A Place of One's Own (1949)

Thanks for the memories!

I like movies that are aware of what they are selling... without [any] greater aspirations than to make people laugh and that's it.

There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes

There are moments in this movie where the great movie it could've been peek out... They're fleeting, here, but they're worth savoring, and they happen often enough to make it worth your while.

With only a subtle bit of horror, this romantic melodrama focuses on the companion (Margaret Lockwood) hired by Barbara Mullen to work for her in the new home purchased by her husband (James Mason). The aging couple know there is a bit of a mystery surrounding the house, but when Lockwood begins to act rather oddly, it is obvious that something or someone is taking over her personality! Wearing old age make-up, Mullen and Mason give very credible performances as the retired couple who have moved to the country, and Lockwood, having been sinister in several pictures such as "The Man in Grey" and "The Wicked Lady", gets to combine gentility with the subtle display of sinister intentions when she is taken over by the fragile home bound ghost who while alive committed suicide after being jilted. Mason begins to investigate the history of their house in order to help Lockwood who has become like the daughter he and Mullen never had. It's ironic that the unseen phantom does not take over until Lockwood has fallen in love with Mason's house guest (Dennis Price) who becomes concerned over the obvious changes he sees in her personality.With this film and "Dead of Night", British cinema proved that it could do seriously themed horror movies that were both chilling and excellent examples of how film could become a work of art. The entire cast is superb, and Mason is barely recognizable in his gray hair and aged make-up. Of the supporting cast, Dulcie Gray is excellent as Mason and Mullen's maid. The bird-like Edie Martin is hysterically funny as the prim and proper (and gossipy) cook, with "Bride of Frankenstein's" Ernest Thesiger also very good in a small role as a doctor of the occult who has many of the answers Mason has questions for. This shows how you can grab the audience and keep their attention strictly through subtleties and not going overboard on special effects, of which this has little to none of. I was surprised to read that this was considered a box office disappointment, but perhaps that is a tribute to its artistic qualities which might have gone over the head of most film goers looking for escapism and a bit more horrific environment considering the goings on with World War II.

A PLACE OF ONE'S OWN is a genteel haunted house picture about a middle-aged couple moving into a rambling old house that's unbeknownst to them haunted by the restless spirit of a young girl. There's little more plot to it than that, but the aim of the director isn't to terrify the viewer but rather to evoke a certain mood of nostalgia, of longing, of ambiguity and mystery. To that end he succeeds in his job, although the resulting film has dated somewhat in the intervening years. It's chiefly of interest for seeing a number of famous faces of the era, including Margaret Lockwood and Dennis Price, although the real treat is James Mason's turn as an elderly Yorkshire gentleman; not always convincing, but certainly amusing.

I had always been interested in watching this well-regarded British ghost story – but was still pretty much blown away by it, being generally deemed too low-key for complete success. The film (the U.K. equivalent to THE UNINVITED [1944]) is notable for James Mason's playing of a character role much older than his 36 years; he's fine as always, but is matched by Barbara Mullen as his wife – and the whole proves a nice showcase, too, for the young Dennis Price as a doctor. The latter falls for and eventually treats Margaret Lockwood, Mullen's ingénue companion – who, on the old couple's inexpensive acquisition of a fashionable but notorious country-house, becomes possessed by the spirit of the latest female occupant (she had been ill-treated by both masters and servants and would die separated from her lover, another medic). Directed by a former cinematographer (his debut and unquestionably best effort), the period atmosphere is exceedingly well deployed throughout – thanks to Stephen Dade's probing camera-work and the elegant production design, particularly the mansion's interior. There are few genuine scares, yet the film generates some definite frissons along the way: Lockwood, a mediocre pianist at best, suddenly playing a piece faultlessly in front of guests; the girl's spontaneous quotation from a poem she readily admits to being unfamiliar with; and, especially, her close encounter with an unseen entity (woken up by the piano mysteriously playing at night, we hear its lid being violently shut when she enters the room, followed by the camera's swift panning – suggesting something had gone past her – and then hushed voices plotting murder in the hallway). Also worth mentioning in this regard, however, are the enigmatic 'orders' given to the old couple as well as the gardener (a surprising straight turn from comedian Will Hay's frequent sparring partner Moore Marriott) respectively requesting a certain doctor's presence and the unearthing of a locket (subsequently cleaned just as inexplicably). Eventually, the former lovers do get together one more time – the girl obviously in Lockwood's form and the medic now reduced to an old man (played by none other than Ernest Thesiger, whose entrance here towards the end of the film is almost as impressive as the one in BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN [1935]) – but, tellingly, the camera cuts away at this precise moment, as if we what they had to say was meant for their ears only!; following this, there is a twist involving Thesiger's character – which I actually predicted, but it certainly adds to the poignancy of the reunion. All in all, a little gem of a film displaying plenty of brooding style but also surprising warmth (not a feeling one usually associates with ghost stories).

The movie begins as an elderly couple close the deal on a beautiful house. That's one of the meanings of the title: The wife has always wanted a beautiful house of their own.But ah! Villagers very soon start talking: The couple got it at a good price because it is haunted and no one else has wanted to touch it.James Mason plays the old gent. He is made up and dressed to seem at least twice the age he was. The voice is recognizable, though. Even without knowing the cast in advance, I'd have known his voice. He does a good job, not overacting or hamming up the idea of playing old. (I don't think he in fact did age in this way, but who could have known?) Something about playing older characters fascinates actors. Robert Donat won an Oscar for it in "Good-bye, Mr. Chips." The first time I saw that movie, in a revival theater, I was knocked out by it. But I have to say that Mason overplays a little less than Donat, as far as playing an older man.Mason's wife engages a companion. In a way this is a plot device. We're never completely sure why she has done this. The companion is the lovely Margaret Lockwood. Soon she is saying things she doesn't understand and playing pieces she's never played before on the piano in the house.Beyond that I will not go. All this happens early in the movie.The smaller roles are beautifully cast. It has an elegant look. I wouldn't call it a great movie but it certainly held my interest.