Crow Hollow (1952)
Ann, a newly wed and her husband, Robert, a doctor, goes to live on his family estate, the beautifully named Crow Hollow. Surprisingly for Ann, Robert's three aunts also live there. As odd things begin to occur, Ann starts to believe someone is intent on killing her.
A delightful British oddity where everyone speaks clipped English and no one could possibly be a wrong doer. Except it's plain as soon as we meet the aunts they aren't quite what they appear.
Crow Hollow is practically a forgotten film, very much of it's time. Although it has a quaint Gothic air to it, the film falls far short of what Hammer would produce just five years later.
Natasha Parry plays the vulnerable new bride Ann and gives a convincing performance. The sense of unease gradually creeping over her much as it does the viewer. Fortunately the film is well acted by all as the script is rather talky and truth be told not an awful lot happens...just the odd murder, you know. For an unknown film it has a surprisingly good cast including Donald Houston and soon to be Mina Harker, Melissa Stribling.
The film title is very much lived up to. Legend has it the crows only appear when bad things happen at Crow Hollow, therefore the film begins birdless but as the murder plot thickens the crows return and you can hear them constantly on the soundtrack until it's almost a cacophony from the trees in the final reels.
It's perhaps not a film i can recommend, although i do like it. You'll know if this is the sort of film you'd get anything out of i suspect.This was the fourth time i've visited Crow Hollow and it seems to grow on me more with each viewing.
The dvd from Simply Media, where it is double billed with the equally quaint Gothic chiller Castle Sinister (1948), has been lovingly restored for both sound and picture quality.
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