''A Place of One's Own'' is a 1945 British film directed by

Bernard Knowles Bernard Knowles (20 February 1900 – 12 February 1975) was an English film director, producer, cinematographer and screenwriter. Born in Manchester, Knowles worked with Alfred Hitchcock on numerous occasions before the director emigrated to H ...

. An atmospheric ghost story based on the 1940 novel of the same title by

Osbert Sitwell Sir Francis Osbert Sacheverell Sitwell, 5th Baronet CH CBE (6 December 1892 – 4 May 1969) was an English writer. His elder sister was Edith Sitwell and his younger brother was Sacheverell Sitwell. Like them, he devoted his life to art and l ...

, it stars

James Mason James Neville Mason (; 15 May 190927 July 1984) was an English actor. He achieved considerable success in British cinema before becoming a star in Hollywood. He was nominated for three Academy Awards, three Golden Globes (winning once) and two ...

Barbara Mullen Barbara Mullen (9 June 19149 March 1979) was an American-born actress well known in the United Kingdom for playing the part of Janet McPherson, the housekeeper in ''Dr. Finlay's Casebook''. Although the role of Janet brought her fame in later ye ...

Margaret Lockwood Margaret Mary Day Lockwood, CBE (15 September 1916 – 15 July 1990), was a British actress. One of Britain's most popular film stars of the 1930s and 1940s, her film appearances included ''The Lady Vanishes'' (1938), '' Night Train to Munich ...

Dennis Price Dennistoun John Franklyn Rose Price (23 June 1915 – 6 October 1973) was an English actor. He played Louis Mazzini in the Ealing Studios film ''Kind Hearts and Coronets'' (1949) and the omnicompetent valet Jeeves in 1960s television adaptation ...

and

Dulcie Gray Dulcie Winifred Catherine Savage Denison (''née'' Bailey; 20 November 1915 – 15 November 2011), known professionally as Dulcie Gray, was a British actress, mystery writer and lepidopterist. While at drama school in the late 1930s she met a ...

. Mason and Mullen are artificially aged to play the old couple. It was one of the cycle of

Gainsborough melodramas The Gainsborough melodramas were a sequence of melodrama films produced by the British film studio Gainsborough Pictures between 1943 and 1947 that conformed to a melodramatic style.Brooke, Michael. (2014)Gainsborough Melodrama Screenonline Briti ...

Plot

The Smedhursts, newly retired, buy Bellingham House, which has been vacant for over 40 years and is rumoured to be haunted by the previous owner, Elizabeth, who is widely believed to have been murdered by her guardians. Mrs Smedhurst employs a young lady, Annette, as a companion. Annette becomes haunted by Elizabeth, who is waiting for her lover, Dr Marsham. Mr Smedhurst asks the police to find Dr Marsham, and he comes to visit Annette/Elizabeth. The next morning, everyone in the house feels "lighter" and Annette wakes up recovered. A local policeman arrives and announces that Dr Marsham has been found but will not be able to visit as he has died...

Cast

as Annette *

as Mr. Smedhurst *

as Mrs. Smedhurst *

as Dr. Robert Selbie *

Helen Haye Helen Haye (born Helen Hay, 28 August 1874 – 1 September 1957) was a British stage and film actress.
New York Times. 3 Septem ...

as Mrs. Manning-Tutthorn *

Michael Shepley Arthur Michael Shepley-Smith (29 September 1907 – 28 September 1961), known professionally as Michael Shepley, was a British actor, appearing in theatre, film and some television between 1929 and 1961. He was born in Plymouth, Devon. Shepl ...

as Major Manning-Tutthorn *

as Sarah *

Moore Marriott George Thomas Moore Marriott (14 September 1885 – 11 December 1949) was an English character actor best remembered for the series of films he made with Will Hay. His first appearance with Hay was in the film '' Dandy Dick'' (1935), but he ...

as George * O. B. Clarence as Perkins *

Helen Goss Helen Goss (15 October 1903 – 1985) was a British stage, television and film actress. She was also a drama teacher and for a period was responsible for admissions to the Rank Charm School. Filmography References External links * 19 ...

as Rosie, the Barmaid *

Edie Martin Edith Emma "Edie" Martin (1 January 1880 – 22 February 1964) was a British actress. She was a ubiquitous performer, on stage from 1886, playing generally small parts but in high demand, appearing in scores of British films (although often u ...

as Cook *

Gus McNaughton Gus McNaughton (29 July 1881 – 18 November 1969), also known as Augustus Le Clerq and Augustus Howard, was an English film actor. He appeared in 70 films between 1930 and 1947. He was born in London and died in Castor, Cambridgeshire, Cast ...

as Police Constable Hargreaves *

Muriel George Muriel George (29 August 1883 – 22 October 1965)''England & Wales, National Probate Calendar (Index of Wills and Administrations), 1858-1995''. Principal Probate Registry. ''Calendar of the Grants of Probate and Letters of Administration ma ...

as Nurse * John Turnbull as Sir Roland Jervis *

Ernest Thesiger Ernest Frederic Graham Thesiger (15 January 1879 – 14 January 1961) was an English stage and film actor. He is noted for his performance as Doctor Septimus Pretorius in James Whale's film ''Bride of Frankenstein'' (1935). Early life Ernes ...

as Dr. Richard Marsham * Henry B. Longhurst as Inspector *

Aubrey Mallalieu Aubrey Mallalieu (8 June 1873 – 28 May 1948) was an English actor with a prolific career in supporting roles in films in the 1930s and 1940s. Mallalieu began life as George William Mallalieu, the son of William Mallalieu (c. 1845–1927), a ...

as Canon Mowbray

Production

The film was based on a novel published in 1942. James Mason wrote in his memoirs that when he read the script "not only did I enthuse but I even asked that I might be permitted to play the role of the elderly retiree in the story."James Mason, quoted in ''A Place of One's Own''
at

Turner Classic Movies Turner Classic Movies (TCM) is an American movie channel, movie-oriented pay television, pay-TV television network, network owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. Launched in 1994, Turner Classic Movies is headquartered at Turner's Techwood broadcas ...

, archived fro
the original
on 2016-12-21 This was the first time Margaret Lockwood used a beauty spot on her cheek in a film, something which became a trademark. Vernon Sewell says he was going to direct the film but then Maurice Ostrer asked him to make ''Madonna of the Seven Moons'' instead. Sewell refused and left Gainsborough.

Reception

According to ''Kinematograph Weekly'' the film performed well at the British box office in 1945. Considering the popularity at the time of stars James Mason and Margaret Lockwood, however, the film was considered a financial disappointment. Mason later wrote in his memoirs that the blame needed to be shared between himself, for wanting to play the role, and the producer, for letting him.

Of course it could have turned out a failure even if the most suitable actor in the world had played that part. But the reactions of the top brass at the studio did nothing to allay my own feeling of guilt for having volunteered my services. In any case it was not that I was incapable of turning my hand to a character part, it was just that I had amassed what I always realized was an absurd degree of popularity, and the fan population wanted me to appear only as some heroic young lady-killer; or better-still, ladybasher.

He also blamed director Bernard Knowles:

Knowles deserved his share f blamebecause he had never got over ''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American Drama (film and television), drama film directed by, produced by and starring Orson Welles and co-written by Welles and Herman J. Mankiewicz. It was Welles's List of directorial debuts, first feature film. ...
'' and still thought that it was a shortcut to success if one had the actors play immensely long sequences without any intercutting or covering shots. In ''Citizen Kane'' the director could afford to do this because
Herman Mankiewicz Herman Jacob Mankiewicz ( ; November 7, 1897 – March 5, 1953) was an American screenwriter who, with Orson Welles, wrote the screenplay for '' Citizen Kane'' (1941). Both Mankiewicz and Welles went on to receive the Academy Award for Best O ...
had revised one strong situation after another.

The film was not released in the US until 1949.

References

External links

*
''A Place of One's Own''
at Britmovie *
Review of film
at ''Variety''
Review of film
at

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

Complete film
at

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Place of One's Own, A 1945 films 1945 drama films British black-and-white films Gainsborough Pictures films 1940s thriller films British haunted house films Films set in England Films set in the 1900s British historical films 1940s historical films Films directed by Bernard Knowles British drama films Islington Studios films Films based on British novels 1940s English-language films 1940s British films Films scored by Hubert Bath English-language historical films English-language thriller films