One night, an old woman sees a light in the window of number 11 Crescent Drive. The woman is chased down and killed.
The next day, Elizabeth Howard (Gail Russell) arrives at number 10 Crescent Drive to see David Fielding (Joel McCrea) and to take up a position as governess to his two children, Barnaby (Richard Lyon) and Ellen (Nona Griffith). Ellen takes to Elizabeth right away, but Barnaby is hostile and doesn’t hide the fact that he preferred the previous governess, Maxine (Phyllis Brooks). David, who lost his wife in an accident years ago, appears to be a cold and distant man. His only friend is the local doctor, Dr. Charles Evans (Herbert Marshall).
The house next door, 11 Crescent Drive, has been empty for the last 12 years. It was built by a man named Commodore Tygarth. After he died his wife, Marian Tygarth (Isobel Elsom) moved and kept the house shuttered and locked. 12 years later Marian Tygarth returns to town to put 11 Crescent Drive up for sale.
Elizabeth begins to notice some strange things going on. She believes that someone is gaining entrance to 11 Crescent through the basement of number 10 Crescent. She also comes to believe that Barney may be the one facilitating access to the house next door by leaving the front door unlocked. Elizabeth confides in Dr. Evans her concerns about Barney and the strange things going on in the house. She also believes that Maxine may be a part of it. When Maxine is murdered, Elizabeth realizes that whoever has been gaining access to the house is a murderer. Elizabeth is frightened. Why is someone so interested in the house next door and what other secrets are hidden within the shuttered building?
“The Unseen” was released in 1945 and was directed by Lewis Allen. It is an American mystery thriller with horror and old dark house elements, and a film noir. It is based on the 1942 novel “Midnight House” or “Her Heart in Her Throat” by Ethel Lina White. The film has been often labeled as either a sequel or a companion film to the 1944 film “The Uninvited”. The only things that tie these two films together are that they have the same director, Lewis Allen, and Gail Russell being one of the actors in both films.
It’s not really a bad mystery, but it does have a tendency to wander. There are too many mysterious things going on that make the storyline a little disjointed. The characters are also just kind of there. There isn’t a lot of flesh to their character development. You’re left with questions that are never really answered. It still ends up being interesting with some nice noir atmosphere but slightly confusing.
Gail Russell, the proverbial woman in peril, does a decent job of playing the dewy-eyed and naïve, yet strong willed governess, even though her personal life was crumbling. Russell suffered from alcoholism and was hospitalized for a time. She was found dead from the disease in August 1961 in her home. She was 36 years old.