Uncle Silas AKA The Inheritance (1947) The film is a good piece of Gothic eye-candy: great sets, costuming, atmosphere and cinematography. The acting is good but a bit over the top more often than not. Also, there are parts of this film that seems to drag in places.The story is above average, it's about a girl, Caroline Ruthyn, who's father dies and leaves her an inheritance plus leaves her in the care or hands of his brother Silas. Her evil Uncle Silas, wants the inheritance and his wicked accomplice, Madame de la Rougierre, will help him to drive Caroline mad or even to death in order to gain control of the inheritance.I like the film overall - I just wish some of the scenes didn't drag on so long.7/10

With somehow having always gotten the title mixed up for a George Saunder's Film Noir called The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry,I was happily caught completely by surprise,when a very kind IMDb'er gave me a chance to finally meet uncle Silas.The plot-1845:Despite being strongly connected to a vicious murder,17 year old Caroline Ruthyn is told by her dad that reclusive uncle Silas is a good man,whose flamboyance has caused him to be misunderstood.Deciding to update his will so that Caroline can get the money before she turns 21,Caroline's dad dies before he is able to put his signature on the changes.With only being 17 years old,Caroline is sent away,to be looked after by Silas until she turns 21.Caught completely by surprise,Caroline is happy to discover that Silas is a kind,if overly animated,family member.Looking around Silas's huge mansion,Caroline begins to discover the darkness lurking in the corners of her less than sweet uncle's life.View on the film:Surrounding the movie with towering mansion's,director Charles Frank builds a haunting atmosphere which combines icy Gothic Horror with a mean-spirited Film Noir mood,as Frank and Robert Krasker gradually allow the candle lights to burn out,and to be replaced by eerie shadows which wrap around every dark corner of the mansion's.Along with the excellent Gothic Noir atmosphere,Frank and Krasker also show an extraordinary eye in displaying the full content of their mansion,with Frank's superb wide-shots creating an unexpected claustrophobic chill,as Caroline Ruthyn demons start to suffocate her.Whilst Frank shows a real skill in boiling a Gothic brew, Ben Travers adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu's is sadly never able to fully matching the visual appearance,thanks to Travers taking a rather stilted approach to the screenplay,which leads to the film receiving sudden bursts of horror,instead of a slow-burning sense of menace,which Charles Frank appears to be setting his sights on.Entering the film with a real elegance, Jean Simmons gives an excellent performance as Caroline Ruthyn,with Simmons showing Ruthyn to psychologically crumble into bits,as she starts to realise what sweet uncle Silas's plans are.Sending a shiver down Ruthyn, John Laurie gives a great rustic performance as loyal butler Giles,whilst Derrick De Marney gives an extremely flamboyant performance as uncle Silas,with Marney slowly tearing up the flamboyance of Silas,to reveal the secret hidden inside.

Uncle Silas is directed by Charles Frank and adapted to screenplay by Ben Travers from the novel of the same name written by Sheridan Le Fanu. It stars Jean Simmons, Katina Paxinou, Derrick De Marney, Derek Bond, Sophie Stewart and Esmond Knight. Music is by Alan Rawstone and cinematography by Robert Krasker. Upon the death of her loving father, teenager Caroline Ruthyn (Simmons) is bequeathed the family inheritance when she reaches the age of 21. In the interim she is requested to go live with her Uncle Silas (De Marney) in his ramshackle Gothic mansion. Silas was once considered unbalanced, even getting off with a murder charge when some felt he was guilty as sin, but now he seems warm towards Caroline. Is it a bluff? When Silas' weird son arrives on the scene and her fearsome former governess is found to be haunting the edges of the frames, Caroline suspects she may indeed be in danger. A film dripping with Gothic delights, Uncle Silas is undeniably dated, as evidenced by the over acting that surrounds the excellent Simmons, but this is no Jamaica Inn. Atmosphere unbound here as Charles Frank and the brilliant Robert Krasker surround the nastiness of the plot with nightmarish visuals and scenes fit to grace any bigger budgeted horror of the decade. The mansion is a classic fit for such a tale of heiress stalk and kill fare, though it is more run down than the opulence of something like Manderley. With 90% of the picture shot in dark and shadows, where light comes via candles and firesides, the mood of impending peril is always high. Add in a few stormy nights, mysterious rooms, locked gates and characters straight out of one of James Whale's dreams and you are good to go for bodice bedlam. Director Charles Frank (co-writer The Late Edwina Black) had no career whatsoever, which on this evidence is baffling. OK! He wasn't able to rein in De Marney and Paxinou on this one, though in the case of the latter it's a glorious case where excess fits the nightmarish dream- scape, but some of his visual touches hint at what a good noir style director he could have been. With two nightmare sequences superb, one Brandy inspired and an array of canted angles and shadowy menaced frames filing out the piece, this shows superbly someone able to sustain foreboding atmosphere. In some sources it is listed that Nigel Huke was co-cinematographer, but on others not so, and I certainly didn't see his name on the credits when the film rolled? But what we can see for sure is Krasker at his best. In the same year as Uncle Silas he would elevate Carol Reed's Odd Man Out to classic cinematography status, and two years later he would of course be an integral part of what made The Third Man the deservingly revered picture it is. Uncle Silas represents something of a must see for Krasker purists. It's also definitely a film that Simmons fans should seek out. The over acting will irritate some, and the mid-point drags as it goes into gaiety mode and nearly derails the suspenseful mood that has been built up deftly. But it quickly overcomes this and gets back on track to be a cracker waiting to be gorged on by like minded film fans. It would make a nice appetiser to Ealing's brilliant Queen of Spades, or as B support to The Spiral Staircase. It was released as The Inheritance in the States, and had changes made, suffice to say that anyone interested in this movie should see only the British version. Maybe that was where Huke was involved? In the American cut? Oh well, Uncle Silas, Brit version, wonderfully kinked. 8/10

This could have been a wonderful film with it's Gothic atmosphere and well-researched period detail (clothes, interiors). But it's hammy, cartoony and over-simplified. Jean Simmons is simpering and wet - oh, sorry, of course I mean cute and vulnerable, Uncle Silas and his son crude and her admirer wooden. Why must Christmas scenes of the 19th century always involve those tedious mummers? Jean Simmons' skirts are far too light and filmy, and young ladies in them days didn't run about at top speed showing lots of leg clad in pantalettes. They wore nothing under those petticoats and had to move more circumspectly. Read the book!