''Uncle Silas'' (US: ''The Inheritance'') is a 1947 British

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super-g ...

directed by Charles Frank and starring

Jean Simmons Jean Merilyn Simmons, (31 January 1929 – 22 January 2010) was a British actress and singer. One of J. Arthur Rank's "well-spoken young starlets", she appeared predominantly in films, beginning with those made in Great Britain during and afte ...

Katina Paxinou Katina Paxinou ( gr, Κατίνα Παξινού; 17 December 1900– 22 February 1973) was a Greek film and stage actress. She started her stage career in Greece in 1928 and was one of the founding members of the National Theatre of Greece in ...

and

Derrick De Marney Derrick Raoul Edouard Alfred De Marney (21 September 1906 – 18 February 1978) was an English stage and film actor and producer, of French and Irish ancestry. Actor The son of Violet Eileen Concanen and Arthur De Marney, and the grandson of ...

.BFI.org
/ref> It is an adaptation of the 1864 novel '' Uncle Silas'' in which an heiress is pursued by her uncle, who craves her money following her father's death. The film was shot at Denham Studios with sets by the

art director Art director is the title for a variety of similar job functions in theater, advertising, marketing, publishing, fashion, film industry, film and television, the Internet, and video games. It is the charge of a sole art director to supervise and ...

Ralph Brinton Ralph W. Brinton (1895–1975) was a British art director. He was nominated for an Academy Award in the category Best Art Direction for the film '' Tom Jones''. Selected filmography * '' Blue Smoke'' (1935) * ''Late Extra'' (1935) * ''Sleep ...

. The costumes were designed by

Elizabeth Haffenden Elizabeth Haffenden (18 April 1906 – 29 May 1976) was a British costume designer who won two Academy Awards for Best Costume Design, for '' Ben-Hur'' at the 1959 Academy Awards and '' A Man for All Seasons'' at the 1966 Academy Awards. She al ...

Plot

Caroline Ruthyn is the teenage niece of her elderly uncle Silas, a sickly and at one time unbalanced

rake Rake may refer to: * Rake (stock character), a man habituated to immoral conduct * Rake (theatre), the artificial slope of a theatre stage Science and technology * Rake receiver, a radio receiver * Rake (geology), the angle between a feature on a ...

who becomes her guardian on the death of her father. The fact that Silas is broke and greedy and young Caroline is the heir to her father's vast fortune is reason enough for Caroline to be wary, but her fears increase when she meets Silas's brutal son, her cousin, and when she discovers that her fearsome former governess, Madame de la Rougierre, is working with her uncle...

Cast

as Caroline Ruthyn *

as Madame de la Rougierre *

as Uncle Silas * Derek Bond as Lord Richard Ilbury *

Sophie Stewart Sophie Stewart (5 March 1908 – 6 June 1977) was a British actress of stage and screen. Biography She was born as Sophia Lyal Drummond Stewart in Crieff, Perthshire, Scotland in March 1908 and died in June 1977 at the age of 69, in Cupa ...

as Lady Monica Waring * Esmond Knight as Doctor Bryerly * Reginald Tate as Austin Ruthyn *

Manning Whiley Manning Hedges Whiley (23 January 191529 January 1975) was a British actor. Partial filmography * ''Trunk Crime'' (1939) - Bentley * '' The Four Just Men'' (1939) - (uncredited) * '' Pack Up Your Troubles'' (1940) - Muller * '' Contraband'' (19 ...

as Dudley Ruthyn *

Marjorie Rhodes Marjorie Rhodes (9 April 1897 – 4 July 1979) was a British actress. She was born Millicent Wise in Hull, East Riding of Yorkshire. One of her better-known roles was as Lucy Fitton, the mother in Bill Naughton's play '' All in Good Time''. S ...

as Mrs Rusk * John Laurie as Giles * Frederick Burtwell as Branston * George Curzon as Sleigh *

O. B. Clarence Oliver Burchett Clarence (25 March 1870, Hampstead, London – 2 October 1955, Hove, Sussex) was an English actor. Following his education at Dover College and University College Hospital, he made his stage debut in 1890. His experience includ ...

as Victor Clay *

Frederick Ranalow Frederick Ranalow (7 November 18738 December 1953) was an Irish baritone who was distinguished in opera, oratorio, and musical theatre, but whose name is now principally associated with the role of Captain Macheath in the ballad opera ''The Begga ...

as Rigg * Patricia Glyn as Mary Quince * Robin Netscher as Tom Hawkes

References

External links

* 1947 films Films based on works by Sheridan Le Fanu Films based on Irish novels Films set in England Films set in the 19th century British historical drama films 1940s historical drama films Films shot at Denham Film Studios British black-and-white films 1940s English-language films 1940s British films {{1940s-UK-film-stub