The Innocents (1961) Insights - Making Of - Documentary

[@barryjacobs8524]

I recently watched this brilliant film again and it is so cleverly done and the actors were brilliant, Deborah Kerr so beautiful. The story still gives me the creeps after all this time. If you haven’t seen this amazing film, you must watch it. ❤

[@lorihogue5015]

My favorite horror movies from childhood ... The Innocents, The Haunting, and The Uninvited. All in black and white, all superbly done.

[@rajatnandi2175]

"Rooms used by daylight as though they were dark woods".....what a writing.. truly magnificent

[@stevehinnenkamp5625]

Brilliant commentary. The film holds its own due to Deborah Kerr and amazing cast. It asks disturbing questions and the supernatural issues augment the distress. A masterpiece without doubt.

[@charlesbrooks9577]

The best horror movie ever made.

[@russellcampbell9198]

Yes.

[@dwaynesbadchemicals]

I didn’t see it until the ‘70’s. It haunted me for weeks as a young teenager.

[@charlesbrooks9577]

@@dwaynesbadchemicals I saw it when it came out.No truer ghost story has ever been told

[@moonshot_72]

No it's not. 1963's The Haunting IS the best horror movie ever made!!

[@CHRISMED2]

Carnival of souls being the one & only movie Herk Harvey ever made has to be in the conversation

[@mamaboocee]

This is a cinematic masterpiece. Detail everywhere. The combination of writers, directors camera, editing, set design, costume design and actors (forgive me if I have forgotten anything here) all came together to give an unsettling glimpse into what is underneath, and leaves it up to you to decide what goes on....because they know we are intelligent viewers. The art of film perfection.

[@TheLegendofPamelaFranklin]

Pamela and Martin are fabulous as the kids. Film made me a Deborah Kerr fan, too.

[@johneyon5257]

this was more like a conversation than a documentary - yet a large amount of info was imparted - an excellent presentation

[@Symbolsysteme]

I always love the singing birds during the night, because it evokes the impression of a very weird night coming to the end in the very early morning. The atmosphere I know after having a traumatizing night mare. This movie is just fantastic .Full of psychologic symbolism.

[@thedativecase9733]

Sorry to ruin that image but that's a nightingale - they do sing at night and have huge poetic and literary significance

[@TomRaw-sd6xd]

I watched this when it came out, I was 14. I must say that the presenter here, does a wonderful job of explaining the film, absolutely wonderful.

[@brianpjenkins]

I know this documentary is several years old, but I always wondered why no one thought of this as a psychological thriller. The key statement was made by Mrs. Grose. She told Miss Gibbons that sometimes it’s better not to “wake the children up.”

[@vivienmerchant]

Frayling is one of the best commentators on film and literature I have come across; he wears his learning and scholarship lightly and engages the listener as an unseen - he is totally without bombast. There are few others; Robin Wood was another, especially when discussing Hitchcock. This film is quite simply a masterpiece and, I think, delves even further into the rich material of James than the actual text of the novella. It manages to balance simultaneously three possibilities; that of the supernatural existence of malign spirits; the evil present in seemingly innocent children; and (most disturbingly) a possibly unhinged and sexually dangerous central character in the form of the governess, with a sublimated desire for the young boy. These three things are spun/balanced against each other in the most marvellously elliptical screenplay, mise en scene and in the performances. The entire cast and crew achieved some of their best work for Jack Clayton, with the result that we have a film which not only improves on its source, but also outclasses even the best of other treatments, including even Britten - at least from a dramatic perspective.

[@stereoldie]

+Joyce Little An excellent comment, thank you. I would venture a guess that you have some professional experience as a writer, a movie/book critic, or both!

[@gterrymed]

Joyce Little the best comment I've read. Women are More perceptive and I wish women woruld speak out and comment.

[@debrarichards3097]

Joyce Little a. Ff

[@AlyxCoe]

Great, great film. This is fascinating, thank you. I had to watch this film twice to really get it. Truffaut's praise is completely correct.

[@wolffman2445]

Couldn’t agree more :)

[@RonRicho]

My God! This documentary is almost as good as the film itself. Thank you so much for posting it.

[@JayaMadhavadas]

No remake can top this original,,FILM,,,,not possible.....

[@pbondin]

Jaya Madhava das ii

[@degsbabe]

Won't stop the yanks from trying. Theres not an original idea left in Hollywood. So they'll inevitably raid the Brit classics again. As long as Keira fking Knightly doesn't play the governess. I think Tilda Swinton would nail it.

[@cirquedude123]

Durins Bane I was totally with you on no remake and then you mention Tilda Swinton and I’m like “Oh GOD YES”

[@joeletshinoda]

Until Netflix was born with The Haunting of Bly Manor

[@shanehughes3511]

Sorry, but I do feel Bly Manor on netflix may have won

[@jeffappel708]

The atmosphere: The Innocents, The Haunting, The Shining, The Changeling, The Others, The Fall of the House of Usher, Hour of the Wolf, Carnival of Souls, I Walked with a Zombie, Vampyr, The Phantom Carriage, The Blair Witch Project, Inland Empire, Meshes of the Afternoon, Unglassed Windows Cast a Terrible Reflection, The Trial... not all of them are horror movies ... but their atmosphere always haunted me a lot ... and they are among my favorite movies.

[@gailsiegel1808]

I love Meshes of the Afternoon. Also, Orphee. Two great films.

[@AndrewLawsonjughead67]

Truman Capote rocked this screenplay

[@claranism]

He shld've gotten a Oscar nom for this!

[@immaterialimmaterial5195]

Great commentary on an enigmatic and haunting piece of cinema.

[@curiousworld7912]

I'm so glad to have found this! 'The Innocents' is one of the first, really frightening movies I ever saw as a child. I believe my parents were out for an evening, and I found it on television - something my parents would never have let me watch, had they been at home. The film has always stuck with me - all the performances are marvelous, the mood of story and place are so well written and directed, and the fantastic cinematography all hold up very well. I'm so glad they shot it in black and white - it would have lost much of its ambiance to have been shot in color. Again; thank you for making this available, and my only regret is in not having found it sooner. :)

[@mariestreeting9145]

I'm 63 and saw this when I was about 12 or so. Scared the living ......outta me. I have it on DVD and watch it periodically but not at night ha ha ha

[@curiousworld7912]

@@mariestreeting9145 Same here. :) I wish I had a physical copy of it, but it's fine that it's available online. The scene of Flora dancing by the lake, and Miss Jessel sitting among the reeds, still gives me the chills.

[@davidmayhew4818]

Kerr is perfect in this role.

[@annaritaranalli1791]

Everyone was perfect there

[@procopiojrpalacios9702]

The apparition in black in the reeds of the lake and the silhouetted figure of the woman crossing the corridor during the hide and seek scene stayed in the black and white recesses of my 14 year old mind, until I saw this film again, 40 years later... It still affects me in a most unusual, frightening way! The cast is perfect, and all I knew, then, of the wonderful Deborah Kerr is that we share a September 30 birthdate...!

[@improcat1]

One of my favourite films. Would be a great double bill with Robert Wise's "The Haunting" Thanks for this.

[@MARIANSCATLIFFE]

It's brilliant because all the most frightening things are very subtle and h a phenomenal in OUR imagination

[@denisefreitas6727]

This movie is a masterpiece. I love it!😀❤️

[@lauramaguire5152]

Saw this film for the first time three weeks ago. Very Atmospheric and the children played the parts that you were not quite sure if they were evil or not. You could feel the genuine fear of the governess.

[@kevinrobinson1056]

What a wonderful analysis of a wonderful film ..

[@tapeduk]

The writing, the direction, the cast make this the Greatest Film of alltime

[@marisaelenenadiejamusiccom3974]

The film score really influences my original compositions that are very modern. It’s also experimental I find some of the music for experimental and really fantastic. The cinematography was absolutely phenomenal just saw imaginative everything… the narrative, the script was absolutely a masterpiece. It’s definitely inspirational.

[@leprechaunstud582]

Great documentary of one of my favorite films. Thank you for posting!

[@Dreamchaser68]

Wow I so much enjoyed this after watching the film.BRILLIANT.The best of British.They sure do not make them like this any more. Thank You for the upload.

[@oldproji]

This is an excellent film/story and one that never reached the level of interest it deserved. I was a young projectionist when it first hit the big screen and was lucky enough to show the film for 7 days. It was one film that inspired my own ghost story writing, as was the work of M R James, Edgar Allan Poe, Charles Dickens, Wilkie Collins and many other 19th century writers of the macabre. Thank you for this video. The use of vignette at the edges of the film was an act of pure photographic genius, as it drew us, the viewer/witnesses, into the scene rather than allowing our attention to be scattered and lost on details that were unimportant. Much like the way a writer constructs a sentence, keeping everything as tight as possible.

[@jenniferdonlin6627]

It's not true that we see Miss Gidden's reaction to the ghosts before we see them. In the greatest scare of the movie, she's hiding from the children, and behind her, the face of Quint flows out of the darkness. We see the face before she does, which tells me that the ghosts are real, and we're not seeing them "through" Miss Giddens.

[@checubanil7385]

She reacts with horror before she turns and sees him

[@geslinam9703]

Yes. And with Miss Jessel at the lake, Flora sees her before the Governess does. The children also make comments - such as Flora saying something about dead people coming back to walk around. I read several years ago that James himself said he intended to write a ghost story…and I’ve always see it as one. The whole ambiguity thing bores me.

[@breakingbadheisenberg9703]

​@@geslinam9703Actually right before flora goes to bed she says her prayers and ask miss gibbons what happens when you die ? Miss gibbons states God takes you to heaven. Flora replies what happens to people God doesn't take , Do they walk the earth ?

[@edwardalexander9486]

Excellent commentary on one of my top 5 films of the 20thc - I wasn't aware Capote had a hand in it.

[@hughroberts7223]

I also did not know that Truman Capote did the vast majority of the screenplay. Interesting.

[@Cristobels-Green-Boots]

Thanks -- I always wondered at Freddie Francis' marvellous insights, especially the 'candelabra' scene! Wondrous🙏

[@jondoes8222]

Freddie Francis did a lot of Hammer films....

[@TsukiumisGuy]

And he won his 2nd Oscar for the civil war film "GLORY."

[@MrBulky992]

While the original novel and the play were mentioned, nothing was said about the chamber opera "The Turn of the Screw" by Benjamin Britten written and first performed in 1954, 7 years earlier than the film, regarded as a masterpiece and still in the repertory. I would love to know whether it had any influence and, even if not, how the opera and the film compare in their treatment of the story. Having seen both several times, I got the impression that they were quite similar in a number of ways.

[@lucindaarmour7422]

Only just occured to me that Flora is Pamela Franklin who went on to be so great opposite Maggie Smith in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie.

[@veronicabalsara6528]

This is the scariest movie I have ever seen ...

[@cirquedude123]

This is such a brilliant mini documentary. Especially helpful to aspiring filmmakers!!!

[@brianpjenkins]

I think the opening scene is the end. She wanted to save the children, but all she did was destroy them.

[@justine_holloway]

I always took the title to refer specifically to the children, not everyone in the film as is suggested here. Interesting documentary.

[@RobertSlover]

a truly mesmerizing and disturbing film where the supernatural is but a veneer to a deeper level of sadism and child abuse very david lynch with "twin peaks" and "fire walk with me" australian film "the picnic at hanging rock" and the best haunting minor melody theme music ever.

[@alexandracolmant9983]

Wonderful documentary of an excellent film. I love the original with Kerr and the children. The remake with Jodhi May is also worth watching.

[@mariestreeting9145]

I've just seen The Haunting of Mrs Walker. I wasn't too impressed with this version but I will check out the Jodhi May version.

[@anguaji]

Oh what a grand retrospective! Thanks for sharing

[@Brokout]

This is so fascinating, thank you for the upload, really appreciate it.

[@djw457]

This guy is great at commentary about the subject, does he do a lot of these or is this film a singular deal he has knowledge of? I'd happily watch him riff on other productions.

[@BetterWithBob]

This will always be one of my all time favourites. I had to make a video titled 'Why We Love The Innocents' hehehehe

[@elchoya100]

the haunting 1963 was scarier because you dont see any ghosts, you just hear them.this is right up there with that film.

[@JayaMadhavadas]

BOTH are CLASSICS,,,,,Cant touch them,,,,,,cant remake them better,,,,

[@chrisjohnson8033]

But are the ghosts in The Innocents real or just part of her imagination. We never properly find out exactly what has happened. I've never found The Haunting to be scary but The Innocents really creeps me out.

[@coleparker]

@@chrisjohnson8033 I love both. But the haunting scared me more than the innocents. Especially with the pounding effects.

[@haendellmagalhaes6112]

@@JayaMadhavadas watch the Netflix series about the haunting.... It's really good and they're making another season about the turn of the screw too

[@violatress]

The Haunting may be scarier, but from a cinematographic point of view The Innocents is miles ahead. Every shot is a painting full of symbolism. The lighting is amazing considering Cinemascope difficulties with in-door shooting, the soundstage design is second to none, even the costumes are telling a story. I love The Haunting, but Clayton was just on a different level.

[@bradshawvincent]

It's amazing how scary a game of hide and seek can be in an old creepy house. There's a similar scene in another black and white classic Dead of Night. One of the films stories involves a game of hide and seek.

[@renan.csmaia]

Great film!!!

[@kenwayne96]

Spooky Great movie. The scene of the ghost appearing across the lake to the sound of thunder is one of the scariest scenes I've ever seen in a horror movie. Good documentary on the making of this movie. I'm disappointed the actress who played the ghost standing across the lake wasn't mentioned.

[@tennisguyky]

Perfect gothic horror movie! Brilliant

[@charlesbrooks9577]

The Innocents is the best ghost or horror movie ever made.

[@nanaberry4120]

I think one reason both The Innocents and The Haunting (Julie Harris version) were successful are being so frightening is that they are in black and white.

[@zephyrstarsand4373]

wonderful info, thank you so much....found the movie dark and confusing, this doc helps with understanding the screenplay goals which were lost on me...they could have walked around the grounds filming the gardens for my money

[@frankmessely2156]

Masterpiece!

[@isobeljohnshoward]

Love this! Really interesting documentary about this incredible film 🖤🖤🖤🖤🖤

[@MsBenlane]

i saw this when i came out. nice job on this just saw the pic again last night

[@easytoremember246]

The only horror movie that made my life so when morning came the fear was still there.

[@NenadKnezevic]

Brilliant commentary!

[@patrickkever706]

amazing movie

[@TheDesmo54]

I love this movie. And I love the opera as well

[@Mrrossj01]

Very excellent!

[@andyfield3614]

Saw this film recently and was completely mesmerized by it - Ms Cann was superb as were all the performances. Still very disturbing even today especially Martin Stevens who is indeed creepy in this story

[@andyfield3614]

...Carr not Caan, sorry

[@andyfield3614]

Also reminded me a little of Kubrick's 'The Shining' in terms of claustrophobia in a wide or large space

[@jondoes8222]

A similar film called 'The Blanchville Monster" is good too

[@nataliedeshow768]

Andy Field actually it’s Kerr, not Carr!!

[@andyfield3614]

@@nataliedeshow768 yes you are right, I thought I had written Kerr but might have had the "guess what the human is typing and adjust accordingly" mode on. Thank you x

[@michaeldanello3966]

The commentator is Sir Christopher John Frayling, a writer on public culture

[@tboneoioi]

Spot on analysis

[@NoMoreNever]

I watched this movie again just yesterday and I did take notice of the fact that Miss Giddens is wearing all black towards the end of the movie instead of white as she does in the beginning. It will always remain one of the best horror movies I have ever seen and I feel that upon repeated viewings, I will discover something I haven't noticed before.

[@JOSEFRAJOLA]

I saw again after 55 years and I didn't like it the same way as the first time, when I thought it was the best movie I ever saw!

[@rescuepetsrule6842]

Not "everyone" is innocent, especially Quint & Miss Jessup. I don't even like horror stories but I read the book (The Turn of the Screw) as a child, and Kerr carried the movie so very well. It's worth a watch!

[@J.DeLaPoer]

Interesting there's no mention of the infamous corridor "ghost". I'll have to re-check my copy for the exact time, but in one of the scenes where Kerr goes through the dark halls inside the house, if you watch the background, a tall white figure appears out of a doorway down the hall behind her, and then back out of sight. It's only for two or three seconds long and quite easy to miss. I never even noticed it myself until I'd seen the movie several times, which leads me to believe that whatever it was, it was unintentional. There used to be a long thread about it on the IMBD messageboard for The Innocents a few years ago, but sadly those forums no longer exist. Anyone else know what I'm talking about here?

[@jeffappel708]

No, but you made me curious. I'll have to watch the movie again right away.

[@janetlieb2507]

As Far As Her Reacting Before Seeing The Spirits. You Can Sense A spirit Before You See It🌛

[@karinmorris4224]

I have a question: What is the poem MIles recites? I always thought this poem was the creepiest part of all in the film. I never have been able to find it.

[@rhwinner]

I never thought I would read better macabre literature than the the short stories of Hawthorne, until I read The Turn of the Screw.

[@laurapearson3370]

Unforgettable scene on the lake with the ghost

[@surfstrat59]

I love Chris Frayling.....🎞

[@geraldmartin7703]

Superb documentary. The original theatrical trailer for the film is absolutely terrible, however.

[@stereoldie]

+Gerald Martin Thanks and, yeah, you're right. Even the experts on trailers think so, Have you seen this? kzbin.info/www/bejne/rX6upaODbNannLc

[@Symbolsysteme]

Thanks for posting this...*)! I love, love, love this movie. Since I saw it the first time as a kid. And throughout my life it never lost it's beauty. I introduced so many people to this movie during the 80th, because no one knew it. At least in Germany.

[@Symbolsysteme]

Ps: wonderful special. I've never seen this by now. Do you know if there are some specials on the original DVD? I only have the movie as an avi file, but not the DVD.

[@NTed-vg7sy]

DO THEY RETURN TO POSSESS THE LIVING?? lol

[@thedativecase9733]

Isn't it dreadful- I was imagining the ghost of Henry James watching it

[@jearnott]

(Sir) Christopher Frayling knows his stuff!

[@jondoes8222]

Every time i look into a patch of grass near my home, I think of the woman ghost standing there. I can visualize it...

[@chainsawkitten3766]

I read that James himself called it a ghost story - why are we still hanging on to the sexual repression idea??? Likely the filmmakers in 1961, not the time of the novel, but still not such a great time for women, wanted people to think that. It wasn't just the governess who was frightened either - the housekeeper alluded that something was wrong from the beginning. I loved the story, I loved this version of the film - in my mind, one of the scariest, and best ghost stories ever.

[@thedativecase9733]

Glad someone agrees with me on this. It was a "Freudian " interpretation (yawn) very in vogue in early 20th century. In the book James goes out of his way to show us his view - the governess is described as "very sensible" by the narrator. She describes the very singular looking Quint (red curling hair etc...) very accurately before knowing what he looked like. This is changed in the film (- she sees the miniature first, which is a cheat ). The governess is much younger in the book and rather naive, but she's not crazy and not merely in need of sex. I do love this film though, the most upsetting bit for me is when Rupert the baby tortoise gets chucked through a window- eeeugh still can't watch that bit!

[@nataliamavraki7537]

Chainsaw Kitten oh I know from the biography oh Henry James that he used to write with a certain way to make us doubt for many things ..he was quite a master in this subject..so he told us that he wrote a ghost story but....he classified this novela with other books he wrote and are about characters with oppressed feelings and not with his ghost stories..so....he wanted us very much to wonder eternally. And honestly in the novela from my point of view has many hints that she is very fragile mentally ..even if he's saying it's a ghost story he takes it back and he puts it on the table again and he takes it back etc... He is a genius isn't he ??

[@njosnavelin23]

Its been a long time since I read the book, but having recently watched the innocents, I was blown away by its deft use of ambiguity. It can totally be read as a straight up ghost story, but also there is room to watch it through the sexual repression/psychosis lens... or some bizarre combination of the two. I love how this mystery is left up to the viewer. Such an exquisite masterpiece of film

[@jodiellen9844]

What I struggled with was why Miles died.

[@DavidBrusewitz]

One could theorise that the only thing keeping Miles alive was in fact the ghost of Quint possessing him. This does dispel any ambiguity about the true nature of the horror that takes place, but I believe the scene where Miss Giddens encounters Miss Jessel in the schoolroom has that same effect.

[@charlesbrooks9577]

Best ghost story ever made

[@davidmayhew4818]

Brilliant!! But he doesn't mention The Haunting. The other good "ghost" story of the periodm

[@googfuse4875]

Did anyone notice the butterfly on Miss Giddens shoulder as she walks away with Flora?

[@janetlieb2507]

Can You Tell Me Why Deborah Calls To Allan When She's Playing Hide And Seek?🌛

[@sauronbagginsd8032]

The greatest ghost movie ever made

[@coralarch]

Brilliant film, far more creepy than the book, which is a real ordeal to plough through...

[@leprechaunstud582]

Oscar Wilde said that Henry James wrote "as if it were a painful duty."

[@coralarch]

Irish Stud He sure managed to communicate it very well!

[@leprechaunstud582]

The only book I could get through of James' is DAISY MILLER, and probably because it's a novelette!

[@coralarch]

Irish Stud AND it was as pointless and boring as a miserable winter day.

[@leprechaunstud582]

I did like DAISY MILLER. I read it in college, so we all discussed it as well. The movie with Cybill Shepherd was terrible.

[@viviennetwigg8096]

It’s a very beautiful Movie and ambiguous/

[@annaritaranalli1791]

Brillante movie....good almost book

[@annaritaranalli1791]

Probably they interviewed only former actress pam franklin,because most of protagonists already passed away

[@Soundofsilver2007]

BEST MOVIE OF 1961.

[@WhidbeyOne011]

Do you know when this documentary was made? What year? and where did it appear? Thanks

[@stereoldie]

+Joseph Hayes All I can tell you for sure is that it's copyright BFI 2006, which I assume is when it was made. BFI is the British Film Institute, I believe. It *looks* to me like it may have been shown on one of the British TV channels at some point. It also *could* be an "extra" on one of the DVD releases of the movie. Sorry I can't be of more help. If I find anything else out, I'll post it.

[@WhidbeyOne011]

Thanks. That all sounds about right.

[@thatguybloke4849]

It was for a BFI DVD re-release of The Innocents, probably a digital re-master. Probably shot 2005, can't remember exactly but I shot it. It wasn't shown on tv to my knowledge. I've done a couple of interviews with Frayling and he is one of the best if not the best film commentators we have. Great post stereoldie. Many thanks. G

[@thatguybloke4849]

Shoot was 24/07/2006.

[@hughroberts7223]

@@thatguybloke4849 I'm only adding to your comment because so many others are asking about the narrator (Christopher Frayling). Here's his Wiki page that includes links to other commentaries of his (quite a variety!) en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Frayling

[@thebluehotel426]

I had no idea Truman Campote was involved.

[@theradioattheendoftheworld4251]

Great film, who doesnt like a good ghost story

[@Daniele_Manno]

Thank you for posting this, where is it from?

[@psikopat57]

I wondered too. I may have seen this as a bonus on the blu-ray, but I'm not sure.

[@wolffman2445]

It’s on the Criterion Special Edition.

[@Daniele_Manno]

Thank you!!

[@melindamanley8914]

Ah...Hmmm...My Choice of Best Ghost Story Ever Made Is...The Uninvited, Starring Ray Maland, Ruth Hussy, Gail Storm, Donald Crisp, To Name A Few Talented Actors.

[@jwuemjo]

Omg Kerr at 13:10 looks like Queen Of Denmark

[@ajdc88]

damn, deborah kerr was even hotter as an old lady

[@checubanil7385]

Three possibilities/interpretations because three writers

[@pollymorphic500]

What is the name of this commentator? What's the name of this show? Please let us know!

[@hughroberts7223]

His name is Christopher Frayling. Strangely, I don't think it's shown on the documentary, at least not this version. Here's his wiki page: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Christopher_Frayling

[@annaritaranalli1791]

Who is that man?

[@Mrrossj01]

Sadly, we see this type of mental deterioration and its disastrous consequences in the recent Lori Vallow Daybell child murder case and the Ruby Franke and Jodi Hildebrandt child abuse case. These tragedies were rooted in religious mania; not Freudian, sexual repression.