Uncle Silas is a Gothic melodrama with an overbearing music score.
It makes the film hammy when it should have been creepy.
Set in the mid 19th century. Caroline Ruthyn (Jean Simmons) is a young sweet but not too bright teenager who has become the ward of her unscrupulous Uncle Silas (Derrick De Marney) after her father dies.
Silas is a man with a bad reputation and was once accused of murder. Her father always tried to see the good on him. More fool him.
When Caroline meets Uncle Silas he tries to be avuncular. Less so is his slimy son Dudley and the drunk governess Madame de la Rougierre who Caroline has met before.
It soon becomes clear that Uncle Silas wants to get rid of his niece so he can have her inheritance.
This is an uneven film which takes a while to get going. Although nicely shot, this is more hokum than a tense thriller.
It makes the film hammy when it should have been creepy.
Set in the mid 19th century. Caroline Ruthyn (Jean Simmons) is a young sweet but not too bright teenager who has become the ward of her unscrupulous Uncle Silas (Derrick De Marney) after her father dies.
Silas is a man with a bad reputation and was once accused of murder. Her father always tried to see the good on him. More fool him.
When Caroline meets Uncle Silas he tries to be avuncular. Less so is his slimy son Dudley and the drunk governess Madame de la Rougierre who Caroline has met before.
It soon becomes clear that Uncle Silas wants to get rid of his niece so he can have her inheritance.
This is an uneven film which takes a while to get going. Although nicely shot, this is more hokum than a tense thriller.