The Turn of the Screw (12 Aug. 1989)

A governess is hired to look after two neglected children, who show signs of having been corrupted by the insidious influence of the groom Peter Quint. Quint, although hanged for murder, ... See full summary »

Director:

Graeme Clifford

Writer:

Henry James (novel)

Stars:

Amy Irving, David Hemmings, Micole Mercurio

Cast

Episode credited cast:
Amy Irving	...	The Governess
David Hemmings	...	Mister Harley
Micole Mercurio	...	Mrs. Gross
Olaf Pooley	...	John the Gardner
Cameron Milzer	...	Miss Jessel
Irina Cashen	...	Flora
Linda Hunt	...	The Voice
Bret Culpepper	...	Wyck the Groom
Rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Balthazar Getty	...	Miles
Michael Harris	...	Quint

Storyline

A governess is hired to look after two neglected children, who show signs of having been corrupted by the insidious influence of the groom Peter Quint. Quint, although hanged for murder, still makes an appearance among the shadows of the manor house along with Miss Jessel, a previous governess who took her own life.

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Plot Keywords:

governess | children | obsession | dead child | victorian era | 

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Genres:

Horror

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Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

12 August 1989 (USA)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Pathe Communications, Think Enterprises Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

56 min

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Last show of the series.

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Quotes

Flora: [conducting a tour of the house] Behind there, the mice attend church every Sunday.
The Governess: Do they now? I would like to see that.
Flora: No! When people are near, they stay home from church and fall into sin.
The Governess: Yes, of course. I see.

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Connections

Version of The Turn of the Screw (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Moonlight Sonata"
Written by Ludwig van Beethoven

User Reviews

First-rate production

I was totally impressed with this filming. It is the most effective of all the versions of the story, which is surprising since it's only a TV episode. Not your everyday TV series fare, it's a quality British film like so many other great films from there. Amy's voice must have been dubbed since it is a perfect English accent, I don't know. The locations and other actors are British. The atmosphere is spooky, the scares are well done. The relationship of the ghosts to the characters is well explained and depicted, unlike the vague lame interpretation in The Innocents. Movie books say there is nudity, but that only refers to statues and paintings on walls and in books, so that's quite a laugh. There is sexual content but it's more implied than explicit. The second best version I've seen is 1992 with Patsy Kensit. I haven't seen more recent ones. The books say there's nudity in that too but I didn't notice any.