Absolutely Fantastic

The movie is wonderful and true, an act of love in all its contradictions and complexity

Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.

It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

I read in other user comments above that several U.S. viewers have only been able to see "Uncle Silas"(1947) in the inferior and censored title of "The Inheritance".Like the original "The Wicked Lady" 1945 which had to be re-shot minus décolletage, this was released at a time in America of great prudery.I am happy to report to my said U.S.brethren that the original U.K. version is available from www.myrarefilms.co.uk for which I paid £5 or about $7 + postage in your currency.In this more liberal climate I hate films being censored, after all, I am 69,so purchase a copy of the original rather than watch an inferior copy.Jean Simmons was born in 1929 so when asked her age (16) in "Uncle Silas" she is nearly telling her real age of 18 and very young fresh & lovely she looks.Full marks to the set & dress designers to show clothes worn by ladies in 1845.Derek de Marney for once plays a villain as Uncle Silas compared to say "Young & Innocent" (1937) directed by Hitchcock, when he played the hero wrongly accused of murdering a lady associate found strangled on a beach.Other reviewers have adequately explained the plot above but do make an effort to see this film if you like Gothic horror.

With somehow having always gotten the title mixed up for a George Saunder's Film Noir called The Strange Affair of Uncle Harry,I was happily caught completely by surprise,when a very kind IMDb'er gave me a chance to finally meet uncle Silas.The plot-1845:Despite being strongly connected to a vicious murder,17 year old Caroline Ruthyn is told by her dad that reclusive uncle Silas is a good man,whose flamboyance has caused him to be misunderstood.Deciding to update his will so that Caroline can get the money before she turns 21,Caroline's dad dies before he is able to put his signature on the changes.With only being 17 years old,Caroline is sent away,to be looked after by Silas until she turns 21.Caught completely by surprise,Caroline is happy to discover that Silas is a kind,if overly animated,family member.Looking around Silas's huge mansion,Caroline begins to discover the darkness lurking in the corners of her less than sweet uncle's life.View on the film:Surrounding the movie with towering mansion's,director Charles Frank builds a haunting atmosphere which combines icy Gothic Horror with a mean-spirited Film Noir mood,as Frank and Robert Krasker gradually allow the candle lights to burn out,and to be replaced by eerie shadows which wrap around every dark corner of the mansion's.Along with the excellent Gothic Noir atmosphere,Frank and Krasker also show an extraordinary eye in displaying the full content of their mansion,with Frank's superb wide-shots creating an unexpected claustrophobic chill,as Caroline Ruthyn demons start to suffocate her.Whilst Frank shows a real skill in boiling a Gothic brew, Ben Travers adaptation of Sheridan Le Fanu's is sadly never able to fully matching the visual appearance,thanks to Travers taking a rather stilted approach to the screenplay,which leads to the film receiving sudden bursts of horror,instead of a slow-burning sense of menace,which Charles Frank appears to be setting his sights on.Entering the film with a real elegance, Jean Simmons gives an excellent performance as Caroline Ruthyn,with Simmons showing Ruthyn to psychologically crumble into bits,as she starts to realise what sweet uncle Silas's plans are.Sending a shiver down Ruthyn, John Laurie gives a great rustic performance as loyal butler Giles,whilst Derrick De Marney gives an extremely flamboyant performance as uncle Silas,with Marney slowly tearing up the flamboyance of Silas,to reveal the secret hidden inside.

This could have been a wonderful film with it's Gothic atmosphere and well-researched period detail (clothes, interiors). But it's hammy, cartoony and over-simplified. Jean Simmons is simpering and wet - oh, sorry, of course I mean cute and vulnerable, Uncle Silas and his son crude and her admirer wooden. Why must Christmas scenes of the 19th century always involve those tedious mummers? Jean Simmons' skirts are far too light and filmy, and young ladies in them days didn't run about at top speed showing lots of leg clad in pantalettes. They wore nothing under those petticoats and had to move more circumspectly. Read the book!

I really enjoyed "Uncle Silas", although it's called "The Inheritance" on the VHS copy that I own and there are seemingly five minutes of footage missing. It's a wonderful, creepy little film about a young woman, Caroline (lovely Jean Simmons), who goes to live with her scheming old Uncle Silas in his big, gloomy mansion after her father dies. Uncle Silas (perfectly played by Derrick De Marney) and his accomplices; a French governess, Madame de la Rougierre (marvelously played by Katina Paxinou), and his son, Dudley (well played by Manning Whiley) are planning to do away with the heroine to gain her fortune. Thankfully, there are intervals where the young woman visits with her sympathetic cousin Monica (nicely played by Sophie Stewart). Brilliant music score by Alan Rawsthorne is available on CD through Amazon.com on a collection called Rawsthorne:Film Music. Nice cinematography and sets add the finishing touches to this atmospheric film. I got my VHS copy from Movies Unlimited.com.