NOTE: The below Blu-ray captures were taken directly from the Blu-ray disc.

ADDITION: Imprint Blu-ray (June 2024): Imprint have transferred Lewis Allen's The Unseen to Blu-ray. It is cited as being from a "from a NEW 2K scan of the original camera negative by Imprint Films". This is only available at present in a "Lewis Allen / Gail Russell 'UN'" double feature Blu-ray boxset - paired with The Uninvited. The 1080P image is fraught with plenty of speckles and light marks (see sample below.) But I appreciated the dark thick appearance filled with an appealing textured heaviness. The contrast is exported with a nice balance and I loved the way it looked, with the rich black levels, aside from the light marks throughout.

NOTE: We have added 50 more large resolution Blu-ray captures (in lossless PNG format) for DVDBeaver Patrons HERE

On their Blu-ray, Imprint use a linear PCM dual-mono track (24-bit) in the original English language. There was a noticeable crackle at 9:34 to 9:37 of the film. It coincided with a rough patch in the video. This should have been addressed. The Unseen has a dark moody atmosphere that is enhanced through the score by Dr. Ernst Toch (The Ghost Breakers, I Walk Alone, The Cat and the Canary, Address Unknown, Dr. Cyclops) adding some haunting cues and sounding a shade buoyant in the lossless transfer. Imprint offer optional English (SDH) subtitles on their Region FREE Blu-ray.

The Imprint Blu-ray offers a new commentary by noir expert and Film Noir Foundation board member Alan K. Rode (author of Charles McGraw: Biography of a Film Noir Tough Guy.) Alan tells us that Raymond Chandler was one of the writers of the script, John Houseman (his dislike for Hollywood) was the Producer and there is narration by Ray Collins (Perry Mason.) Alan does his usual thorough job, discussing the cast; Joel McCrea, Gail Russell, Herbert Marshall and many more including the crew; DoP John F. Seitz etc. Alan also does the commentary on Imprint Blu-ray of The Uninvited. I also enjoyed the new 10-minute video essay, Gothic Noir: The Unseen Touch of Henry James, by Imogen Sara Smith (author of In Lonely Places: Film Noir Beyond the City) & Max Evry (author of A Masterpiece in Disarray: David Lynch’s Dune. An Oral History). There is an observant comparison of The Unseen to Henry James The Turn of the Screw, serialized in Colliers magazine 1898. It's informative.

Lewis Allen's The Unseen is not really a sequel to The Uninvited but a spooky murder-mystery with hypnotic Gail Russell as a new governess (evoking Jack Clayton's The Innocents) where the adjoining house and sinister shadows carry an unspoken secret. There is a sense of Raymond Chandler contributing to the script, and it is effective with a forbidding atmosphere - perhaps 'style circumventing substance'. Even a poor cousin to Henry James The Turn of the Screw makes for an entertaining film night. I'll have to consult with the DVDBeaver Board of Directors to determine its inclusion as Film Noir. Great idea for Imprint to create this Blu-ray package with The Uninvited and The Unseen and the film's Allen/Russell connection. This is the 'B' feature to 'The Uninvited's 'A'.

Gary Tooze