Eleanor Parker (Laura Fairlie/Anne Catherick), Alexis Smith (Marian Halcombe), Sydney Greenstreet (Count Fosco), Gig Young (Walter Hartright), Agnes Moorehead (Countess Fosco), John Abbott (Frederick Fairlie), John Emery (Sir Percival Glyde), Curt Bois (Louis), Emma Dunn (Mrs Vesey), Matthew Boulton (Dr Nevin), Anita Sharp-Bolster (Mrs Todd), Clifford Brooke (Jepson), Barry Bernard (Dimmock).Director: PETER GODFREY. Screenplay: Stephen Morehouse Avery. Based on the 1860 novel by Wilkie Collins. Photography: Carl Guthrie. Film editor: Clarence Kolster. Music composed by Max Steiner, orchestrated by Murray Cutter, directed by Leo F. Forbstein. Art director: Stanley Fleischer. Set decorator: George Southall. Wardrobe: Bernard Newman. Miss Smith's gowns: Milo Anderson. Make- up: Perc Westmore. Special effects directed by William McGann, photographed by Robert Burks. Dialogue director: Herschel Daugherty. Sound recording: Charles Lang. RCA Sound System. Producer: Henry Blanke.Copyright 15 May 1948 by Warner Bros Pictures, Inc. New York opening at the Strand: 7 May 1948. U.S. release: 15 May 1948. U.K. release: 30 August 1948. Australian release: 20 October 1949. 9,968 feet. 110 minutes. (The Warner Archive DVD rates 10/10).COMMENT: This seems to be the first sound version of the Collins novel, though there were at least four silent versions — 1912, 1914, 1917 and lastly one directed by Herbert Wilcox in 1929 with Blanche Sweet in the title role.Literature, particularly Victorian literature (unless it was classic children's stuff like Tom Sawyer or Little Women), marked a movie immediately for lower-rate midweek bookings at neighborhood cinemas, no matter how lustrous its stars, how impressive its production.This superb adaptation of the Wilkie Collins thriller proved to be no exception. Faithful it is not only in plot and characters but in mood and atmosphere. Director William McGann and photographer Robert Burks are to be congratulated on their wonderful special effects. The film is superbly directed by Peter Godfrey and has one of Max Steiner's best music scores. Almost all the acting demands the highest commendation, with Greenstreet and Miss Parker (in a dual role) really outstanding.The only speck in an otherwise perfect entertainment mixture is Gig Young. Admittedly, he tries hard, but the role is beyond him.

Over the weekend, I saw two wonderful films, both of the English Gothic variety. The first was Guillermo del Toro's marvelous "Crimson Peak" (2015), which must surely go down as one of the most gorgeous-to-look-at horror films ever made, but one that is surely not for the squeamish. And the second film was also a decidedly Gothic affair, "The Woman In White" (1948), a product of the Warner Brothers studio. This is an Eleanor Parker film that I had never seen before, and costars Alexis Smith, Gig Young, the great Sydney Greenstreet, John Abbott (who most viewers, including me, will probably best remember as the bearded Organian Ayelborne in the classic "Star Trek" episode "Errand of Mercy") and Agnes Moorehead. Yes, it really is a terrific cast. Eleanor, who has rarely looked more beautiful, plays two roles in this one; twin cousins. The FX used when the two appear on screen at the same time are very convincingly brought off, I might add. Here, Gig plays an art instructor who goes to a lonely English estate, Limmeridge House, to tutor Laura (our Eleanor). But on the road there, he is approached by the ghostly woman in white of the title (Eleanor again), who would seem to be an escapee from a lunatic asylum. What later develops is a scheme by Greenstreet and some others to marry Laura off and strip her of her fortune, replete with poisoning, murder, hypnotism, blackmail, family secrets, secret passageways, etc. The film's plot is marvelously complicated, thanks to the Wilkie Collins novel of 1859 on which it was based, and the script is deliciously literate, delivered by that great cast of pros. The film was directed by somebody named Peter Godfrey, with whom I was not familiar, but who does a terrific job here. And the film's music was provided by Max "King Kong" Steiner, so say no more, right? Alexis Smith is given top billing in the film, although Eleanor does get top billing on the poster, as you'll notice. And for me, she easily steals the film, with her extraordinary beauty and double role. This is the first time that I had seen an Eleanor film from the '40s--previously, 1950's "Chained Lightning" and "Caged" were my earliest films of hers--and it was interesting to see how wonderful she could be at this younger stage in her career. She and Moorehead were excellent together in "Caged," and are terrific paired in this earlier picture, as well. This film comes more than highly recommended by yours truly....

This film boasts a fine group of supporting actors. Sydney Greenstreet is perfectly creepy as the Count; and Agnes Moorhead nearly steals the show as his wife, a Countess who will not think twice about resorting to murder if necessary. The actor who plays the nervous uncle is also very memorable and helps to increase the film's overall entertainment value.But as good as the supporting players may be, the picture seems to fall flat with its leading players. Perhaps Warners could have had a real masterpiece with Wilkie Collins' Gothic story if it had been cast as follows: Bette Davis as Laura/Anne; Olivia de Havilland as Marion; and Laurence Olivier as Walter. As it is, we have Eleanor Parker in the dual role, and Alexis Smith in the role of Marion. They must contend with Gig Young as the tutor who is so wooden with his performance that Edgar Bergen might as well have been providing the words.

I urge you to see this for historical reasons.The dominant shapes of narrative we have are governed by the detective story. Like most of the abstract structures we use -- and treat as if the world really was made that way -- are recent. This huge shape can be traced in film but if first appeared in literature, with mister Collins.We would not have a recognizable detective for a few iterations. There are still remnants of the Dickensian model where peculiar characters shape the world. Mister Fairlie here, an absurdly nervous effete and his meek assistant are from that model. The intrigue as well: a family fortune complexly entailed.But the notion of an outside observer who is on screen, structuring the narrative from observations we share is new. Our "detective" is a professional observer, a painter. This profession was the closest that then existed to the qualities we need.What we would now consider part of the detective duties -- being an on screen observer in addition to sensemaker -- is shared by the love of the painter. Here the role is played by a heartbreakingly lovely earnest actress. The stock is black and white but we know she is redheaded.Cinematically, they have missed the opportunity to leverage the process of logical assembly that goes on in the mind of the artist. That would have been profoundly cinematic. The specific inadequacy of this film is what inspired Greenaway with "Draughtsman" which you might watch with this.The cinematic carrying is done here by Greenstreet. His device is that he has the ability to hypnotize. It is women-only and apparently intuitive. The filmmaker does well enough with this.You won't find this to be a very good film. But it is an accurate enough version of the book. And that started something that every film student needs to understand.Ted's Evaluation -- 3 of 3: Worth watching.