Based on Sheridan le Fanu’s mid-nineteenth century novel, Charles Frank’s Uncle Silas (US: The Inheritance) is a Gothic smorgasbord featuring Jean Simmons as Caroline Ruthyn, a beautiful, teen-aged heiress who’s sent to live with her wealthy Uncle Silas (Derrick De Marney) upon the death of her father. Caroline soon learns that her uncle sees her less as a niece and more as a monetary inheritance for which he is the next of kin; this leads to her ultimate imprisonment a la the first Mrs. Rochester in Jane Eyre. While the film occasionally detours into semi-comedic tones during the first half, the final act is an enthralling tour-de-force in Gothic suspense, action, and even horror, particularly as we witness a series of brutal murders that lead to Caroline’s terror and desperation to flee at any cost. The cast is uniformly excellent, but Katina Paxinou steals the show as Madame de la Rougierre, the witchy governess turned henchwoman whose French cackles and histrionics contrast starkly with Caroline’s English restraint. With some of the most gorgeous sets of the noir cycle, The Inheritance is a feast for the senses in every respect. (Note: Coincidentally, an Argentinian adaptation of the same novel, Carlos Schlieper’s El misterioso tío Sylas, was also released in 1947.)