Review - The Nightcomers (1971)

This dread-filled drama is conceived as a prequel to The Turn of the Screw.

Many changes have been made to the source material. Among other things, Flora looks to be the same age as Miles, or older (maybe 12; certainly not 7 or 8). Without revealing too many plot details, other changes involve the sequence of certain events.

In this version, Bly Manor and Peter Quint belong to Miles and Flora's absentee parents, who have been killed in a car accident while traveling in India (placing the events no earlier than 1885, though the women's clothes suggest the setting is closer to the 1910s). Their uncle, who inherits the estate and the responsibility for the children, heads back to London post haste, granting Quint (Marlon Brando) the erstwhile valet, permission to stay on as the gardener, along with the children's elegant nanny, Margaret Jessel (Stephanie Beacham), and the prissy old housekeeper, Mrs. Grose (Thora Hird). Significantly, Mrs. Grose is in charge of the whole she-bang; in the original text and other film versions, she presents herself as powerless and Quint as the master's proxy.

Before deserting them, their uncle orders that the children not be told their parents are dead. Quint, their frequent playmate and guru, breaks the edict. Quint is honest with the children, takes them seriously, pays them attention, and fills a gaping void in their lives. However, in answering their questions about life, death, and love, Quint also gives them bad advice and misleading information. He's careless with them--and too free with his unconventional and pessimistic philosophy.

A telling scene occurs near the beginning of the movie when Quint, as a gag, puts his cigarette in the mouth of a frog he's found. The poor beast swells and explodes as the hot air builds inside it. "Look," Quint gibes, "he likes [smoking] so much, he's willing to die for it." (Maybe Quint should get a job working for Philip Morris.)

Miles and Flora are aware that something is going on between Quint and Miss Jessel, though Quint won't give up any details. Nevertheless, Miles's curiosity pulls him to spy on them, and he's later inspired to imitate their S&M behavior with Flora. They don't tip all the way into Flowers in the Attic territory, but it's still uncomfortable to watch them "playing sex."

When Mrs. Grose becomes suspicious and threatens to rat Jessel and Quint out to the master, the children facilitate their adult friends' assignations. Unfortunately, their naivete and, yes, their innocence, prevents them from understanding the complexities of the relationship. Various iterations of The Turn of the Screw question whether Quint and Jessel's relationship was an idyll, abuse, or romance. The characters themselves don't seem to know, though Miss Jessel displays plenty of guilt.

Ironically, it's because Miles and Flora are so innocent of the nuances of adulthood that tragedy ensues. They simply don't know any better. And that's what makes them so dangerous. It's an epiphany Miss Jessel achieves too late. "I've been so concerned with writing the words and the grammar on the board," she reflects near the end. "I never thought about what else I was teaching you."

Before I ever knew Brando had played Peter Quint, I’d mentally associated him with the role. In the original text (and various of the movies), Mrs. Grose bemoans how Miss Jessel, a lady, could have had anything to do with a brute like Quint. A Streetcar Named Desire also features a lady, Stella, drawn to an uncouth, working-class man, Stanley, by hot sex. Brando isn't the least bit sensual in this role, but he is charismatic. Watching him romp with the children is fun, even though you know he's setting a bad example.

Beacham's facial features and copious blonde hair make her look quite a bit like Deborah

Kerr. I wonder if the casting was intentional.

Nightcomers, like Mary Reilly, is more a moody psychological film and character study than a blatant horror movie, although horrific things do happen. I didn't love the movie, but I was intrigued by it. For one thing, the visuals are beautiful, from the pastoral setting of Bly to the ethereal image of Miss Jessel, gowned in white, rising from a rowboat on the lake like a phantom. Importantly, the film humanizes the ghosts of Bly and manages to make them sympathetic figures. It also posits a good reason why Quint and Jessel would be so eager to get their hands on the children in the afterlife. Still, I can't imagine anyone unfamiliar with The Turn of the Screw would want to sit through it.