The Innocents is a British-American 1961 gothic psychological horror film directed and produced by Jack Clayton, and starring Deborah Kerr, Michael Redgrave, and Megs Jenkins.

Filming took place partly on location at the Gothic mansion of Sheffield Park in Sussex, with additional shoots occurring at Shepperton Studios in Surrey.

She is determined to rescue them from this possession, first planning to break her promise to their uncle and write to him, but she is thwarted by a weeping apparition of Miss Jessel in the schoolroom.

Miles suddenly begins yelling obscene insults and laughing maniacally, and Quint's face appears in the window behind him, joining in the boy's laughter.

[2] According to literary scholar Leonard Orr, of the many adaptations of James's work, The Innocents has received the largest amount of critical attention.

[9] Hogan also interprets the film's final scene as "a perverse variation on the Sleeping Beauty story, as Kerr symbolically liberates the boy from a presumed possession with a kiss after he has fainted.

"[10] In the book Fifty Classic British Films, 1932-1982: A Pictorial Record (2013), film writer Anthony Slide noted: "Through the use of shadows, oblique camera angles, and an atmospheric soundtrack, Jack Clayton not only captured the horror of James's story, but also its deeper sadness—the children's isolation from the real world, the governess' problematic sexuality, and the curiously pitiful nature of the former governess, Miss Jessel.

"[2] The original screenplay for The Innocents was adapted by playwright William Archibald from his 1950 play of the same name, which itself was based on Henry James's novella The Turn of the Screw.

[8][11] In both his stage and screen adaptations, Archibald wrote under the assumption that the supernatural experiences of Miss Giddens were real, and that the ghosts she encountered were legitimate entities as opposed to figments of her imagination (a possibility left unresolved in James's original work).

[8]Director Jack Clayton envisioned a more ambiguous conclusion for the film: "My original interest in the story was in the fact that one could tell it from a completely different point of view," he said.

[14] At the time, Capote was in the middle of writing In Cold Blood; however, because he was a fan of the James novella, he agreed, and took a three-week hiatus to rewrite the screenplay.

[15] Capote introduced the Freudian symbolism that is prominently highlighted in the relationships and visual compositions of the film, with implications that the supernatural phenomena experienced by Miss Giddens are a result of her own sexual repression and paranoias rather than legitimate paranormal experiences.

Frayling also notes a Southern Gothic feel present in Capote's script alterations – particularly with the governess's repressed erotic sensibility counterpointed by shots of lush and decaying plants and rapacious insect life.

[18] There are stills of the scene that circulated at the time, but Clayton ultimately elected to open the film with darkness, a song sung by a little girl, and the image of Kerr's hands that are clasped in prayer, with her rosary between her fingers, as she murmurs and sobs.

[1] On 19 September 2013, Wyngarde and Jessop were interviewed by Matthew Sweet for a special episode of Night Waves dedicated to the film as part of the BBC Radio 3 programme Sound of Cinema.

[29] To ensure that his child actors' performances remained uninhibited, Clayton withheld the full details of the story from Martin Stephens and Pamela Franklin, who only received those parts of the script that lacked the surprising and mysterious adult elements of the film.

[20] According to script supervisor Pamela Mann, star Deborah Kerr was specifically attuned to making sure the children "had fun on set".

[14] Writer Truman Capote was present during the first several weeks of filming, writing additional dialogue for Stephens and Franklin, and making minor script alterations.

[14] 20th Century Fox insisted that The Innocents be shot in CinemaScope, while Clayton wanted to shoot it in standard academy ratio,[30] feeling that he would be unable to make use of the additional space on both sides of the frame.

[31] Cinematographer Freddie Francis insisted that he could work with the CinemaScope aspect ratio, having shot Sons and Lovers (1960) for director Jack Cardiff in the format.

[14] In his 2010 memoir Dream Repairman, Jim Clark recalled his work as editor on The Innocents as "a true collaboration" and that he and Clayton became close friends and regular drinking partners during production, since both were single at the time, and lived near each other.

[36] Clark also revealed that, despite their previously harmonious working relationship, he unexpectedly fell out with Clayton just before the film was released, and felt that he had allowed himself to become too close to his director.

A review published in Time magazine praised Kerr's performance and the film's "dangerous, intelligent darkness",[45] but criticised the screenplay, suggesting that Archibald and Capote's script "unhappily press[es] hard, much harder than James did, for the psychiatric interpretation.

They have obviously failed to perceive that in suggesting a normal, everyday basis for supernatural phenomena, they must inevitably relieve the spectator of his nameless horror of what might happen.

[53] This release features a new 4K transfer, an introduction and audio commentary with cultural critic Christopher Frayling, an interview with cinematographer John Bailey (discussing the work of Freddie Francis), and a 2006 documentary on the making of the film.

[28][56] With the British cinematic re-release of The Innocents as part of the BFI's Gothic Season in December 2013, the film has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from contemporary critics.

Its consensus reads, "Creepily atmospheric, The Innocents is a stylishly crafted, chilling British ghost tale with Deborah Kerr at her finest".

[59] Tim Robey, writing for The Telegraph, also gave the film five out of five stars, recognising the "immaculate" directorial ability of Jack Clayton, and commending the "eerie, coldly beautiful" adaptation of James' novel.

[65] In 2013, the BFI and Palgrave Macmillan published an extensive behind-the-scenes book written by Christopher Frayling which details the origin and themes behind The Turn of the Screw, the success of the story's many previous adaptations on the stage, opera and television, this film's entire production, its initial release and its impact and recognition in later years.

[66] On 4 January 2017, Martin Stephens gave an extensive interview on his career as a child actor during a TEDx episode titled Movies, Marriage and Meditation.