Ten years after her aunt was murdered in their London home, a woman returns from Italy in the 1880s to resume residence with her new husband. His obsessive interest in the house rises from a secret that may require driving his wife insane.
After the death of her famous opera-singing aunt, Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman) is sent to study in Italy to become a great opera singer as well. While there, she falls in love with charming Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer). After the two return to London, Paula begins to notice strange goings-on: missing pictures, strange footsteps in the night, and gaslights that dim without being touched. As she fights to retain her sanity, her new husband's intentions come into question.—Jwelch5742
In the late 19th century, aspiring opera singer Paula Alquist (Ingrid Bergman) and Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer), the accompanist at her singing lessons under the tutelage of Maestro Guardi (Emil Rameau) in Italy, fall in love and marry. Before learning of her background, Gregory is able to convince her to live in London, then when she divulges to him that she owns a house there at 9 Thornton Square, it bequeathed to her by her famous maternal aunt, opera singer Alice Alquist, who raised Paula and whom Paula found murdered in the house; the murder was never solved. Paula hadn't thought about the house in a long time, and believes that Anton's love can help her through the anguish of her aunt's murder enough that she can live there with him. Over time, Paula begins to forget things, lose things, and imagine things--such as an animosity with the new Cockney housekeeper Nancy (Angela Lansbury), who has a penchant for making "friends" with whatever Police Constable is patrolling the neighborhood--and Gregory quietly convinced her, without using the exact words, that she is ill. As such, she becomes isolated in the house, which only exacerbates her feeling that she indeed is going mad. However, two people on the outside believe that funny things are happening behind the closed doors of 9 Thornton Square, where only the domestics, Nancy and Elizabeth (Barbara Everest), are allowed in, and only Gregory, who ever leaves by himself to take a walk every night. Those two are: Miss Thwaites (May Whitty), an elderly busybody neighbor who loves a good mystery; and Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten), a fan of Alice Alquist, and who, in his professional life, arguably knows the most about her murder besides the actual murderer.—Huggo
Paula Alquist's (Ingrid Bergman's) aunt, Alice Alquist, a famous entertainer, is murdered in her home. Paula, who lives with her aunt, finds the body. Police fail to find the killer, and Paula is sent away to school. Ten years later, Paula returns to London with her new husband and they move into her aunt's house, which she has inherited. Paula is increasingly isolated by her husband, but does come to the attention of an admirer of her aunt, Mr. Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten).—Sandra Douglass <[email protected]
In London, at 9 Thorton Square, prima donna Alice Alquist is strangled, and her famous jewels disappear. Her young niece Paula Alquist (Terry Moore) is sent to Italy to study music, and the house stays empty. Ten years later, Paula (Ingrid Bergman) decides to marry an older pianist named Gregory Anton (Charles Boyer), who convinces her to move back to the old address in London. When they arrive, Paula finds a letter from a mysterious and unknown Sergis Bauer, which makes Gregory upset. He begins to torture her psychologically, and she has a nervous breakdown and insecurity and memory problems. When Scotland Yard Police Constable Brian Cameron (Joseph Cotten) sees Gregory and Paula in a place popular with tourists, the sight of Paula immediately reminds him of Alice, but he doesn't know Gregory and decides to investigate and seek evidence to connect Gregory to the unsolved murder, while Gregory menaces Paula and drives her insane.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
