This movie really surprised me. I knew it was a somewhat less than faithful adaptation of Nathaniel Hawthorne's classic novel, but I did not know how darn entertaining it was. I mean it is the kind of movie I could not pull away from. The story was crisp in terms of pacing and transitions. Joe May's brisk and solid direction help highlight those things as well as the actine. May directed The Invisible Man Returns and the Sherlock Holmes film The House of Fear as well. The acting is top-notch with George Sanders playing the evil, elder brother Jaffrey Pyncheon with his customary aplomb - he looks so young yet that sardonic, acidic, acerbic wit oozes through every scene he is in. He is just great though not in much of the film after the beginning. Vincent Price - gosh, is he young...maybe 27 or so - is real good. Vinnie is a bit husky here. You can see him coming into his own as an actor and does an excellent job as the younger brother Clifford who befalls the miseries of having Jaffrey as his elder brother. There are some real nice character actors in here like Cecil Kellaway as a family lawyer and friend of Clifford and Cousin Hepzibah. Alan Napier, Alfred from the Batman series, plays a postman and his scenes are very charming and mark the passage of time throughout. Lovely Nan Grey(best known probably for Dracula's Daughter as well as The Invisible Man Returns) is solid as a young cousin who needs to live with Hepzibah. But for me, the real star is Margaret Lindsay. To be honest, I was not particularly familiar with her work, but she is aces here. Beautiful and forceful. She plays a happy woman with her future before her with her love at the beginning of the film. Her smile is infectious. As the plot unwinds and bad things happen to her and her lover, the bitterness which slowly creeps into her life is worn equally as well. Her performance really was that good. The writing here is very good too. The dialogue is very witty, often funny, and pops in every scene. This movie is roughly 90 minutes but I was glued to it for each and every minute in it. This is definitely - as far as I am concerned - a minor classic.
Review of The House of the Seven Gables
