When Henry Smedhurst (James Mason) retires, he and his wife Emilie (Barbara Mullen) purchase an old mansion in the countryside called Bellingham House. After the death of the former owner, Elizabeth Harkness, the house laid empty for forty years. Henry manages to get the house cheap. Emilie wonders why the house has been empty for so long and why it sold for less than it should have. The realtor, Mr. Brighouse (Clarence Wright) talks around the question. Something about the house makes Emilie’s spidey sense go off but she tries to put her uneasiness aside.
The elderly couple settles into Bellingham house and hires a maid, Sarah (Dulcie Gray), a cook (Edie Martin) and a gardener, George (Moore Marriott). Emilie hires Annette Allenby (Margaret Lockwood) as a live-in companion. Annette is a young and pretty woman. She takes to the house and the Smedhursts right away. They take to her and find that they love her like a daughter. After a while they learn that the previous owner, Elizabeth, died under mysterious circumstances. Some believe that she was murdered by her live in caretakers. Some believe that the house is haunted by the spirit of Elizabeth. Although Mrs. Smedhurst is willing to consider the idea, Mr. Smedhurst thinks it is all nonsense.
The Smedhursts are visited by Major and Mrs. Manning Tutthorn (Michael Shepley and Helen Haye). They bring with them their nephew, Dr. Robert Selbie (Dennis Price). Robert and Annette become attracted to each other and fall in love. After a while they become engaged. Soon Annette starts to feel odd. She becomes listless and starts to act strangely. She begins to act as if she is possessed by the spirit of Elizabeth. The Smedhursts and Robert become concerned that Annette is ill and dying but they don’t know what is wrong with her. Annette starts to ask for a Dr. Marsham. Henry finds out that Dr. Marsham and Elizabeth were rumored to be in love with each other before she died. Some start to believe that Elizabeth’s ghost is looking for her lost lover. Henry starts looking for Dr. Marsham, hoping that he can cure Annette.
“A Place of One’s Own” was released in 1945 and was directed by Bernard Knowles. It is a British gothic supernatural thriller. The film is based on the novel “A Place of One’s Own” by Osbert Sitwell.
The movie is a product of its time and production values. It is quite the melodrama. Many gothic low budget paranormal thrillers were done during the forties. Themes and storylines for a lot of them were interchangeable. The film is a little slow moving at times but there are moments where the dialogue and the cinematography make it worth viewing. It’s not a bad little movie. In fact, it was quite an enjoyable ‘old dark house’ story.
At the time, James Mason was 36 and Barbara Mullen was 31. Their appearances were aged for the film. Mason was a popular actor and movie goers weren’t happy with seeing him old instead of the dark and brooding men he usual portrays. This affected the box office, and the film didn’t do as well as was hoped. There’s nothing wrong with Mason’s performance. In fact, he played the elderly gentleman quite well, although his makeup didn’t add much to his persona.