Dragonwyck (1946)
(Joseph L. Mankiewicz, US 1946, 103 min., 35mm)
Mankiewicz’s first opportunity to direct came with the added bonus of working with Ernst Lubitsch, a hero of his whom he had met during his time at Paramount. The working relationship, however, was not as amiable as the personal one, and Lubitsch ended up taking his own name off the picture. The film was based on a popular modern gothic romance by Anya Seton. Gene Tierney was just coming off her only Oscar nomination (for Leave Her to Heaven) and leads the film as young Miranda Wells, who is asked by distant but wealthy cousin Nicholas Van Ryn (Vincent Price) to travel to opulent Dragonwyck to care for his eight-year-old daughter and ailing wife. Attractions sparks between Miranda and Nicholas, as well as Miranda and a local doctor, but Dragonwyck holds a host of secrets, including murder, madness, and drug addiction. Gorgeous art and set direction highlight this wrenching melodrama.