The House of the Seven Gables

Vincent Price and George Sanders are reasons enough to see any film on their own, and were often high points in their lesser films. Seeing them in the same film together, like in 'The House of the Seven Gables' is even more of a pleasure. The source material is wonderful, wordy but very richly immersive and compelling.

'The House of the Seven Gables' may not be the greatest film in adaptation terms, there is not a whole lot of Hawthorne here, but as a film on its own terms it's well worth your while as long as it's not constantly compared to the book. 'The House of the Seven Gables' did need a longer length, would have given it at least another thirty minutes myself, to do justice to a story that is pretty complex even in the film and give the characters more depth, because parts did feel rushed.

Could have done personally without the abolition subplot, or at least made it less prominent, it was intriguing enough at times but it seemed to be there only to make Jaffrey more loathsome. That wasn't necessary as it is blatantly obvious that he already is even without it. While the acting is very good actually, there are a few individual moments where it is somewhat dodgy. The biggest offender is Jaffrey's final scene, which was wildly over-acted (rather unusual for George Sanders) and overly-melodramatic (even for a melodrama).

However, 'The House of the Seven Gables' has a sumptuous Gothic look throughout, particularly in the photography and lighting, with the house suitably mysterious and imposing and with elegant costumes. It may not have been made on a huge, lavish budget, but it was not that kind of film really, and there is nothing in the production values to betray that the budget was not a large one. The music is like its own character, adding so much to the mood of the film while also being a wonderful score on its own. The song Vincent Price sings (yes it is him singing and he sings pretty beautifully here) is a charming touch.

Direction is efficient and a vast majority of the time is in complete control of the material, with a few parts where the control is lost a little (Jaffrey's final scene especially). The script is thought-provoking and literate, Hawthorne's prose is compressed but the script here is no less interesting. Although rushed and in need of a longer length, the characters lacking depth and one subplot in need of a trim, the story has a rich atmosphere and is very absorbing.

With a few individual scene exceptions, the acting is very good. George Sanders is deliciously caddish, Sanders was an unparalleled master when it came to acting playing cads. Vincent Price has the more rounded character and is more restrained, and all the better for it. Margaret Lindsay is a knockout, her character transformation (of the three leading characters she transforms the most) is beautifully done, and more than holds her own against the two masters.

Overall, well worth your while. Just judge it as a film on its own rather than as an adaptation. 7/10 Bethany Cox

I was absolutely knocked out by Margaret Lindsay's (NOT Lockwood !!!) bravura performance in this film. It is inconceivable that she wasn't nominated, but 1940 was one of the most competitive Best Actress years ever. She ran the gamut from lovely young girl to pinched spinster. Her range was worthy of Bette Davis (with whom she co-starred many times). I loved the film itself also, and was inspired to read the book, which I loved as well. Miss Lindsay should have received more comment from students of good acting in all these years since the film. She definitely gave one of the finest performances I have ever seen by an actress in the movies, and I'm 63 !

First of all, I never read the book, so my opinion is based on the movie as it is, and I think is very good. Being a Vincent Price fan, I must said that he delivers a terrific performance. His joy, his sadness, his fury, he really put his soul on the character. It only confirms how great actor he was, not only for the horror genre as many people think.. and he even sings here!! The films is more a romantic story than a mystery one, but works well all over. Vincent will do "House..." again several years later, as part of the "Twice Told Tales" trilogy, but this is the best version. A very curious detail: pay attention to the music when Vincent's brother (George Sanders)is looking for something in the basement... it's clearly the first melody of Danny Elfman's Batman!! I'll be waiting for the DVD from now on...

This movie was made with a modest budget and was never intended as an "A-movie", though it had a bit higher production values and was a bit too long to be a true "B-movie" (i.e., the second and much cheaper film in a double-feature). With these modest expectations as well as some great but underrated actors, this film really delivers. You see, this film starred second-tier actors such as Vincent Price was a practically unknown and inexperienced actor as well as George Sanders who had been a supporting actor or B-movie leading man. Margaret Lindsay was probably the biggest name star in the film, though her career had seen better days in the 1930s. As a result of this and a very modest budget, none of the Universal Studios execs at the time suspected this would be one of their best films of the year. In fact, dollar-for-dollar, this film is one of the best films I have seen. Sure, it isn't GONE WITH THE WIND or THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, but these films had very large budgets and the best writers/directors/producers and of course they had to be great films.

Sanders and Price play brothers--Sanders is the money-grubbing amoral one and Price is the basically decent man who is framed by Sanders for murder. The plot is pretty complex and I don't want to spoil the suspense by explaining it further, but trust me the plot is exceptional--especially when it comes to irony. The ending is just terrific and drips with poetic justice.

Gothic melodrama from Universal, adapted from the Nathaniel Hawthorne novel (with significant changes) about the cursed Pyncheon family and one brother framing another for murder. Often included in Universal horror discussions, though it's not a horror film. It does have some nice atmosphere in keeping with that genre, though, particularly given that it shares the same look and feel of the Universal horror films being made around that time.

Margaret Lindsay, an often underrated actress who never really hit it big, isn't entirely convincing in the early scenes as the innocent young Hepzibah. She really brings it when the plot moves forward and she becomes older and more jaded. Vincent Price does well in one of his earliest big roles. George Sanders reportedly didn't care for his role or the film but you would never know it by his great turn. Dick Foran holds his own against far more talented co-stars.

None of the changes to the novel seem to hurt it, in my opinion. It's a very enjoyable film. Even though it's not a horror movie, I do think it will appeal to people who like those Universal classics. Some nice atmosphere, a good story, and a great cast.