The Innocents
1961
*****
Director: Jack Clayton
Cast: Deborah Kerr, Martin Stephens, Pamela Franklin, Megs Jenkins, Michael Redgrave, Peter Wyngarde, Isla Cameron, Clytie Jessop, Eric Woodburn, Patrick Barr
Miss Giddens gets her first job as a governess at a remote estate. She gradually becomes convinced that the house is haunted and the two children are possessed. Jack Clayton's simple, scary, and wonderfully creepy psychological horror film is based on the 1898 novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. Deborah Kerr gives a strong lead performance, but Freddie Francis' beautiful deep-focus cinematography is the real star.
