The Return1973

A stranger (Peter Vaughan) shows up unannounced on the doorstep of a mansion that has remained empty for twenty years, save its lone housekeeper (Rosalie Crutchley). Though suspicious, she lets him in, believing he's a potential buyer for the estate. But his persistent questions about the tragedy that occurred here two decades earlier soon reveal a darker ulterior motive. He insists on staying overnight to discover who committed a wedding-night murder and finding out if its victim still haunts the premises. This London-shot chiller is based on a short story by Ambrose Bierce, the writer of the famous "An Incident at Owl Creek Bridge" whose own fate remains a mystery. Bierce vanished during a trip to Mexico in 1913, never to be seen or heard from again. Though director Sture Rydman directed few films, he had some first-class help here: his cinematographer was Douglas Slocombe, the legendary DP who shot classics including THE SERVANT, THE LION IN WINTER and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK. - Dennis Harvey