’ The Turn of the Screw. Upon her arrival, in addition to having her hands full with her duties, she slowly begins to suspect that the spirits of the former valet and governess have begun to influence – or even possess – her youthful charges (Pamela Franklin and Martin Stephens). Can she exorcise their ghosts, or are they her own?