Dragonwyck

For his directorial debut, Joseph Mankiewicz created a beautifully shadowy period production of a quintessentially Gothic story: inexperienced, young girl arrives at the mansion of a distant, male relative who slowly reveals his dark past and crazy tendencies but not before she falls in love with him. In Dragonwyck, the young girl is Miranda Wells (Gene Tierney), a Christian farm girl from Connecticut, and the distant relative is Nicholas Van Ryn (Vincent Price), a filthy rich pontoon who invites Miranda to stay at the titular mansion as a companion for his young daughter Katrine (Connie Marshall). In desperate want of a son to inherit his name and fortune, Van Ryn’s first step is to eliminate his sickly, infertile wife Johanna (Vivienne Osborne), and his second step is to seduce Miranda into taking her place as his wife and son-maker. This is easier said than done as Van Ryn must contend with a mob of increasingly agitated tenant farmers led by Anti-Rent activist Jeff Turner (Glenn Langan), a family curse involving a haunted harpsichord, and, ultimately, drug addiction. Walter Huston plays Miranda’s stern and religious father Ephraim Wells, while Jessica Tandy plays her devoted, disabled maid Peggy who fears Van Ryn may kill Miranda next. The chemistry between Tierney and Price is barely existent, and some script problems keep the film from greatness, but Mankiewicz paints with a stunningly dramatic brush and heightens suspense with Gothic aesthetics. Somewhat unexpectedly, the film also explores metaphysical concerns as Van Ryn’s materialist atheism on several occasions clashes with the deep Christian faith of Miranda and her family.