The Ghost of Mrs Danvers…A young woman from a poor background finds her life is transformed b

The Ghost of Mrs Danvers…A young woman from a poor background finds her life is transformed by marriage to the wealthy, troubled owner of a sprawling mansion. There she encounters an imperious housekeeper who’s as intimidating and controlling as she is efficient. As the young woman struggles to find her feet in this strange new environment and make sense of events, one thing is clear: the house is still under the sway of its domineering former mistress, despite the fact she lies dead in the family crypt. Or does she?Clearly, I’m talking about Hitchcock’s Rebecca (1940). But I’m also describing the plot of an obscure yet satisfying TV pilot that has come to be known as The Ghost of Sierra de Cobre (1964). More than two decades after her Oscar-nominated performance as Mrs Danvers, Judith Anderson - or Dame Judith Anderson as she was by then - played a remarkably similar screen role, Paulina (we never learn the mysterious woman’s last name, just as we never learn Mrs Danvers’ first). Paulina’s first words are the same as the housekeeper’s in Rebecca: ‘How do you do?’ (said with stiffness and coldness, of course). Both characters wear a sober, floor-length black gown, often clasp their hands and have an unnerving habit of appearing without warning. The name of the mansion through which Paulina glides, Mandore, is surely an allusion to Manderley, the country estate ‘haunted’ by Mrs Danvers. Both houses lie behind imposing iron gates at the end of a long, winding driveway.Although it would be unrealistic to expect a horror-themed TV show to eclipse Hitchcock’s silver screen masterpiece, Sierra succeeds as an atmospheric, engaging, frightening watch (the appearance of a wailing, bleeding ghost means that it’s certainly not for the faint-hearted). Judith excels in her role; her voice, always wonderful to listen to, has greater depth and richness than we hear when Mrs Danvers speaks. ‘I can’t do anything more than beg. And I can’t do anything worse,’ proud Paulina spits as she’s pushed to breaking point.When TV execs decided against turning Sierra into the first instalment of a proposed anthology series, The Haunted, additional footage transformed the programme into a made-for-TV movie. The original version is available to watch here (and I suggest you do so with all the lights on…).  -- source link

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