Joel McCrea in "The Unseen" (1945) - a John Houseman production/Raymond Chandler screenplay

An old homeless woman is murdered after seeing a light through the basement window of abandoned 11 Crescent Drive. Young Barnaby Fielding (Richard Lyon) witnesses this from his window next door at number 10. Elizabeth Howard (Gail Russell), arrives at the house to be governess to Barnaby and his sister, Ellen Fielding (Nona Griffith), but is met with aggression from the boy who is unusually attached to their former governess, Maxine (Phyllis Brooks), and tells her: "You're my enemy! I hate you!" Elizabeth's room overlooks the garden of the eerie house next door, and she finds a watch that belonged to the murdered old woman in her dressing table. Over the next few weeks, Marian Tygarth (Isobel Elsom), a widow who owns shuttered-up 11 Crescent Drive, returns to put the house up for sale. Elizabeth suspects someone is gaining access to the cellars and confides in David Fielding (Joel McCrea), the children's father, but he dismisses her concerns. She turns to Dr. Evans (Herbert Marshall), a neighbor and friend of the family, who advises her not to call the police as David would not like it (unknown to Ellen, David was once suspected of murdering his wife). Ellen tells Elizabeth that Barney is the one who lets the lurking man into the house at night, on Maxine's orders. The next day, the employment agency tells Elizabeth they cannot send anyone over that day. However, a new maid arrives at the house, and Elizabeth eventually realizes she is Maxine (Phyllis Brooks); David tries to throw Maxine out of the house. Shortly after, she is found murdered outside the empty house. David is nowhere to be found, which causes the police to consider him the prime suspect. After the police leave, Mrs. Tygarth comes over to keep Elizabeth company after the children have gone to bed. Mrs. Tygarth tells Elizabeth that the man who murdered her husband is next door as they speak. She says that she is being forced to help the mysterious man, who has been visiting there every night, to clean the bloody crime scene from 12 years before. She knows she is his next victim and tells Elizabeth she is going to call the police, but actually goes next door to kill the still unknown man; he kills her instead. Elizabeth still suspects the perpetrator might be David, and calls on Dr. Evans for help. David arrives and accuses Dr. Evans, who is revealed to be the killer, which he became when he once thought that he could have Mrs. Tygarth for himself. A Black & White 1945 American horror mystery thriller film (aka "Her Heart in Her Throat" and "Fear") directed by Lewis Allen, produced by John Houseman, screenplay by Hagar Wilde and Raymond Chandler, based on the novel "Midnight House" (1942) by Ethel Lina White, cinematography by John F. Seitz, starring Joel McCrea, Gail Russell, Herbert Marshall, Isobel Elsom, Norman Lloyd, Mikhail Rasumny, Elisabeth Risdon, Tom Tully, Nona Griffith, and Richard Lyon. Narrated by Ray Collins. Final screen appearance of Phyllis Brooks. Released by Paramount Pictures. It received an Academy Award nomination in the Sound Recording category at the 1946 Oscars. This reunites the director and star in Paramount's follow-up vehicle to "The Uninvited" (1944), in which Gail Russell surged to popularity, but is otherwise unrelated in story or characters. Film posters compared the two films, proclaiming: "More Exciting Than The Uninvited" and "Menace More Deadly Than The Uninvited!" When Mr. Fielding, meets Miss Howard, he's disappointed she isn't as old as twenty five. Gail Russell, who played her, was no older than twenty when she made this film, and Joel McCrea, who portrays Fielding, was about forty. Unfortunately the beautiful Gail Russell died just over fifteen years after making this, aged only thirty six, due to severe alcoholism. Ironically, in the film, her character does not drink. McCrea outlived her by twenty nine years, dying aged 84 in October, 1990. John Houseman (1902-1988), born Jacques Haussmann in Bucharest, Romania, was a British-American theatre and film producer, actor, director, and teacher. He became known for his highly publicized collaboration with director Orson Welles from their days in the Federal Theatre Project through to the production of "Citizen Kane" (1941). He enjoyed a distinguished career as an influential producer of both the stage and screen, and was the founding director of the drama department of the Juilliard School and co-founder of The Acting Company. Nominated for an Academy Award, four Golden Globe Awards (winning once), and a Primetime Emmy. In 1979, Houseman was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. This suspenseful, albeit unremarkable, minor noir is an efficient and creepy whodunnit. A studio picture that excels in creating a spooky atmosphere with strong performances. There’s plenty of mystery, tension and atmosphere throughout. Recommended for fans of Gothic mysteries, classic Hollywood psychological suspense thrillers, and Gail Russell completists.