BroadcastChic Excellent, a Must See

Claire Dunne One of the worst ways to make a cult movie is to set out to make a cult movie.

Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.

Kimball Exactly the movie you think it is, but not the movie you want it to be.

weezeralfalfa This Gothic drama is set primarily in the upper Hudson valley in the castle-like manor house of Dragonwyck, beginning in the year 1844. It's based on the novel of the same name. It seems evident that this estate is modeled after the huge estate which was derived from the Dutch feudal-like estate Rensselaerswijck. Dragonwyck suggests to me its late medieval origins, with perhaps an ominous master or wife. Clearly, that master: Nicholas van Ryn(Vincent Price), still thought of himself as a feudal lord, and the maintenance of that status for himself and a hopeful successor seemed to be his chief purpose in life. Thus, he is the natural villain of the story. The hero is Dr. Jeff Turner(Glenn Langan), who is the self-appointed leader of rebellion by the many tenant farmers. He also saves the heroine: Miranda Wells(Gene Tierney), from an untimely death by poisoning by her husband, Nicholas. Initially, Miranda had been chosen to be the new governess for the daughter(Katrine) of Nicholas and his wife Johanna(Vivienne Osborne). But, after Nicholas secretly poisoned Johanna, he soon asked Miranda to marry him. He was desperate to have a son so that his estate could be passed on to his heirs. Johanna had provided him with a daughter, instead of a son, and was constitutionally unable to have further children. Besides, the two had never been happy together. Thus, it was time to replace her with a younger, prettier, woman who could bare him a son. But, Miranda, her successor, also failed, initially. She bore a son, but with a defective heart, who soon died. Apparently, Nicholas decided she must be cursed, thus must be done away with, for another replacement. Besides being cruel to his wives and child, and to his tenants, he complained that the new maid that Miranda had chosen was unworthy because she had a bad limp. Miranda pointed out that this was how God planned her to be, not being her own fault. When he lost his son, and a new law was passed giving his tenants the right to buy the land they had been tilling, he saw his main purpose in life going down the drain. Thus, he shut himself up in a remote room in the manor and soothed his worries with opium, which made his behavior more bizarre. Inevitably, he would clash again with Dr. Turner in a final confrontation which would end his misery.I have several questions or comments about the screenplay:1)It seems odd that Nicholas should request that a distant small farmer relative he has never met, in rather distant Greenwich, Conn., should send him one of his daughters(how did he know he had daughters)to be governess to his daughter. He must have been planning even then that this girl would be his replacement wife. As it turned out, Nicholas seemed to be exactly what Miranda wanted in a husband and vice versa.2)Why was Oleander chosen as the mode of poisoning? The fact that Johanna dies soon after the plant was brought into her room suggests that a volatile component was involved. But the poisons are not volatile. They must be ingested. And it's not just of matter that the person succumbs within a few hours with no preliminary distressing symptoms. Thus, she probably should have made a commotion about her symptoms before dying.3)After Nicholas is shot dead, who inherits Dragonwyck? Doesn't Miranda, as his wife. Or weren't women allowed to own property in this circumstance? Or perhaps his daughter, if he so willed it? In any case, Miranda clearly has had enough of Dragonwyck, and returns to her native Greenwich. By the way, why did daughter Katrine disappear from the story not long after she was introduced? Was she sent to a boarding school?With these caveats, I can recommend this film for those interested in Gothic stories and history. See it at YouTube.

Catharina_Sweden I find that the reason I did not like this movie very much, was that I had expected something quite different. I had hoped for something like "Jane Eyre" or "Rebecca" - a wild love-story with a happy (or some kind of happy) ending for the love couple. But although "Dragonwyck" started in the same vein - young innocent girl coming to a Gothic mansion, falling in love with the Lord, marrying him and becoming the Lady of the manor - it ended like a quite different story.Although I with my brain find that the ending was just right - it was time for the feudal system to stop, and for people to become equal - I get disappointed in my heart. Because what woman has not dreamt this dream of marrying a Lord or Prince and giving birth to his Heir and all that! And even when you are a mature woman, you want movies and novels that can give you this as escapism. It is the same with monarchy I suppose - you can hate the system and find it old-fashioned and unfair, but you still want to see the young women who manage to marry into the royal families, and you want to admire their beauty and take after their clothes, and learn the things they know...Instead of being a romantic Cinderella-story, with a handsome and virile leading man that you would want yourself... like Timothy Dalton as Mr Rochester in the TV-series of "Jane Eyre", "Dragonwyck" turned out a pathetic story of a delusional man living in the past, and a way of life that - fortunately - was crumbling. The "secret of the tower-room" was also disappointing, but quite in line with the ending of the movie of course. I feel a little cheated! "Dragonwyck" still has some good things to it though: for instance beautiful people in wonderful costumes, sumptuous ball-scenes, very good dialog at times with poetic language, etc. etc..

TheLittleSongbird Gene Tierney, Vincent Price and Walter Huston and Joseph L Mankiewicz were reasons enough to maintain interest in seeing Dragonwyck. While I had no problem with any of them, I did have a fair lot of issues with the film. The film is overlong and is rather ponderously paced. It further suffers from some clumsy scripting, a consequence of trying to cram too many different genres, and a story that has some suspense but suffers from the fact that it doesn't go anywhere for a bit of the time and the ending underwhelmed also. However, the production values are simply gorgeous, and the score is resolutely haunting. Mankiewicz's direction is solid. Gene Tierney looks beautiful and is adorable and touching. Walter Huston, Anne Revere and Jessica Tandy give terrific support. The best asset is the performance of Vincent Price, one that is devilishly handsome, sometimes frightening and always commanding. All in all, Price makes a deeply flawed movie worth watching. 6/10 Bethany Cox

Alex da Silva A letter arrives at the farm owned by Mr Wells (Walter Huston). It is from Mrs Wells's (Anne Revere) cousin Nicholas (Vincent Price) asking for one of her daughters to go and live at his stately home, Dragonwyck, and act as a governess to his daughter Katrine (Connie Marshall). Miranda (Gene Tierney) volunteers herself with an enthusiasm to see better things in life and Mr Wells agrees that she can go. However, Nicholas has an ulterior motive.....Vincent Price, Walter Huston, Anne Revere and Spring Byington (who plays the housekeeper) turn in the best acting performances. Gene Tierney's character is "nice", nothing very exciting, but then she is meant to be a simple innocent. "Dr Turner" as played by Glenn Langan is also "nice" but he seems to have more of a presence than Tierney. Those blinded by her "beauty" should look a little closer - it's her teeth. Goofy.I found the following confusions and disappointments: 1 - how come Spring Byington and Connie Marshall disappeared completely from the film after the first half? The arrival of Jessica Tandy as the crippled maid, "Peggy", was not an adequate substitute for the mischievous role that Byington had carved out; 2 - one moment Nicholas and Miranda were cousins, then they weren't...???!!...; 3 - I felt slightly let-down with the climax to the mystery of what happens in the tower where Nicholas spends a lot of his time alone......"I'm a drug addict"...??!!.....oh my God, not that!....I think that Vincent Price steals the show with his portrayal of Nicholas as an outwardly charming gentleman contrasting effectively with his true arrogance and sense of hubris. He is the "Patroon" that everyone must bow down to. He has some excellent dialogue as does Walter Huston. I also liked the ending to the film, when the farmers take off their hats for Nicholas's dying scene. He should be humbled but he still has nothing but contempt for everyone. What a great baddie. At this point, I was hoping that we would once again hear the haunting singing that had been cursed upon him to hear. It's an effective piece of music and I think that more should have been made of it. It's a film that's worth another look.