Dragonwyck

Anya Seton is one of the great historical fiction writers, up there with Thomas Costain. Like my favorite novel of hers, Green Darkness, Dragonwyck is a moody, atmospheric piece set in another time, and the film version (with nice help from the musical score) is quite good.

Gene Tierney plays a radiant beauty who comes to live at Dragonwyck as a companion to Van Ryn's daughter. She soon falls under the spell of its strange master, played by Vincent Price. Young horror film fans often don't realize that before Vincent Price entered the horror realm, he was a leading man and supporting player in some very good films. With his icy voice and snobbish demeanor, Price is a perfect Van Ryn. As Miranda, Gene Tierney is gorgeous, and needless to say, attracts the interest of not only Price, but Dr. Turner, played by handsome Glenn Langan. Given the politics of Van Ryn, it is surprising to me that Miranda drifted toward him and not to Dr. Turner, with whom she seemed to have more in common, i.e., an empathy toward her fellow man. But she is swept up in the upper class lifestyle and her own childhood dreams. Always a mistake.

There are some disturbing holes in the story. What happens to the little girl and to her maid, for instance, at the end of the film? And what is Van Ryn, dressed in his bathrobe, doing in Miranda's room while she's in bed? Seems odd for those times, and given Miranda's background (the daughter of God-fearing, Bible-reading parents), it's totally out of character for her to have let him in.