THE ROCKING HORSE WINNER (1949

Ten year old Paul Grahame (John Howard Davies) worries because his upper middle class household is about to go broke: his mother (Valerie Hobson) is a pathological spendthrift; his father (Hugh Sinclaire) a perpetually losing gambler. An indulgent, wealthy uncle (Ronald Squire) buys Paul a rocking horse for Christmas. Paul hears voices whispering "more money, more money" in the house, and while wildly riding the horse in a trance, conjures the winners of horse races yet to come. He enlists the family's kindly handyman (John Mills) to place bets for both; soon they're rolling in money. The uncle gets in on it, and channels some of his winnings to bail out Paul's parents, who are soon back to living high on the hog. After a long losing streak, Paul whips himself into a final frenzy and calls the winner of the Derby--but at a terrible cost. Based on a D.H. Lawrence short story, "The Rocking Horse Winner," though never an outright supernatural or horror film, maintains an eerie, disturbing air throughout. The acting is first-rate all around, and the filming uses deep-focus techniques that add to the spooky atmosphere. Brilliant job.