The Innocents (1961)

THE INNOCENTS

1961 • Jack Clayton

Screenplay: William Archibald, Truman Capote based on a novel by Turn of the Screw by Henry James

Producer: Jack Clayton

Cast: Deborah Kerr, Peter Wyngarde, Megs Jenkins, Michael Redgrave, Martin Stephens

Cinematography: Freddie Francis

Music: Georges Auric

20th Century Fox

But above anything else... I love the children

Miss Giddens has been hired as a governess to take care of a pair of orphaned siblings: Flora and Miles. Giddens has complete independence to care for and raise the children as she sees fit, but soon after her arrival, strange occurrences begin. First coming to believe the house may be haunted, her fears grow until she suspects the children themselves are possessed by the spirits of the former masters of the house. Giddens refuses to abandon the children and hopes to literally save their souls.

Jack Clayton knows how to direct a ghost story. The atmosphere of this film is perfect. From the second Giddens arrives at the house, the audience can just feel something is amiss. The mood is beyond creepy. Clayton shoots the house to make it not only seem dark and threatening but also stifling and claustrophobic. Every shadow seems threatening. Adding to the effect is that the film is masterfully shot in black and white by the director of photography Freddie Francis, who went on to shoot The Elephant Man, Dune, and Return to Oz. Adding to the atmosphere is the limited use of a musical score. Instead of relying on a suspenseful score, this movie is (almost) in complete silence... which amplifies the spookiness of the situation. In fact, one of the only pieces of music that is heard throughout the film is the song "Willow Waylee" sung by the children. It opens the film over the credits and it is used strategically throughout the course of the movie. This is what a ghost story should feel like.

I'd qualify this as both a ghost story and a psychological horror film. The film certainly is frightening and is going for ghost story-style scares... however, the film is also framed in a matter that leaves the audience guessing as to whether the events are happening as the protagonist actually sees them or if she has gone insane and thinks she is seeing them. I won't spoil whether or not the film ever gives us a definitive answer or not, as it is part of the fun. I will say this, however: by the time the film is over... it doesn't matter whether the ghosts are real or not.

The title of the film suggests that the "innocents" are the (possibly) possessed children. The children's actions could be dictated by the supposed possession, or they could just be "bad seeds." The ghosts in the house that committed evil in their past could be literal ghosts or metaphors for the corruption of man (or both.) This is a film about evil and corruption... and in the end, no one is ever really innocent.

Hush! Hush, dear, hush! She isn't there. How could she be? She's dead and buried.

Notable Awards & Accomplishments

• 2 BAFTA Award Nominations: Best British Film and Best Film from Any Source

• Cannes Film Festival Palme d'Or Nominee

• Director's Guild of America Nominee: Outstanding Directorial Achievement in Motion Pictures - Jack Clayton