The Woman in White (1948)

Worth watching JUST to see the awesome Sydney Greenstreet and the even more awesome Agnes Moorehead. Eleanor Parker was also beautiful and talented, and you may or may not recognize her as the Baroness from Sound of Music! and Gig Young, as Hartright, the narrator. told in flashback. It's pretty good. a little of everything. ghostly characters, murder, mystery, intrigue, period piece. Watch it for the big names. One of the last films Greenstreet did... he made a couple more then retired. Directed by Peter Godfrey.. he directed a couple years more, then did mostly television. Story by Wilkie Collins. He wrote TONS of things in the 1800s, and many of them were made into films or television series.

Creepy and atmospheric chiller with an excellent cast and it works almost all the way through. Set in the 19th century this Wilkie Collins-based story tells of a upper class household that is not as wholesome and upstanding as it appears. Seems there is a ghost, or at least an elusive apparition, of a dead ringer for the heroine of the story, both played by Eleanor Parker. There are hushed up discussions and secret meetings all over the estate, presided over by a sinister Sidney Greenstreet, and to the consternation of our hero, Gig Young. All goes well until about 20 minutes to go in the story, when it seems to fall apart. I often think that filmmakers and screenwriters come up with a great idea for a movie and then can't figure out how to end it. I think that has happened here, although the picture is very entertaining up to that point. I am making special mention of John Abbott, who plays the hypochondriac master of the estate, and is a joy to behold. He gives the film an acceptable rating in my book with a terrifically amusing portrayal, and needed more screen time to ward off the anticlimactic ending.

A long term plan to get the fabled Fairlie inheritance starts to go awry the second visiting artist and art instructor Gig Young comes to the Fairlie estate in Great Britain. He runs into the Woman In White, a rather strange young lady and then a coach with people in it looking for same. He decides to pretend he knows nothing.Our heiress Laura Fairlie and the mysterious Woman In White are both played by Eleanor Parker. Almost up to the end I had trouble figuring out exactly what the relationship was between the two Eleanors so I will not say. It's half the fun of watching the film.There's a pair of villains in the piece Sidney Greenstreet playing Count Fosco, playing him with the same avuncular malice as Casper Guttman. He's a scientist with a title like Baron Von Frankenstein. But rather than experimenting with dead bodies, Fosco prefers to work on the mind with chemicals and intimidation. He's getting a big payoff for arranging the marriage between Parker the heiress and a rapacious no account count John Emery. The only friend the heiress has in the house is companion Alexis Smith.My favorite in the film is John Abbott who is Parker's father who has the constitution of a napkin and makes Adrian Monk look hale and hearty with all his phobias. Greenstreet and Emery intimidate him rather easily.Second favorite is Agnes Moorehead who is the countess Fosco and with very little dialog, but much facial expression is the picture of a woman scorned.This Victorian Gothic drama has one fine cast of scene stealers all working overtime for your enjoyment. The end is unforgettable.

There were a couple clues that I was not in for a pleasant ride when I turned on this film. First, Warner Brothers filmed the movie in 1946 but held it two years--a sure sign that they knew they had a loser of a movie. Second, it's based on a 90 year-old story--and its age sure showed."The Woman in White" is a mystery story involving, of course, a woman dressed in white. She appears out of no where in the night as a painting teacher (Gig Young) is traveling to work at an estate. Exactly why she has appeared and how she poses a threat to some conspirators is something you'll learn---if you can keep yourself watching! The bottom line is that two major problems ruin the film--and all of them have to do with Eleanor Parker. First, the film using the stupid plot device of identical cousins! While shows like "The Patty Duke Show" and a few films over the years rely on this sort of thing, there is no such thing as identical cousins and it's an over-used plot device. Second, Parker's performances are pretty bad--way over-acted and downright silly. I have no idea why do many reviewers liked this film, as I found it annoying and difficult to watch.