The Uninvited

[moira finnie]

The first time I saw this movie I was a little kid and was quite frightened by the ghost, (but not as scared as I was of Cornelia Otis Skinner and that humungous portrait of her very good friend, Mary Meredith). I can believe that censors once believed the ghost should be excised. It was a brilliant effect then and is still effective. I wonder if the British censors might have been concerned about their audience's emotions in light of all the death due to the war when they decided to eliminate the ectoplasmic effect?

[markfp]

Since I asked the question, I guess I should give my opinion too. I think the first time I saw THE UNINVITED was on TV in the 1960s and it really scared me. If I remember correctly, it was on the Late Show one Saturday night and my parents were long in bed so I was watching it alone in a dark house.

As for the ghost, the thought of not showing it never would have crossed my mine until I read about the censor. I think it worked very well showing it. If they hadn't shown it, they would have had to rework things to give that feel of terror in another way. I can't imagine just cutting the shots of the ghost out, as I assume the censor would have requested, would have left the audience with the same feeling.