A PLACE OF ONE’S OWN (1945)
Article #837 by Dave Sindelar
Viewing Date: 6-30-2003
Posting Date: 11-27-2003
Directed by Bernard Knowles
Featuring James Mason, Margaret Lockwood, Dennis Price

An old couple buys a country house in which they hope to spend their retirement, only to discover that the place is haunted.

Title check: Appropriate in it’s own ironic way, nonetheless, it still sounds more like it should be the title of a sentimental comedy.

Some movies are easy to describe; this is essentially a less scary British take on THE UNINVITED. There’s not much in the way of surprises here, but there are a couple of good scary scenes (generally involving piano music) and the acting is quite good, even if Mason and Barbara Mullen are too young to be playing the old couple (though I had to double-check the cast list before I realized that James Mason was playing the old man). Keep your eyes peeled for Ernest Thesiger; if you don’t know he’s in the movie, you may not recognize him when he appears. Enjoyable enough, but minor.