Stevieboy666 Set in 1900, after being on the market for 40 years, a mature couple buy a large house but when a young lady joins them as a companion she becomes possessed by the ghost of a tragic former occupant. This is not a horror film as such, rather a drama wit some supernatural element. Some wonderful flowing camera work and great acting (I think that James Mason is one of the best actors to come out of the UK). There's a delightful scene where Dennis Price is taking Margaret Lockwood for a spin in his new automobile, which can reach a dizzy 8mph! A delightful film, perhaps just a tad slow though.

MikeMagi A nifty little ghost story in which possession is part of the lore. James Mason as an elderly retired draper buys a lovely old manse at a bargain price...because the real estate agent forgot to mention that it's haunted. His wife's companion, the lovely Margaret Lockwood, suddenly starts playing piano melodies she never heard before and takes to her bed, pleading "Send for Dr. Marsham." But her fiancée is Dr. Selby. Mason is marvelous as a retired old coot. Barbara Mullen is splendid as his practical wife. And a very young Dennis Price is a loving -- and bewildered -- young medic. If you enjoyed "The Haunting" and "The Uninvited," pay a visit to "A Place of One's Own."

secondtake A Place of One's Own (1945)Well, there are some things here that will enchant a movie lover already in love with old movies. For one, James Mason pulls off an old man brilliantly. You hardly know it's him, and he has the poise and delivery that make him always impressive. And then the story itself, about a ghost of sorts who has unfinished business in a house that Mason and his wife have moved into, is charming and given some nice complications (existential ones, in a way). For me this wasn't enough. I found the filming (photography and editing) stodgy, and in this sense all too British. (I know, this is a terrible stereotype, but in fact a lot of British movies have a staged, stiff feel to them, and this doesn't include all the ones that do not, including, for example, the 1949 "The Third Man.") But this is a British movie, a filmed play of sorts, based on a novel with a fixed location (the haunted house). But this isn't a haunted house kind of movie, but rather a literary affair, with lots of talk (another British movie tendency) and some eventual "explanation" (which Mason delivers with ease).The main idea is a terrific one, a house and then a young woman being possessed, and one doctor and then another drawn into the cure. This second doctor adds a nice twist to it all, which is revealed by the end. It ends up being an archly high romance, and great on that level.

moonspinner55 Retired British couple in 1900 Newborough purchase a large estate at a low price and hire a live-in lady companion, who quickly comes under the influence of the previous resident: a young girl who some say was murdered. Osbert Sitwell's book turned into a stuffy costume drama with divergent accents. In 1945, many professional critics found themselves enraptured with the picture, but time has not been kind to it. Other, later films mining this territory have improved upon the ghostly basics. James Mason, too young for his role and heavily made-up, keeps shouting as if everyone else had gone deaf, while the supporting players are equally colorless. *1/2 from ****