Summary
For Miranda Wells, moving to New York to live in Dragonwyck Manor with her rich cousin, Nicholas, seems like a dream. However, the situation gradually becomes nightmarish. She observes Nicholas' troubled relationship with his tenant farmers, as well as with his daughter, to whom Miranda serves as governess. Her relationship with Nicholas intensifies after his wife dies, but his mental imbalance threatens any hope of happiness.
Cast
Gene Tierney
Miranda Wells
Walter Huston
Ephraim Wells
Vincent Price
Nicholas Van Ryn
Glenn Langan
Dr. Jeff Turner
Anne Revere
Abigail Wells
Spring Byington
Magda
Connie Marshall
Katrine Van Ryn
Harry Morgan
Klaas Bleecker
Vivienne Osborne
Johanna Van Ryn
Jessica Tandy
Peggy O'Malley
Trudy Marshall
Elizabeth Van Borden
Gertrude Astor
Nurse (uncredited)
Robert Baldwin
Farmer (uncredited)
Ruth Cherrington
Dowager (uncredited)
Scott Elliott
Tommy Wells (uncredited)
Pierce Lyden
Murdered Man (uncredited)
Larry Steers
Servant (uncredited)
Charles Waldron
Farmer (uncredited)
Arthur Aylesworth
Farmer (uncredited)
Shelby Bacon
Dancer (uncredited)
Walter Baldwin
Tom Wilson (uncredited)
Trevor Bardette
Farmer (uncredited)
Bill Carter
Man (uncredited)
Clancy Cooper
Farmer (uncredited)
Edwin Davis
Dancer (uncredited)
Wally Dean
Servant (uncredited)
Nestor Eristoff
Man (uncredited)
Tom Fadden
Otto Gebhardt (uncredited)
Betty Fairfax
Mrs. McNab (uncredited)
George Ford
Man (uncredited)
Ruth Ford
Cornelia Van Borden (uncredited)
Michael Garrison
Zack Wilson (uncredited)
Henry Hebert
Party Guest (uncredited)
Robert "Buzz" Henry
Messenger Boy (uncredited)
Keith Hitchcock
Mr. McNabb (uncredited)
Harry Humphrey
Farmer (uncredited)
Boyd Irwin
Tompkins the Butler (uncredited)
Ted Jordan
Man (uncredited)
Virginia Lee
Helena Vanderhyde (uncredited)
Robert Malcolm
Farmer (uncredited)
Thomas Martin
Servant (uncredited)
Walter Marx
Boy (uncredited)
Jane Nigh
Tabby Wells (uncredited)
Steve Olsen
Vendor on Boat (uncredited)
Francis Pierlot
Dr. Brown (uncredited)
Addison Richards
Head Farmer (uncredited)
Mickey Roth
Nathaniel Wells (uncredited)
Alexander Sascha
Man (uncredited)
Reinhold Schünzel
Count De Grenier (uncredited)
Grady Sutton
Astor House Clerk (uncredited)
Art Thompson
Servant (uncredited)
David Vallard
Obadiah (uncredited)
Nanette Vallon
French Countess (uncredited)
Maya Van Horn
Countess De Grenier (uncredited)
Elizabeth Williams
Dowager (uncredited)
Al Winters
Servant (uncredited)
Douglas Wood
Mayor Curtis (uncredited)
Crew
Director, Writer
Joseph L. Mankiewicz
Novel
Anya Seton
Reviews
John Chard
March 18, 2019
8
I believe in myself, and I am answerable to myself! I will not live according to printed mottoes like the directions on a medicine bottle!
Dragonwyck is directed by Joseph L. Mankiewicz who also adapts the screenplay from the Anya Seton novel of the same name. It stars Vincent Price, Gene Tierney, Walter Huston, Glenn Langan, Anne Revere, Jessica Tandy and Spring Byington. Music is by Alfred Newman and cinematography by Arthur C. Miller.
Connecticut farm girl Miranda Wells (Tierney) is recruited by her aristocratic patroon cousin Nicholas Van Ryan (Price) to be governess to his young daughter at his Hudson Valley mansion. Originally thinking it to be a new step up in life, Miranda finds that Nicholas and the Dragonwyck mansion have dark secrets to tell.
Bluebeard and Rebecca come swirling together in this neatly constructed Gothic thriller. It has the requisite eeriness about it, the period atmosphere is strong and Price turns in a wonderfully sinister performance as the tormented Van Ryan. Narratively there's other interests besides the core story of "mad love and dark secrets", such as observations on faith and class structure issues, while the patroon land owner system forms a most historically interesting backdrop. PCA presence means that the spicy aspects of the story (drug use and poisoning) are sketched in grey, but we know what's going on and film doesn't suffer for it.
It takes a while to really get going, for the drama to take a hold, and the light dustings of the supernatural hint at what a better film it could have been. Yet this is comfortably recommended to Gothic thriller fans and fans of Price and Tierney especially. 7.5/10
Media
Status:
Released
Original Language:
English
Budget:
$0.00
Revenue:
$3,000,000.00
Keywords
Recommendations
House on Haunted Hill
Vampyr
The Razor's Edge
Fear in the Night
The Last Time I Saw Paris
Laugh or Die
Colour from the Dark
Witness
Rebecca
Commando
The Lost City of Z
Crimson Peak
The Irishman
Godzilla vs. Destoroyah
Salem's Lot
Beetlejuice Beetlejuice
Woman of the Hour
Oppenheimer
Honkytonk Man
