The Innocents is a 1961 British horror film based on the
novella The Turn of the Screw by Henry James. The title of the film was taken
from William Archibald's stage adaptation of James' novella. Directed and
produced by Jack Clayton, it stars Deborah Kerr, Michael Redgrave and Megs
Jenkins.
Miss Giddens applies for her first position as a governess
for a wealthy bachelor, he is not concerned with her lack of experience and she
gets the job. Once Miss Giddens arrives at the estate she starts to learn about
the place and what has happened in the past.
“an angelic little child with a beguiling smile who appears
to have a mysterious foreknowledge of her brother's imminent arrival, though he
is not expected.” (Scheinfel 2007)The two young children in the film, Miles and
Flora are smart young children, who are very misleading a the beginning of the
film, but slowly through the film become more evil and cunning towards Miss
Gidden.
Fig Two - Scene from the film.
“Wonderful adult horror, stylishly well-made and frightening
on a couple of levels”. (Euker, 2005)The film suited black and white with the
atmosphere of the film going well with the creepy soundtrack and laughs and
cries of a little girl. There’s a few scenes in the film what capture thriller
as well or even better than today’s thrillers, such scene were Miss Gidden is
playing hide and seek with Flora and Miles and Miss Giddens searching down the
corridor and a figure of a woman just walks past or when Miss Giddens is hiding
behind the curtains and Quint comes from behind in the garden towards the
window, simple but effective scenes what spoke the audience and leave them
asking more questions.
“She was also suspiciously frustrated and sexually
repressed. In short, she was what would be quickly labeled psychopathic in this
more knowing day”. (Crowther, 2005) The sexual undertone in the film are small
and often make the audience ask whats going on, but it feels as the director
wanted this to throw them off, the scene where Miles kisses Miss Gidden but the
kiss becomes more intimate, this gives the impression that Miles isn’t himself
and in fact Miles is possessed by Quint and this is why the kiss is intimate
and also the bird he shows be before the kiss has had its necked snapped. Quint
was an intimate but brutal man and this shown in this scene through Miles. Miss
Gidden’s sexual frustration is obvious as her background is told in the film
and Quint knows this and tries this through the film with Miss Gidden.
Illustrations -
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