20th Century Fox
Not part of a collection.
The Innocents
Apparitions? Evils? Corruptions?
In a mid-19th century Essex country house, a young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted by ghosts and that the children are being possessed.
- Original title
- The Innocents
- Language
- EN
- Country
- GB
- Budget
- $430,000
- Revenue
- $1,200,000
Dr Nostromo
Jul 27, 2026 · via TMDB
63/100 Hired as governess for two children a woman soon realizes they aren't quite normal ...and now she's seeing ghosts. A classic ghost story with the performances the highlight of the film, especially Deborah Kerr at her very best and the two children excelling at creepy. The photography was exceptional with what appeared to be a slight fish-eyed distortion what was barely perceptibly but unsettling. I had issues with the story in that it seemed to involve some pretty big leaps of logic, at times. But, considering it's 60+ years old, it's exquisitely well made and good fun. -- [DrNostromo.com](http://DrNostromo.com)
Wuchak
Jun 7, 2021 · via TMDB
_**Low-key Gothic horror with Deborah Kerr**_ A new governess (Deborah Kerr) takes over as nanny of two orphaned siblings at a remote English manor at the turn of the century, but there’s a secretive past to the situation and seemingly ghostly happenings. Pamela Franklin plays the girl. "The Innocents” (1961) is a cinematic version of Henry James 1898 novella “The Turn of the Screw,” shot in B&W. It’s technically well-made and has Gothic mood, but the story is intrinsically one-dimensional, resting on the shoulders of Kerr and essentially only involving three other actors. Like the original tale, there’s ambiguity: Is the governess hallucinating or is she really seeing what she claims? One thing that lends credence to the latter view is the fact that she is able to describe one of the persons she sees before even knowing he existed. If you like this movie, check out the unofficial prequel with Marlon Brando and Stephanie Beacham, “The Nightcomers” (1971). While it lacks the ghostly elements, it imaginatively sets the stage for this movie (and James’ original story) in an edgy way à la "Last Summer" (1969) and "The Sailor who Fell from Grace with the Sea" (1976). The film runs 1 hour, 40 minutes, and was shot at Sheffield Park Garden, Dane Mill, Uckfield, East Sussex, England, and Shepperton Studios southwest of London, plus points nearby. GRADE: B-
John Chard
Nov 2, 2013 · via TMDB
The Innocents (1961) Oh willow I die, oh willow I die... Based on Henry James' novel, The Turn Of The Screw, The Innocents is a thoroughly absorbing chiller that pot boils with almost unbearably knowing glee as to what it's doing to the viewer. Deborah Kerr stars as Miss Giddens, the lady hired by Michael Redgrave to act as governess to his young niece and nephew. We find ourselves in Victorian England, out on some country estate at Bly Mansion, where the children are angelic and enchanting in equal measure. Yet there’s an eeriness hanging over this place and it starts to seemingly play tricks on Miss Giddens' mind, she thinks she sees and hears things. It's only when she talks to housekeeper Mrs Grose (Megs Jenkins), that she starts to piece things together, but worryingly it's the children that appear to be at the root of the problems. Aren’t they? Kerr is fabulous here, carrying an elegant gait around with her, she does a fine line in borderline hysteria caused by something unknown bubbling away under the surface. Filmed on location at Sheffield Park and Gardens, and the Bluebell Railway in East Sussex, this lovely Gothic chiller does justice to its literate source. Being co-scripted by Truman Capote, William Archibald and John Mortimer, that's really not much of a surprise in truth though is it?! Choosing to play on the viewers imagination more than pandering to shocks, director Jack Clayton superbly creates a sort of itchy like sense of dread. He’s fully aware that here in and around the Gothic abode, it’s more often than not what you don’t see – or think you see - that is more frightening. Ace cinematographer Freddie Francis does a marvellous job with the photography, with deep focus and shadows the order of the day, and with Clayton sharp cutting and dallying with angles; and Georges Auric’s sinister music floating around the estate like some spectral peeping tom, the atmosphere created is akin to claustrophobic foreboding. In many ways it's actually an uncomfortable watch, but for all the right reasons, the themes that rumble away are grim in texture, the question of malevolent evil or otherwise is a constant, and fittingly the finale offers up a shocking denouement that is nigh on impossible to shake off. With great performances from the child actors (Pamela Franklin/Martin Stephens) sealing the deal, The Innocents is one of the smartest and most effective chillers to ever have come out of Britain. 9/10
User reviews courtesy of TMDB.
YouTube TV
Deborah Kerr
Miss Giddens
Peter Wyngarde
Peter Quint
Megs Jenkins
Mrs. Grose
Michael Redgrave
The Uncle
Martin Stephens
Miles
Pamela Franklin
Flora
Clytie Jessop
Miss Jessel
Ronnie Taylor
Camera Operator
Freddie Francis
Director of Photography
John Mortimer
Additional Writing
Jack Clayton
Director
Jim Clark
Editor
Jack Clayton
Producer
Georges Auric
Music
Georges Auric
Original Music Composer
Henry James
Novel
Truman Capote
Screenplay
William Archibald
Screenplay
The Tower of Lies
In Search of Mother
Theater of Life: Youth Version
Sternenhoch
Wild Geese
The Fifth Groom
Ghost Town
Milky Way
almost there
Svatba bez prstýnku
A Christmas Carol: A Ghost Story
Schindler's List
Forrest Gump
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Sunset Boulevard
Apocalypse Now
A Brighter Summer Day
The Shining
Prides
Full Metal Jacket
Wild Strawberries
Pride & Prejudice
Anne of Green Gables
Metropolis
All About Eve
Paris, Texas
The Elephant Man
2001: A Space Odyssey
Casino
The Dark Swan
Citizen Kane
Trainspotting
Freedom Writers
La Jetée
Ben-Hur
Downfall
On the Waterfront
A Beautiful Mind
Fail Safe
The Grapes of Wrath
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
Solaris
Alice in the Cities
Jaws
Stalag 17
The Young Girls of Rochefort
Nosferatu
Fried Green Tomatoes
Amores Perros
Atonement
The Others
Laura
Orpheus
Beasts of No Nation
As if Swallowed by Earth
Malcolm X
Let the Right One In
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
Au Revoir les Enfants
Ed Wood
Amore e ipnotismo
The Violators
Devdas
Leave Her to Heaven
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Global Fan Screening
The Experiment
Sense and Sensibility
Hedwig and the Angry Inch
Scooby-Doo! and the Witch's Ghost
Interview with the Vampire
Lifeboat
Lone Wolf and Cub: Baby Cart at the River Styx
Ghost Dog: The Way of the Samurai
Murder She Said
Pickpocket
Brute Force
Lady Joker
The Letter
Bicentennial Man
The Piano Teacher
The Secret Scripture
Les Misérables
Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Bunny Lake Is Missing
The Diary of Anne Frank
National Velvet
Before the Silence
Shoot the Piano Player
BlackBerry
The Fortune Cookie
Poltergeist
Talk to Me
Rakastunut rampa
Field of Dreams
Fahrenheit 451
The Bear
Candy
House of the Disappeared
Labinak: They Are Amongst Us
This Is I
Soldier of Orange
The Cider House Rules
The Spy Who Came In from the Cold
Seabiscuit
The Tin Drum
Momo
The Spider Woman
Naked Lunch
White Gate
Orphan of Lowood
The Story of Adèle H.
The Most Dangerous Game
Lola
Friday Night Lights
King's Game
Little Caesar
Payback
The Count of Monte-Cristo
House on Haunted Hill
A Passage to India
Mrs Brown
Lost and Delirious
The Shoes of the Fisherman
A Tale of Two Cities
The Prince and the Pauper
Morgue
The Mummy
The Da Vinci Code
Curse of the Blood
The Ring
Bonjour Tristesse
Jakob the Liar
Going My Way
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
The Sky Crawlers
Silent Hill
The Big Fake
The Bricklayers
Oculus: Chapter 3 – The Man with the Plan
Rosenda
Winter in Sokcho
Beautiful Disaster
To Die For
1984
Because of Winn-Dixie
Losing Isaiah
The Mystery of the Night before the 25th
To Each His Own
The Perfect Storm
Boy Culture
The General's Daughter
The World, the Flesh and the Devil
Chasuke's Journey
Fonissa
Here for Blood
Meg 2: The Trench
How to Blow Up a Pipeline
Along Came a Spider
A Boy and His Dog
Arn: The Knight Templar
Fallen Angels
A Wrinkle in Time
Dilan 1983
Veronica
Knock at the Cabin
I Saw What You Did
Hammett
The Rules of Attraction
Werewolf of London
Silvery Wind
The Legend of Barney Thomson
The Door in the Floor
Topaz
A Round Trip to Love
The Harder They Fall
Solaris
The Big Sleep
All the King's Men
The Canal
The Baylock Residence
Eugenie de Sade
Ask Me Anything
The Story of O
Return to House on Haunted Hill
Ask the Dust
The Grudge 3
The Seeker: The Dark Is Rising
Antonieta
A Room with a View
The Lost
Dark Journey
The Stranger in My Home
Death Rattle
Creative Control
The Dark Side of the Moon
Witchcraft (Evil Encounters)
The Boy and the Convict
The Sound and the Fury
Butcher the Bakers
Nights of Farewell
Himmo, King of Jerusalem
The Legend of The Five
Tokyo Videos of Horror 11
The Possession of Father Thomas
Father Sergius
The Coffin Footage
Stalkers from Hell
Assassination
Bolshoi Ballet: A Hero of Our Time
Tokyo Videos of Horror 12
Půlpenny
Ermida
Tick Tock Trick
Me, My Wife and My Lover
Sivooký démon
Riff Raff
Traum
Semestr něžnosti
Visitors from Hell: Paranormal Horror Stories
They Follow
Ceremony of Innocence
Dutch & Razzlekhan
The Night We Lost Him
The Paranormal
Counting Miracles
El Día de Estela
The Blackwell Ghost 9
7 Miles Out
Mistr a Markétka
Veliká stavba
Cizinci v domě
Cucaracha
Blake Buried A Body [FEATURE]
The Path
Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Picnic at Hanging Rock
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Ghostwatch
Miss Marple: They Do It with Mirrors
Evil Under the Sun
The Pit and the Pendulum
Gosford Park
House on Haunted Hill
The Hound of the Baskervilles
The Old Dark House
House of Usher
Unseen
Brand Upon the Brain!
Night of Dark Shadows
The Hound of the Baskervilles
Extraordinary Tales
The Cellar
Burnt Offerings
Mr. Holmes
The City of the Dead
FairyTale: A True Story
The Tomb of Ligeia
The Car
Mr. Boogedy
The Red House
Night Watch
Celia
Mr. K
Monster Summer
Grizzly Night
The Mothman Prophecies
Let's Scare Jessica to Death
Mark of the Vampire
Lady in a Cage
undertone
The Witches
Kidnapping Mr. Heineken
Donovan's Echo
Butterfly Kisses
The Eternal Daughter
We Go On
The End We Start From
Nancy
Dec 15, 1961
