The Unseen

1945
Approved
1h 20m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Herbert Marshall, Joel McCrea, and Gail Russell in The Unseen (1945)

Film Noir Whodunnit Drama Horror Mystery Thriller

A secretive widower hires a governess for his children, a willful boy and impressionable girl. Strange occurrences and the governess's curiosity lead her to unlock the secrets of the mysteri... Read allA secretive widower hires a governess for his children, a willful boy and impressionable girl. Strange occurrences and the governess's curiosity lead her to unlock the secrets of the mysterious and uninhabited brownstone next door.A secretive widower hires a governess for his children, a willful boy and impressionable girl. Strange occurrences and the governess's curiosity lead her to unlock the secrets of the mysterious and uninhabited brownstone next door.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

5.9/10

726

YOUR RATING

See production info at IMDbPro

Nominated for 1 Oscar
- 1 nomination total

Photos58

+ 52

Top cast23

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Joel McCrea

David Fielding

Gail Russell

Elizabeth Howard

Herbert Marshall

Dr. Charles Evans

Phyllis Brooks

Maxine

Isobel Elsom

Marian Tygarth

Norman Lloyd

Jasper Goodwin

Mikhail Rasumny

Chester

Elisabeth Risdon

Mrs. Norris

Tom Tully

Sullivan

Nona Griffith

Ellen Fielding

Richard Lyon

Barnaby Fielding

Betty Alderson

Cashier in Theatre
(uncredited)

George Anderson

Plainclothesman
(uncredited)

Al Bridge

Truck Driver
(uncredited)

Jack Carr

Second Cab Driver
(uncredited)

David Clyde

Drunk
(uncredited)

Ray Collins

Narrator
(voice)
(uncredited)

Jimmie Dundee

Workman
(uncredited)

Storyline

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Did you know

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Trivia
Considered an unofficial sequel to the previous year's box-office success The Uninvited (1944); both are mystery stories that share actress Gail Russell, director Lewis Allen and several other crew members, but are otherwise unrelated in story or characters. The film posters compared the two films and proclaimed: "More Exciting Than The Uninvited" and "Menace More Deadly Than The Uninvited!"

Quotes
[first lines]
Narrator: Many years ago when the Commodore built it, it had been one of the showpeices of New Bristol: 11 Crescent Drive. That's how the house was still listed in the city directory, but it was a dead address. It had been barred, locked and shuttered for over 12 years. Thousands of days had dawned without a ray of sunshine striking through its windows. It stood among the neighbouting homes, dark and blind and almost forgotten.

Connections
Features The Anvil Chorus Girl (1944)

Soundtracks
There'll Be Some Changes Made
(uncredited)
Written by Billy Higgins and W. Benton Overstreet

User reviews27

Review

Featured review

5/10

Salem Alley Shenanigans.

The Unseen is directed by Lewis Allen and collectively written by Hagar Wilde, Ken Englund and Raymond Chandler. It's adapted from Ethel Lina White's novel "Her Heart in Her Throat". It stars Joel McCrea, Gail Russell, Herbert Marshall, Phyllis Brooks and Isobel Elsom. Music is by Ernst Toch and cinematography by John F. Seitz.

Elizabeth Howard (Russell) is hired as a governess for David Fielding's (McCrea) two children. With David being secretive and strange occurrences happening, she begins to unravel the mystery of the empty house next door.

Foolishly seen as a follow up to the far superior "The Uninvited (1944)", The Unseen is efficient without really rising to thrilling heights. Taken as a mood piece it scores favourably, lots of shadows, cobbled streets, darkened rooms and plenty of suspicious goings on, but as a mystery it falls flat. It gets off to a mixed start, with a grisly murder bogged down by a clumsy narration, from there we are on board with Russell's governess who gets more than she bargained for in her new employment. A number of characters drift in and out of proceedings, but the villain of the piece is evident from the get go, and it builds to a disappointingly flat finale.

A sort of weak companion piece to "Gaslight" (original and remake) and "The Innocents", it's not recommended with any great confidence. Those looking for better and similar tonal fare from Lewis Allen are advised to seek out the aforementioned "The Uninvited" and "So Evil My Love (1948)". 5/10