I have just watched the Goodtimes Home Video VHS version. It has a white sleeve with a big picture of James Mason with a gun on the cover, plus an inset (color) of Mason with the girl in her fancy antique dress. There are four colored stripes (red, yellow, green, purple) across the top front of the sleeve, as part of the Goodtimes logo. The VHS is dated 1987.
I have not seen any other version, so I am no authority on missing scenes, but it appears to be complete. IMDb lists the film as 79 minutes, and the Goodtimes version clocks in at 78:59. (The 83-minute running time given on the back of the sleeve is wrong; I was hoping to find 4 extra minutes that no other version had, but alas, the people at Goodtimes just made an error -- or else, as it often happened in early VHS days, they counted the time until the tape stopped running and reversed, rather than the actual length of the movie.)
There are two or three spots where the sound cuts out momentarily, but only for a syllable, or at most a few words. When the housemaid sits down on the bed to warn the girl, she says something like "you must leave this house immediately" but the first words are missing, and there may be a slight jump in the film at that point as well, but I don't think it lasts more than a second or two. So, as far as I can tell, this version is essentially complete.
The image is darker than I'd like -- I think originally there was probably more contrast between light and dark, and that the dark parts of the screen were more visible. But it is still sufficiently clear to be enjoyed -- and it is an old dark house mystery after all.
My copy is a used VHS and, being 28 years old, has the typical "washed-out" look that VHS tapes often get with age. I have been looking at my older VHS tapes lately, and where they were originally quite vivid and detailed, now facial features, especially in long shots including several people, become quite lifeless looking, like wax figures in a museum. I think the magnetic storage method of tapes is vulnerable to decay over time. But still, this version is not too bad.
Incidentally, this film is grossly underrated by IMDb viewers. Only 6.3 out of 10? Come on! This is a good, solid melodrama, with atmosphere and a gripping ending. It deserves at least a 7 out of 10, and maybe a bit more. James Mason alone almost automatically makes any film worth 7 out of 10, and this film has other virtues as well.
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