Emotionally fragile rich lady Dominique (a fine and affecting performance by Jean Simmons) commits suicide. Her husband David (a solid portrayal by Cliff Robertson) inherits all her money. However, David soon starts to believe that Dominque's unrestful spirit has returned from beyond the grave to haunt and torment him.
While director Michael Anderson does a sound job of creating and sustaining an intriguingly spooky and enigmatic atmosphere, the engrossing, yet fairly predictable story unfolds at way too slow a pace and hence makes the film overall feel more than a little padded. Fortunately, the ace cast keeps this movie watchable: Jenny Agutter as David's sweet half sister Ann, Simon Ward as duplicitous chauffeur Tony, Judy Geeson as the skeptical Marjorie, and Michael Jayston as the conniving Arnold. Moreover, there are nice bits by Ron Moody as an eminently expendable corrupt doctor and David Tomlinson as a very formal lawyer. Both Ted Moore's polished cinematography and David Whitaker's elegant orchestral score are up to speed. While the execution could have used some more punch, the dark double twist ending goes a long way in compensating for the film's flaws. So to sum up, this movie has its issues, but overall sizes up as a perfectly decent little thriller all the same.
While director Michael Anderson does a sound job of creating and sustaining an intriguingly spooky and enigmatic atmosphere, the engrossing, yet fairly predictable story unfolds at way too slow a pace and hence makes the film overall feel more than a little padded. Fortunately, the ace cast keeps this movie watchable: Jenny Agutter as David's sweet half sister Ann, Simon Ward as duplicitous chauffeur Tony, Judy Geeson as the skeptical Marjorie, and Michael Jayston as the conniving Arnold. Moreover, there are nice bits by Ron Moody as an eminently expendable corrupt doctor and David Tomlinson as a very formal lawyer. Both Ted Moore's polished cinematography and David Whitaker's elegant orchestral score are up to speed. While the execution could have used some more punch, the dark double twist ending goes a long way in compensating for the film's flaws. So to sum up, this movie has its issues, but overall sizes up as a perfectly decent little thriller all the same.