Eerie clips and other moments from The Innocents (1961)

[megalosauru]

The scariest movie I've ever seen in my life!!

[pouchfreeman]

One of the best damn ghost storys ever, and I thought I'd seen them all. Just caught this for the first time a few weeks ago and it scared me to death.

[aleyyisawesomee]

Theres something about Miles that just freaked me out from the start :S

[aleyyisawesomee]

Its a really great film because it works both ways whether the children were evil and there were ghosts or whether it was the woman's imagination... and is it wrong that its 2011... I'm 13 and I actually find this ok to watch :S

[DickieAnginson]

Deborah Kerr said she played Miss Giddens as a neurotic, overly sheltered woman who was slowly going mad. Henry James once said he deliberately left "The Turn of the Screw" ambiguous, leaving it up to the reader to decide whether Miss Giddens was insane or whether the house was haunted and the children possessed.

Personally, I love the idea of Miss Giddens' repressed imagination running wild, resulting in tragic consequences.

[ThatHauntFreak2]

7:34 This is one of the most eerie scenes in the movie... you can tell that Miles was not quite "himself."

[fairygodmotherKr15]

I have yet to decide between this one & "The Bad Seed". It was portrayed on film exactly as it was on stage w/ most of the original cast. The theatrical over dramatization was a bit extreme but I love films that hold my interest w/ a good script, allowing me to use my imagination rather than lay it all out for me. Too many rely on easy stuff like special FX, gore, obscenities & various forms of eye candy, including unnecessary nudity. All that fluff is easier to use than writing a good script.

[Beerlejuice]

Alright now I know it's a strange scene but damn Deborah Kerr is GORGEOUS! I don't blame Miles at all for giving her a big smooch. Looks like she kind of liked too, albeit a little shocked. Wish I could have given her a big kiss.

[nocturne163]

This is an amazing adaption indeed , beautiful , thrilling and creepy !!

I love the part with the children's performance , and the wonderful music box :)

[Gbirmz]

omg did ne1 notice: at the end wen the credit for flora comes up and shes dancing you can see sneaky jessel behind her arrrgh its horrible!

[narnia27]

I just watched the BBC one on iplayer and I thought it was good, very creepy. The ITV one was good as well but the scariest Quint imo was the one in the US (tv?) movie from the mid 90s, jumped out of my skin when he looked through the window.

[buffscrag]

The ultimate and unchallenged film adaptation of 'Turn Of The Screw'. The latest BBC effort was ham-fisted in the extreme.

[coralin378]

this is true classic horror

not the crap we have in theatres nowadays

[screamwriter1]

There may or may not be ghosts but the stuff that happened in the house has traumatized the kids for sure and the woman is so sexually repressed its hard for her to imagine two children seeming more (sexually) then she has in her life. Almost every time we see the ghosts they are only seen from Deborah Kerrs point of view. She may just be cracking up ala Repulsion

[sillygrl23]

A very scary movie, I remember watching this whole thing on PBS one time and it gave me the creeps including the end where the disembodied hand is coming out of the shadows during the ending credits. CREEPY!

[MorroccoSurrogate]

I never even noticed that it was a spider eating a butterfly delighting the girl when I first watched it. That's totally not horrifying.

[loganne123]

My school did this play and it was the last play Chris Colfer was in. Our school won best play in the country for this :)

[01owilliam]

this is easily one of the scariest films ever using hardly anything, the others is another one

[sillygrl23]

@01owilliam I have the say the most disturbing thing that a ghost can ever make a child do is seduce a young governess.

[01owilliam]

nah she's fit no need for a ghost lol, kid was usin ghost as an excuse to try n get him some, go for it if it works i say, good luck dude get in there

most disturbing thing a ghost can make a child do is jus stand at the end of a corridor, not facing u n humming, now that's fucked up, ie the little girl on this film where she sees the woman across the lake, that's crazy tension right there

[sillygrl23]

lol, you got a point, maybe that was a "Victorian" way for a boy to excercise his hormonalness on a older woman. There are so many freudian implications coming out of the wazoo. I think out of all the Interpretations of TTOTS this is one is one of my favorites.

[FixeLoLinc]

i love this film!!

I love the fact it can scare you shitless without any special effects :)

[mjbcards]

I saw this movie on amc fright night and fell in love with this :). I love this kind of suspense horror old horror was the best. Greating acting in this movie all the way around and I adore that weeping willow song

[manuelegance]

Terriblemente perturbadora.

[WoundedWolfgirl]

This movie really freaked me out when I saw it...Miles still creeps the hell out of me...

[immortalxpulse]

I saw this is Drama in 10th grade. it was so scary. oh my. so so scary.

[kelseyisherex]

Ugh.

I couldn't even watch a minute of it without it on mute.

Is there anything creepier than this?

[Dravenswraith]

martin (miles) is one bad arse actor blows away many of todays so called acting prodigies

[beckie0]

5:05 did scare me!

[ebf1957]

I would like to see Tim Burton do a version of this.

[kelseyisherex]

That would be horrifying.

[gatheringleaves]

Oh yeah that would be awesome

This kind of movie is right up his alley!

[sillygrl23]

He should totally do it....

[AmericanEvita]

I love this movie! It's eerie, Gothic, mysterious...the sound effects in some portions were rather like a haunted house and dramatic/over the top but very effective...the subtle scariness and quiet scenes are the ones that get to you..it's a haunted home in the most classic sense...this movie leaves you with a "haunted" feeling...black'n'white worked for this movie..my fav part is the poetry reading scene..what is that from ???

[ogamiitto20]

this movie looks so....BAD ASS!!!

[GreyGardensGuignol]

Deliciously good...creepy children...what more could you ask for.

[harrydunneX]

Wow! It's so delicious to see all the enthusiastic comments about this, my favorite horror movie of all time. I've seen it many, many, many times (on TV and in revival houses) and it never loses an ounce of its power or impact. Audiences still scream. Freddie Francis' astonishing cinematography, the exquisite (and modernistic) soundtrack, Jack Clayton's sensitive direction, every pitch-perfect performance, the masterful screenplay, all of it comes together to form a simply perfect picture.

[harrydunneX]

I saw this movie when I was eleven years old and it scared and scarred me for years. I was unable to enter a room at night where the windows weren't covered by curtains, for fear I might see somebody peering in like Quint. This film is an absolute masterpiece of subtlety and style. Do you think a movie today could ever get away with such powerful suggestions of adult/child sexuality? The Innocents was way ahead of its time (and, of course, props must be given to Henry James, too.)

[stephensullivan1]

My joint favorite horror along with Dont Look Now

[raphaelmaraki]

this is the best horror movie ive ever seen{the exorcist as well}

[kawana87]

lol the last one was probably just some lady standing on a log, and when she looked away, the lady fell into the water :P

[Mezzotenor]

My HS English teacher's theory is that it's all in the governness's mind, and that her problem is her sexual curiosity and frustruation with respect to her unseen employer (whom she never meets in the original book). There is a corollary theory that Mrs. Grose despises Miles and wants to take care of Flora, so she allows the governness to go mad, alienate Flora, and end up alone with Miles. Stage versions exist, including an opera where Quint and Jessel are (unwisely) made singing characters.

[pegleg747]

Brilliant cinematography and acting; arguably, Debra Kerr's best film.

[martiandoll]

I just happened to catch this movie once last summer. Couldn't forget it at all. The creepiest moment for me was Miss Gidens(?) seeing Ms. Jessel across the lake, with Ms. Jessel wearing a black dress, her eyes "gone". There was something terrifying with someone not having eyes, as in black holes instead of eyes. It immediately means death for me, because the eyes are the windows to your soul, you can see the exact moment a person passes away through his eyes.

[gatheringleaves]

Enter My Lord! Come from Your Prison!

Come from your Grave...for the moon is arisen

Welcome My Lord

[gatheringleaves]

A Poem What Shall I Sing to My Lord from my window What Shall I sing for My Lord will not stay What Shall I Sing for My Lord will not listen Where Shall I go When My Lord is Away Whom Shall I love when the moon is arisen Gone is My Lord and The Grave is his prison What Shall I say when My Lord comes a calling What Shall I say when he knocks on My Door What Shall I Say when his feet enter softly Leaving the marks of his grave on my floor

[sillygrl23]

@gatheringleaves Don't vouch me on this, but whenever I see that scene with the poetry I always feel that Miles was talking about Heath Quinn or his death.

[buffscrag]

Well of course he is.

[ambera15]

We have to read this book in class and we watched the movie yesterday . I think the director has taken quite a few liberties with the story. But I think it´s more interesting than the book. James is a really dull author .

[rosaf19]

James is not dull! And I think the movie follows the book pretty closely. There are differences, of course.

[sillygrl23]

What is interesting about both the book and the movie versions is that they were so vague at times that it couldn't help but leave it up to the Reader's intrepretation. I think that is why no two versions of the movie are the same.

[Dix994]

@sillygrl23 I feel that Jame's intended this to be a ghost story, not a story about a repressed woman - which, if you think about it, probably half the women back then were repressed. Besides, I think James even admitted to his intention for it to be a ghost story, he always wanted to write one, and he did!

[raphaelmaraki]

this is one of the best horror films,and i should know its the only movies i watch

[bubbledick]

Fantastic film!

Brilliantly shot,a truly eerie Ghost Story....

[Rowan07001484]

I don't understand what the book or the movies are supposed to be about. The turn of the screw is the book, I presume. I'm guessing that the kids ae possesed.

[FlashGORDONXVFFR]

its miss giddens mind who desires miles, blocks it out, and produces the apparations. the children are innocent, they do not see them.

[jessesgirl10]

That's one take on it. In the story, the narrator leaves it up to the listeners to decide if Miss Giddons is mental or if the children really were possessed. I lean toward your take, it was mainly in Miss Giddons mind.

[dougalina123]

that's a good thought...but I don't know. I still tend to think that the children still had "ghosts". Somewhere along the way there was some molestation going on, I think. Did it actually happen to the kids? I think they've witnessed way too much at such a young age, with Peter Quint and Miss Jessel (sp). But it could've happened to Miss Gibbons and she's repressed everything and now it's being projected onto the children. I need to read the story again.

Suggestions..please...?!?

[ebf1957]

There's a movie called "The Nightcomers" with Marlon Brando who played Quint and Stephanie Beacham who played Miss Jessel. It supposed to have been a prequel to "Turn of the Screw". In the movie Miles and Flora witness what Quint and Jessel were doing. It's out on DVD.

[sillygrl23]

@dougalina123 I have no doubts regarding the subject of them being molested when Quint and Jewell were alive. After seeing this movie again after a while Miles does seem to convey some of the modern day signs of sexual child abuse. Though back in Victorian times it wouldn't have been noted. Either way that would definitely make for a good theme.

[kub73158]

Did not like;it's more screwy than scary.

Instead,try the 'Haunting' from 1963.

[whiterose465]

Whoa! What is up with the kid and Deborah KErr lip locking?! Didn't expect that one! Wow...ok, i'm officially creeped out now!

[mohanicus]

i think miles is the same freaky kis from village of the dammed with the spooky eyes????????

this was an excellant spooky film.

but my favorite is the haunting(1963)

the innocents is my dads scariest film.

[draculaah]

i watched this movie on tv once with my sister when we were really little....man, didnt this freak me out SOO much!!!

[hatemylife07]

incredibly eerie. i love it.

[PrplHazel]

5:07-AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!!­!! I would be freaking out if that ever happened to me!

[dawnbreaks]

I really need to see this film!Is it on region 2 DVD? That honestly gave me goosebumps, thank god I drew the curtains already

[Egglesplork]

_____During the end credits, a hand reaches up from the evil darkness. It reminds me of that nurse's hand in the alternate demon-universe of Silent Hill 3. "That hand outside the window..." is what Heather thinks or something. Is THAT where the inspiration for that item comes from? If so, those game producers must've REALLY done their horror-motif research. Hats off to their hands-on approach--so to speak.

[sillygrl23]

@Egglesplork I never noticed that before, in Silent Hill I mean, but yes that was probably the most creepiest thing I have ever seen in the movie

[kimbelkid]

great movie

[realeimperobritannic]

Scary. Materpiece.

[ebf1957]

Someone should've written a follow-up to Turn Of The Screw that focused on Flora and if she's still haunted by the spirits of Miss Jessel and Peter Quint.

[wyattvictor]

What did she mean when she said she was carried away in London?

[skylur44]

She meant she was carried away by the charm of the uncle, who hired her; apparently charm runs in the family...on the surface at least.

[skylur44]

Very very rare to have such young children be this good in a movie, just amazing performances.

[WTF20010]

I concur. I wish more young actors and actresses had this kind of talent.

[turtleyto]

I see where your coming from. However, one common misconception with child acting is that it is hard. Actually, its easier for kids to act then adults because they no make-believe better than we do. Adult actors have to go back in memory a lot.

[skylur44]

Not always. Many children, as we see in so many TV shows, are horribly self conscious and full of the cutes rather than actually having any talent, the the point of being too painful to watch. These children were absolutely natural and believable and I seriously doubt it wouold be easy to find child actors today with this sort of skill and presence esp in these demanding roles.

[turtleyto]

Again, I understand where your coming from but I happened to be a child actor and am now an adult actor. Adults struggle with self consciousness far worse than chlidren. I've been acting for many years and have seen a lot. I guess you might be suprised as to the talent I've seen in the theater and film. The key for the child actor to look natural is simply the director. Thanks for your response.

[skylur44]

I respectfully disagree. The best director in the world cannot elicit such fine performances without great skill on the part of the child actors. My father was in film for several decades and we knew many child actors, and some were superb, and this always went back to an innate talent and skill inherent in the children themselves, great performances, such as these, cannot be conjured out of thin air regardless of the skill of the director, he must have something to work with in the first place.

[turtleyto]

Ok, I forgot your father was in film and you carefully studied every child actor you ran into. Listen, if you haven't acted before and your only an observer, its tough to fully understand. In theater and in film, its a group effort. You need talent from everyone. Thanks for your response.

[skylur44]

Actually I didn't carefully study them, and I don't feel you have to have been a child actor in order to recognize what separates good from bad, just keen observation is sufficient. I understand even though I was not an actor myself, and I do have my own POV, as you have yours. Again, if the director has little to work with, (talent wise) he won't be able to get such fine performances as these. Merely being a child does not mean acting is either easy or natural, as many performances reveal.

[turtleyto]

You know, your starting to grow on me. If you like good child acting, you might like the movie "The Others" with Nicole Kidman. Check it out. Later.

[skylur44]

I did like it, excellent movie and the kids were good too, great twist and setting. Like the 6th Sense, totally unexpected, and the boy in 6th Sense was fabulous, not sure of his name Haley Joel Osment (sp). Great child actor.

[coralin378]

I couldn't have said it any better than you did. These children are naturally talented for sure.

[Lwhite82]

Miles scares the crap out of me!

[dholt777]

One of my favorite movies. Scared the shit out of me when I was a kid. Great to see it's on DVD.

[V37324N]

Great movie. Too bad this video isn't in its true format. Cinemascope.

[mohanicus]

excellant spooky film.

love the hauntig too.

the original 1963 movie.

[ginginnyme]

I loved that poem miles recitated the "My Lord" poem was very scary. :)

[claraj93]

does anyone know if there is the scene on youtube of Miss Flora and Miss Giddens when she finds the beetles and she starts singing and all?!?!?!!?

[powerfulnun]

My favorite has always been the haunting song. I wish I could have it for my Ipod so I could master that creepy look while standing and watching people in swamps.

[jessesgirl10]

I have the creepy song, O Waly, Waly, on my channel if you just want the music.

[perrypearl]

Exquisite film.The BEST of its kind!Astoundingly beautiful Miss Kerr shines in high class,sophisticated horror.

[OpportunityOn]

Another possibility of the boy's death, though not as openly possible as in the book, is that Miss Giddens accidentally kills him while comforting him (either by smothering him or accidentally breaking his neck). It's just another possibility that could support the case of her insanity.

[myvideos500]

Watched that film in English the other week, a great film, it is the better one of the two films based on the turn of the screw... the others just couldn't compare to this one!

[minadrake]

I remember watching the movie when I was 6, it scared the hell out of me. I never understood the ending though, why did the boy die? And why did she kiss him???

[triddell]

She scared Miles to death. Spoiler coming... There was never ANY ghosts. Watch again. Watch the sexual repression all through the film. Even from the first words spoken, she lives in an imaginary world. The film is shown through her perspective. My fav ghost story ever. The henry james novel is even better and just as subtle.

[minadrake]

Oh thanks for that, now I understand. I never knew before that the ghost were not real and that is was just her. Wow, now I really need to watch it again!

[Escepticus]

Well, careful with the assumption that the ghosts were not real. It's always UNCLEAR if they are real or its only the teacher's imagination. That's the magic and appeal of both the book and film, and why is considered the best ghost history of all time. The final answer is up to the reader.

[Escepticus]

...and talking about ambiguity, the end has two lectures: He died scared to death because of the allucinations of the teacher...or he dies when he is despossesed (sorry, spelling) and the demon goes away.

[suicidalmickeymouse]

how haunting.

ms. deborah is definitely my favorite actress. ever. <3

[rkg77]

I just watched it, and it was even creepier and scarier than I remembered! Brilliant.

[A8768]

A masterpiece.

[CARACCIDENTV]

This is such great film! My favorite part was always when the man showed up in the window(creepy).When Miles made his move on Ms. Kerr was weird too.

[CDeanWatcher]

>>>My favorite part was always when the man showed up in the window(creepy).

That man was Peter Wyngarde, a talented actor at the height of his fame. So odd that he'd take such a small role!

[silverworx]

FABULOUS!!! Truly a masterpiece and one of Deborah's greatest roles. Certainly much better than that crappy remake with Nicole Kidman.

Cheers,

J.

[coralarch]

silverworx, the only ghost film I know that has Nicole Kidman in it is "The Others". Did she do a remake of "The Innocents?"

[silverworx]

Thought technically not a remake of The Innocents, The Others with Nicole Kidman is certainly inspired by the story (with a dash of The Haunting thrown in as well). While The Others is suspenseful in spots it can't match the creep factor of The Innocents with it's economy of special effects and macabre atmosphere. Just my two cents.

[coralarch]

Yes, agree with you. I saw the original "Haunting"- far, far better than the rubbishy effort with Catherine Zeta Jones in it. No amount of special effects can replace great acting.

[friendlier]

R.I.P. Deborah Kerr. One of the best actresses of her period and she is so well cast in The Innocents. Because you really can't tell if she's going mad or is actually correct in her observations of the children. A truly chilling film.

[coffeecub]

what is the song called that is hummed towards the end??? i hafta kno it... itz perfect for what i'm looking for

[catalinadarling]

It's called "O' Willow Waly" and played in full at the end of the video with the credits. :)

[holmennnguy]

Everything about this movie is awesome! By far on the the Top 5 Creepiest movies ever. Miss Jessel popping up everywhere. One part I wish was included was when she showed up when Flora was dancing.

[missboulay]

This film is amazing. It belongs among the best ten "ghosts" films ever.

[kerri494]

I have never seen this film, why I dont know, but after seeing these, I will have to!

[coralarch]

kerri494- to maximise the chills, try watching it at midnight, with a storm raging outside. Guaranteed to keep you awake all night.

[WilliamShore]

Simply a masterpiece! Still frightening after more than 40 years. Great work by Deborah Kerr and also of director of photography Freddie Francis. That Black & White is awesome!

[evenstar571]

So glad you included Miles' recitation and the eerie Miss Jessell in the lake (one of the greatest ghost scenes on film, in my opinion). Thank you!

[bat21bravo]

Deborah Kerr is the best!

[LadyTwenties]

Awesome! I love this movie, it's right behind The Others on the list of movies that left the deepest psychological imprint on me! &hearts;

[zheik]

beautiful!

[broadwayjoe123]

This is sooooooooo awesome!