Joan the Woman

Starring:Geraldine Farrar, Raymond Hatton, Hobart Bosworth, Theodore Roberts, Wallace Reid, Charles Clary, James Neill, Tully Marshall, Lawrence Peyton, Horace B. Carpenter, Cleo Ridgely, Lillian Leighton, Marjorie Daw, Stephen Gray, Ernest Joy, John Oaker, Hugo B. Koch, William Conklin, Walter Long, William Elmer
Director: Cecil B. DeMille
Studio: Image Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Customer Reviews:

Great "Who done it..??".......2007-04-29

Stars Edward G. Robinson as a college professor who meets regularly with colleagues at a mens club. Next door to the club is a portrait of a beautiful woman in the window of a studio. The men come look at the portrait and admire her beauty. One evening Robinson meets the woman and goes to her apartment for a drink. Her boyfriend bursts in and in the ensuing scuffle is killed. But things are not really as they seem and Robinson eventually learns the truth behind his chance meeting with the "woman in the window". A Very good mystery with good performances.

One Misstep Leads to Murder.......2007-03-01

The film shows "Gotham College" in New York, founded in 1812. Professor Richard Wanley lectures his class on the psychological aspects of homicide. His wife and children leave for vacation, leaving him a summer bachelor. His friend the DA tells about the troubles for middle-aged men who try to act like a young colt. Professor Wanley stares at a portrait of a woman in a shop window, then at the model herself. Alice Reed talks to him, then invites him over. One thing leads to another. Alice's boyfriend returns to her apartment; there is a fight and the Professor stabs the man. At first the Professor picks up a telephone to call the police, then pauses to review the events. He decides to cover up this crime, and makes a deal with the woman. There is suspense when the Professor removes the body for disposal. Things don't go as planned, but the body is dumped beside a highway. The next day the newspapers report that financier Claude Masard was murdered. The police have the footprints and the tire tread, a blood sample form the man who dropped off the body, and some wool thread from the man's coat.

There is another complication. Masard had a bodyguard who followed him, but he has also disappeared. This bodyguard showed up at Alice Reed's apartment. He knows much, but will take a payoff to keep the secret. The Professor explains there are three ways to deal with a blackmailer. Will one death lead to another? The bodyguard is worldly-wise, and not easily fooled. He wants his payoff, and he gets it in an unexpected way. Alice Reed calls the Professor but does not get an answer. Will this nightmare ever end?

This film serves as a checkpoint to criminology, the art of detection from the clues left behind. Edmond Locard says a criminal always leaves something at the crime scene, and takes away something. The Professor received a cut from barbed wire, and touched poison ivy to get an infection.

Dvd...? Hello...?.......2007-01-18

I first saw this picture when I was 17, perhaps 18 - a long time ago, anyway. I remember my boyfriend at the time called me on the phone during the commercial break and I also remember what I told him: "I'm going to bed NOW. I can't stand this!" I remember having a similar reaction to a totally different movie - "Whatever Happened to Babby Jane?", by Aldrich, a few years later. Which speaks volumes. This is an absolute classic. We need the dvd!

DVD?.......2006-10-30

Why isn't this classic on DVD? Joan Bennett has never been lovelier. Great film - DVD whomever?

Fritz Lang intrigue with a twist - rightly 4 1/2 stars.......2005-07-20

The affable Edward G. Robinson plays criminal psychology professor Richard Wanley in "The Woman in the Window". After spiriting his wife and children away on vacation he goes to his club to spend time with his friends, one of whom being D.A. Lalor played by the angular Raymond Massey.

After they depart, Robinson becomes enraptured with a portrait of a beautiful young woman displayed in the window of an art gallery next to the club. Robinson is startled when he sees a face reflected in the window of the woman in the portrait. After his initial shock, Robinson engages the gal Alice Reed played by Joan Bennett in converstaion. They eventually wind up in her apartment for an innocent nightcap. Quite suddenly and unexpectedly an agitated unknown man bursts into Bennett's apartment and in a jealous rage starts to choke the life out of Robinson. Protecting himself, Robinson grabs a pair of scissors and stabs the man in the back killing him.

Bennett and Robinson are conflicted as to what to do and ultimately decide to cover up the crime and move the body to a distant location. Since they are both amateurs, very soon evidence starts to mount as the body is quickly found. It turns out that the gentleman was a millionaire who had been missing since arriving in New York's Penn Station. Massey, not suspecting Robinson involves him in the investigation. Robinson starts getting panicky when the noose starts tightening around his neck. Things really start going awry when Dan Duryea, a bodyguard of the millionaire arrives at Bennett's pad threatening extortion.

Lang creates an intense sense of fear, dread and intrigue as his plot evolves greatly aided by nice acting performances by a solid ensemble. Lang's finale is a bit of a cop out but didn't spoil the overall fine quality of the flick.

Average customer rating:

Irma la flop
Irma La Douce
Love movies
Irma La Duoce 1963
Seconds parts syndrome!

Irma La Douce
Starring: Jack Lemmon , Shirley MacLaine , Lou Jacobi , Bruce Yarnell , and Herschel Bernardi
Director: Billy Wilder
Manufacturer: MGM (Video & DVD)
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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What a Way to Go!

ASIN: B00005LOLC
Release Date: 2001-09-18

Amazon.com

In 1963, Billy Wilder's Irma La Douce was one of the biggest box-office hits of the year, grossing twice as much as The Great Escape and The Birds. Yet this popular movie has been almost completely forgotten by film history, even to fans of Wilder or stars Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine (the same trio had made a masterpiece, The Apartment, three years earlier). It doesn't represent the best work of those legends, but Irma provides tart entertainment. At least some of the movie's popularity can be chalked up to its subject, which was pretty risqué for the time: Lemmon plays a Paris policeman who falls in love with a prostitute (MacLaine). The script was adapted from a stage musical, but Wilder decided to cut the songs, instead developing the humor and romance into his own blend of bittersweet perversity; this Technicolor-fantasy Paris is kind of a dark cousin to Gigi. Lemmon is in his prime period of hand-wringing self-doubt, and MacLaine is perfectly in tune with his rhythms, especially in scenes that add tenderness to the sometimes queasy mix of moods. Ironically--given the nixing of the songs--the film won its only Oscar for André Previn's adaptation of the stage play's music into a wordless orchestral score. --Robert Horton

Customer Reviews:

Irma la flop.......2007-04-19

This is one of my least favorite Jack Lemmon movies. The plot was slow, the jokes weren't funny. I don't know, this just didn't do it for me. It didn't seem characteristic of Billy Wilder's usual witty style.

Irma La Douce.......2007-02-08

Light hearted comedy by two great actors. Great interplay between them and a joy to watch many times.

Love movies.......2007-01-11

I loved this when I saw it 35 years ago. I wanted to see it and let my kids who are over 30 see it.

Irma La Duoce 1963.......2006-05-08

Meet Nestor (Jack Lemmon 1925-2001), a young man with a very complicated love life . Employed as a business manager to Irma La Douce (Shirley MacLaine 1934- ) -a proud and profitable lady of the streeet -the poor guy has gone and fallen in love with here ! So how do keep a populare Parisienne lika Irma faithful ! Simple . Disguise yourself as a eldery English lord who immediatly becomes Irma?s sole client and means of support ! But what?s jeleous manager to do when illustrious Irma claims that the man she?s in love with is not the smitten Nestor but the dotty old Lord himself . Wonderful homour and story . You will be able to see some scenes of the Les Halles market how is torn down in the 1970?s . High Quality transfer . Recommended

Seconds parts syndrome!.......2005-10-07

Sometimes the genius makes a mistake, even dealing with Billy Wilder, who bet sincerely to repeat the same winner formula in the Apartment. It did not happen, the absence of sexual chemistry in this couple, plus the clash of two strong personalities as Shirley and Jack around this love affair with a pros. Perhaps the emotional state of the audience was surrounded by the mature film Breakfast in Tiffany, Fellini 's La Dolce Vita and Bocaccio 70 who explored this issues with humor and major conceptual density.

Average customer rating:

Needs the first one
Unusually and exceedingly peculiar, and altogether quite impossible to describe...
It's just ok
Not worth the time
Well...that was something else.

Sins of the Sisters
Starring: Naoko Matsui , Yûko Mizutani , Kumiko Watanabe , Jûrôta Kosugi , and Kumiko Nishihara
Manufacturer: Us Manga Corps Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Sprite: Between Two Worlds
Mouse - Stealing Temptation (Vol. 1)
Strange Love
Mouse - Lusty Ambitions (Vol. 2)
Cutey Honey - Essential Anime Collection (Vols. 1 & 2)

ASIN: B00005LP4A
Release Date: 2001-11-13

Description

A woman warrior named Aiko rises to power in a violent and bloody crusade. Haunted by memories of another life, she travels backwards in time to solve the mystery of her past and finds herself caught in an incredible battle to save the future!

Customer Reviews:

Needs the first one.......2006-04-05

What most people don't know about this, is that that is the second in a series! The first part of it is before the Restoration, and actually starts when Hans loses his wings. I haven't been able to find the original in a long time, but I've found that this DVD makes a lot less sense without the first VHS. I don't know why they released the second to DVD without remastering the first. I will admit, I didn't enjoy this one as much. I thought the first was much better. This one was a little more confusing.

Unusually and exceedingly peculiar, and altogether quite impossible to describe..........2005-12-03

O.K., so there's a woman warrior, who led a crusade of other women warriors, and women took over the world (as if they haven't already, ba-dump-bump). And then there's a time-traveling demon, a convenient "time tunnel" built into an ancient monastery, a transsexual/lesbian love affair in there somewhere, and...you know what? Forget it. No, really, forget it; forget that this movie ever existed and move on to more comprehensible fare, like "Urotsukidoji". My rating: 1/10.

It's just ok.......2005-09-21

In the Post-Restoration world, Yuki recovers her memory and realizes that her lover, Daisuke, died in the World Restoration, which was led by Aiko and the female crusaders of St. Michaela's College. She decides to save Daisuke by preventing the WR, which means going back in time to kill the Christian Crusader's.

Not worth the time.......2005-04-03

The voice acting is horrid. All this movie has going for it is gratuitous sex, but not much of that either. The plot could use some work, but if you're looking for a hentai, you're not likely looking for plot. The story confusingly jumped between different time periods.

Well...that was something else........2005-03-24

We've all had our VHS bargain-bin experiences, but if I were not blessed with an appreciation for the bizarre and absurd I'd have tracked the vendor down and made them sit through it. It would have been far worse punishment than a refund of 5 bucks, I assure you.
Indeed, the best reason to own this is to show it to other hentais, to see them gape in disbelief, struck dumb to decided if they'd just been ripped off by a delirious hack or mocked by a burned out malcontent...and don't even try to figure out if the writers were actually religious.
I've no idea if an original language viewing would make this somehow 'better', as the utterly, and typically, awful English cast added to its stupefying effect.

Average customer rating:

Edward G Robinson- Tough Guy No More!
A truely haunting movie
"Listen baby, you got him right where you want him...he's on the hook and can't get off."
At last a decent transfer
Excellent Film

Scarlet Street (Remastered Edition)
Starring: Edward G. Robinson , Joan Bennett , Dan Duryea , Margaret Lindsay , and Jess Barker
Director: Fritz Lang
Manufacturer: Kino Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: B000BGH2NG
Release Date: 2005-11-22

Amazon.com

Kino Video's remastered edition of Scarlet Street finally does justice to one of the best film noir classics of the 1940s. Less than a year after scoring a critical and popular success with The Woman in the Window, director Fritz Lang reunited with stars Edward G. Robinson, Joan Bennett, and Dan Duryea for this fatalistic New York City tale of a meek, middle-aged cashier and aspiring artist named Christopher Cross (Robinson) who unwittingly falls into a trap set by a pair of Greenwich Village con artists (Bennett, Duryea) who plot to sell his paintings and make off with the profits. In addition to Lang's masterful use of studio backlot locations and cinematographer Milton Krasner's exquisite control of light and shadow, the film draws its primary strength from the atypical performance by Robinson (typically so good at playing heavies, and a knowledgeable art collector off-screen) as a hen-pecked husband and self-professed failure whose withered ego makes him especially vulnerable to the false charms of Bennett, a femme fatale as heartless as she is ultimately doomed. Her scandalous behavior on screen and off (Bennett was the wife of producer Walter Wanger and Lang's mistress) and Duryea's pimpish amorality made Scarlet Street both immensely popular and scandalous enough to be banned in three states when the film was released in late 1945, but in Lang's dark vision of corrupted souls and avenging angels, nobody goes unpunished. The ending of Scarlet Street is as unforgiving as it is unforgettable, and in the hands of Fritz Lang, it's the purest essence of film noir at its finest. Kino's DVD release offers a high-definition digital transfer from a 35-millimeter negative preserved by the Library of Congress (in other words, it puts every previous video release to shame), and there's an astute, scholarly commentary by Lang expert David Kalat that puts Scarlet Street into critical perspective with Lang's career and film noir in general. For fans of the genre, this is a must-own DVD. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Edward G Robinson- Tough Guy No More!.......2007-07-04

Actor Edward G. Robinson evokes many images: biblical figure, esteemed business executive, erudite professor, and perennial gangster. In Fritz Lang's multi-layered noir classic Scarlet Street, Robinson convincingly portrays a meek, gulible store cashier who becomes intangled in a spider woman's alluring plot of deception. Lang's film is filled with sexual themes that pushed the limits of Hollywood's protectionist Production Code. The film's 1945 release date marked an immoral counterpoint to post WWII conventionality and American conservatism. Joan Bennett sizzles as the manipulative prostitute Kitty March. Kitty willingly accepts the mental and physical abuse of her pimp played brilliantly by noir stalwart Dan Duryea. But Kitty is no desperate fall girl, she has rationalized her relationship with Johnny as one enveloped in romantic love. To Kitty her "marriage" to Johnny is one that works because all couples that are deeply in love fight. The only elements missing in Kitty's blissful world are respectful occupations, extended families, a home, children, and shared intimacy. Lang's dark film purposely omits any hints of normalcy. Instead Kitty and Johnny's world is one characterized by street hustles, grifting, and deception. Their meal ticket mark is Chris Cross (Edward G. Robinson) who washes dishes in an apron for a wife that still adores her first, late husband. Chris has spent 25 unnoticed years as a store cashier and only truely enjoys life when he paints on Sunday afternoons. That is until Chris meets Kitty. Other reviewers have commented on the storyline, but a few scenes in this noir film are golden moments of the genre. When Kitty finally bursts Chris's naive bubble by shouting: " I've been wanting to laugh in your face ever since I met you. You're old and ugly and I'm sick of you!" murder becomes the only way for Chris to retain his manhood. Chris has gotten away with murder not once, but twice. The innocent Johnny is sent to the electric chair for Kitty's murder and thus both of Chris's tormentors are gone. Or are they really? Director Lang has weaved a complex picture that reveals many human weaknesses, vices, and temptations: embezzelment, infidelity, suicide, blackmail, prostitution, murder, injustice, and love are all present on this dark city canvass. This one is a must see and keeper for all noir enthusiasts.

A truely haunting movie.......2007-03-30

Catharsis is good for people.
Everyone has some blood on their hands as they get older.
This movie reaches into your guilts and twists.
I've seen it twice now.
The first time I liked it,
but didn't ever really want to see it again.
This time when I watched it I could appreciate
how the master film maker has worked.
It is said to be a remake of the French Renoir's La Chienne:
I don't know if I would want to be able to see that deeply into the human
condition?!

"Listen baby, you got him right where you want him...he's on the hook and can't get off.".......2006-11-04

The film Scarlet Street (1945), based on a novel by Georges de La Fouchardière, was produced and directed by Fritz Lang (Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler, M, The Big Heat), and stars Edward G. Robinson (Little Caesar, Double Indemnity, Key Largo), Joan Bennett (The Man in the Iron Mask, The Woman in the Window), and Dan Duryea (Criss Cross, The Flight of the Phoenix). Also appearing is Margaret Lindsay (The House of the Seven Gables), Jess Barker (The Night Walker), Rosalind Ivan (Johnny Belinda), and Charles Kemper (Gallant Journey).

As the film begins we meet a character named Christopher Cross (Robinson), a timid and unassuming middle-aged man, who is celebrating his 25th anniversary as a cashier in a department store. After the party winds down, a tipsy Chris gets turned around somewhere in Greenwich Village and comes across a woman taking the beating from a man, and rescues her, sort of...turns out the attacker, whose face we don't get to see, was fairly drunk and easily enough chased away. Anyway, Chris is immediately taken with the woman, a wannabe actress named Katharine 'Kitty' March (Bennett), allowing her to believe he's a wealthy artist, rather than telling her the dismal truth (seems Chris fancies himself a painter, but it's more or less a hobby rather than a career option). Here's where things get complicated...unbeknownst to Kitty Chris is lowly nine to fiver, married to a shrill harpy named Adele (Ivan), theirs being a marriage of convenience, and unbeknownst to Chris Kitty is involved with a real slick huckster named Johnny Prince (Duryea), the same guy who appeared to be attacking her on the street (turns out he was just trying to get some gambling money). Anyway, Johnny, ever the schemer, believing Chris to be a man of means, convinces Kitty to schmooze him up a bit for some dough, which she does, but Chris, who's a real sap, hasn't the green, so he procures it from his skinflint wife. Eventually Chris eventually comes clean to Kitty about the fact he's married and ends up setting her up in a posh pad, which allows not only for him to visit her, but also gives him a place to pursue his painting, something his wife thinks is a waste. Through a series of circumstances involving Johnny trying to sell Chris' paintings (he and Kitty still believe Chris to be a famous artist), Chris' works actually gain some attention, resulting in Johnny talking Kitty into pretending she painted them, rather than Chris (this wasn't too difficult given Chris never signed his own works). Anyway, as Kitty becomes famous Chris discovers the ruse (only Kitty's part, not her involvement with Johnny), and goes along with it, living vicariously through Kitty given the fact his work is garnering so much attention, but things turn sour once Chris learns of Kitty's involvement with Johnny along with how they've been playing him for a world class sucker...I won't say what happens but I will tell you a sharp implement is involved...

Of most all of the films I've watched recently, which is quite a few, this one had the most intricate storyline. If you've read through the previous paragraph it may seem like I've related a lot, but in actuality I've only touched upon a small number of highlights. There's so much more going on, in terms of both characters mentioned and those that weren't...everything about this feature worked for me, including the immaculate direction, the engaging writing, and the excellent performances. One aspect I was unsure of early on was the character played by Edward G. Robinson in that it seemed so different than what I've come accustomed to with some of his other films I've seen as I'm more or less used to seeing him portray hardnosed gangster types, not spineless, easily manipulated saps. Once I got past my own preconceived typecasting, though, it went down a lot easier, helped immeasurably by the fact Edward G. Robinson is probably one of the best actors to come out of the American cinema. As far as the other performers, Joan Bennett played her part perfectly as she was able to maintain her character's pretense of decorum, at least enough for a lovesick sap to buy off on, but once her character's guard was down we saw her for what she really was, an opportunist who desperately sought the affections of another, even more opportunistic individual played by Dan Duryea, whose character was about as oily and charming (and misogynistic) as they come. Seriously, this is the type of guy who could talk you out of your skin and be long gone before you realized what happened. One of my favorite sequences from the film comes as Kitty relates to Johnny the fact Chris is married and given they way his mind works, he suggests maybe Kitty can pry some money from Chris if it were thought by him that somehow his wife might learn of his relationship (which was nonsexual, by the way) with Kitty. Kitty replies about that being blackmail, to which Johnny states,

"It's only blackmail, baby, when you're dumb enough to get caught."

As I said the direction is wonderful as there was never a time when I wasn't engrossed in the material, which flows at a steady pace. One really interesting aspect for me was near the end, when Chris finally allows himself to realize his tragic folly, and reacts in a shocking, but not unexpected manner. All in all this is probably one of the best film noir features I've seen in awhile, and I'd highly recommend it as an example of a truly unique and fascinating feature within the genre.

The fullscreen (1.33:1) picture on this Kino Video DVD release looks sharp and clean, and it is indicated on the DVD case that digital transfer was culled from the 35mm negative preserved by The Library of Congress. There are a few, minor flaws, but they're barely noticeable. The Dolby Digital audio comes across very well, matching the quality of the picture. There are a couple of extras including an audio commentary track with author David Kalat and gallery containing images of promotional materials, deleted scenes, and some script excerpts.

Cookieman108

By the way, it seems there are a few, different DVD releases of this floating about, but I can only speak towards the quality of the one released by Kino Video, which seemed the priciest of the bunch. As far as the others, well, buyer beware...

At last a decent transfer.......2006-09-02

For so long dogged by unacceptable public domain DVD transfers, Kino has come up with a decent version of this masterpiece at last.

The relentless determinism and intellectual rigour of Fritz Lang's oppressively tragic universe does not give his viewers much cheer but his is a moving and valid vision nonetheless. Scarlet Street is possibly his bleakest film and is based on material that also inspired Jean Renoir's La Chienne (1931). I find this version the more compelling partly because the tight, closed worlds of American film noir crime dramas with their dark, cobbled streets devoid of many sources of light are perfectly attuned to Lang's sensibility; and partly because I love the leading actors-Edward G Robinson, Joan Bennett and Dan Duryea.

Robinson's finely-shaded acting (like Claude Rains he always gets it just right) is a tour de force: he captures to a tee the pathetic vulnerability of the retiring cashier Christopher Cross, who, hen-pecked by a shrewish wife (splendidly vicious Rosalind Ivan), nurses aspirations of escape into a retirement spent in amateur painting. In a chance encounter following his retirement dinner that could only have been engineered by the Fates and shot in Lang's most expressionistically oneiric style, he "saves" actress-cum-hooker Joan Bennett from a beating by "boyfriend" Dan Duryea (a whining pimp in a pin-stripe suit) and proceeds to develop a romantic obsession for her. Joan Bennett is a really class act as the sleazy, opportunistic femme fatale who trades on Robinson's delusions to gain entry to the lucrative art world by signing her name to his naive paintings.

As events pursue an inexorable path towards tragedy (in the truest classical sense of the term), Lang draws on arresting imagery from the art world to explore Robinson's middle-aged fantasies/delusions about his idee fixe (Bennett).This is complemented by Lang's precise chiaroscuro and stylized noir ambience to create an atmosphere of suffocating entrapment.

Paradoxically, the film combines these elements with some well-chosen domestic detail which is filmed with a naturalistic authenticity that is equally oppressive. It all adds up to a complex claustrophobic experience.

The final sequences are a descent into a hellish nightmare as Robinson, having literally gotten away with murder, is pursued by his conscience (the "Furies") and ends his days as a pitiful tramp on a park bench hearing voices in his head. For the audience it provides a catharsis worthy of its Greek models but it was incidentally a flagrant breach of the then-prevailing Hays code by the back door(with the wrong man being executed for the murder Robinson committed, and Robinson in a technical though not a moral sense, going unpunished for his crime).

Excellent Film.......2006-08-15

This is a great film. It's one of those movies that stay with you long after you've finished watching it. Great character development, great dialogue and a great story. This is one I actually re-watch often.

Average customer rating:

Suspence

Incognito
Starring: Allison Dean , Richard T. Jones , Phil Morris , Vanessa Williams , and Roger Guenveur Smith
Director: Julie Dash
Manufacturer: Urban Works
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B00009VTX4
Release Date: 2003-07-15

Description

Erin (Allison Dean), A beautiful, young and wealthy corporate executive witnesses a brutal crime and becomes the key witness in the prosecutions case. After a long bid the murderer is released and sets his sights on revenge. to protect his baby, Erin's father (Ron Glass) hires a handsome bodyguard (Richard T. Jones) to protect her from this psychotic killer. The suspense and thrills prove to be overwhelming forcing Erin to find refuge in and the arms of her protector. Can love save the day?

Customer Reviews:

Suspence.......2003-09-24

I loved this movie. It kept me wondering who the killer was. Another great BET Movie. Good job BET.

Average customer rating:

A pleasing San Francisco-based B-noir, but a mediocre DVD
"I like mercenary women."
Solid Noir
More Alpha Trash
San Fran Gangland.

Woman on the Run
Starring: Thomas P. Dillon , Ross Elliott , Steven Geray , Frank Jenks , and Robert Keith
Director: Norman Foster
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Trapped

ASIN: B0006SSSZK
Release Date: 2005-01-25

Description

Frank Johnson, walking his dog alone on a dark and deserted San Francisco street, witnesses a gangland murder. The police ask him to testify to the Grand Jury, but instead he goes into hiding. Trailing him is Inspector Ferris and Johnson's wife, Eleanor (Ann Sheridan), who thinks her husband is running away from their failing marriage. Newspaperman Danny Leggett (Dennis O'Keefe) joins in the hunt, promising to pay Eleanor $1,000 if she'll give him Frank's story when they find him. Eleanor and the reporter start gathering clues to Frank's whereabouts. An unexplained suicide and unidentified corpse keep them on the run, dodging the police, private eyes and the mysterious killer - all of them trying to get to Frank first. Along the way Eleanor finds out things about her husband's life that she never knew. By the time she realizes where he's hiding and who's really behind the gangster hit, it might be too late.Ann Sheridan, whose film career started in the early 1930s, got her big break in 1937, appearing in The Great O'Malley with Humphrey Bogart. In 1938, she appeared with James Cagney in Angels with Dirty Faces followed by a succession of film noir mysteries and dramas including, They Made Me a Criminal, with John Garfield and numerous others.

Customer Reviews:

A pleasing San Francisco-based B-noir, but a mediocre DVD.......2007-04-09

The previous Amazon reviewers have done a good job of summarizing the plot of this 1950 B-movie noir. They have done equally well with the numerous faults to be found in this unimpressive, barebones edition.

Overall, "Woman on the Run" is enjoyable enough on its own merits. It is a member of the large sub-class of San Francisco-based movies. And that's what I'll take as my text.

The film seems to be one of those that followed along the trail blazed by 1947's "The Naked City." The old, cozy backlot sets have been abandoned in favor of gritty location shooting to the extent that the City is intended to be as much a character in the picture as any of the actors. "Woman on the Run" starts out with a night-time location shot showing a man walking his dog up one of San Francisco's many hillside stairway-streets. It so happens that I do not recognize that particular staircase (after all, I lived in the City for only 32 years), but it appears to be on Russian Hill. At the time, that was a neighborhood precariously balanced a step or two above hardscrabble. It was consistent with the economic status of the married couple at the center of the drama. (It is shuddersome to contemplate just what it would cost to buy a house there now.)

From Russian Hill, director Norman Foster and cinematographer Hal Mohr hit the required set-ups for any SF movie: the cable car coming up Powell Street to drop off a shapely passenger, the lordly buildings crowning Telegraph Hill, a couple of shots of Chinatown, a glimpse of the Tenderloin, interior shots of Gilded Age saloons in which the verb "to Shanghai" was invented to describe a common practice in the Bad, Bad Old Days (some still there and almost as dangerous as ever to the naive and unwary), hilly residential streets lined with three-story Victorian houses, working piers at the perimeter of the Ocean and Bay-bound City.

The effect of all this is, however, rather different from that achieved in "The Naked City." That picture was a love letter addressed to New York. This one is a cheap penny postcard addressed out of a weary sense of duty to Aunt Minnie back in Duluth. It is really quite striking to discover how director and cinematographer managed to convert some of the most eye-catching scenery imaginable into so such a lengthy sequence of undistinguished and often dull images. Perhaps they had no budget to spare for mere visuals. Perhaps they had no time for effective set-ups. Perhaps they lacked the talent to perceive what lay before them. Maybe they didn't care. Or all these things together.

The final lengthy sequence of "Woman on the Run" is set in what the actors on screen call "the amusement park." Now, San Francisco in those days certainly had an amusement park. On formal occasions, it was called "Whitney's Playland-at-the-Beach," but just "Playland" was sufficient for the other 99.9% of the time. ( It is no longer there and the debacle that led to its destruction still leads San Franciscans of my generation to pronounce the name of developer Jeremy Ets-Hokin with a snarl.) As a child, I couldn't quite claim the noble appellation of "Playland-rat," but I spent my fair share of time there and knew the place fairly well.

The sequence begins well enough with Laughing Sal, the mannequin that marked the entrance to Playland. After that, though, nothing quite jibes with my more than fifty year-old memories. The action takes place in a real amusement park, sure enough, but not the one I remember in San Francisco. This onscreen amusement park is narrow and linear and all painted white and apparently based beside the water or on a pier directly above it. None of that was true of the Playland I remember. Either my memories are seriously out of whack or, having grabbed their required quota of scene-establishing shots up north, the movie crew retreated to some local amusement pier in Southern California for the big, melodramatic closing sequence.

"Woman on the Run" is a solid B-movie offering decent performances from Ann Sheridan and the underrated Dennis O'Keefe and some pleasantly noir-ish touches. If you don't set your expectations too high, you'll find yourself pleased when you see it.

This is a three-star DVD ... but on the high end of the three stars.

"I like mercenary women.".......2006-11-14

It's a dark foggy night in San Francisco, and Frank Johnson (Ross Elliott) is out walking his dog Rembrandt in the park. A car pulls up, Frank hears gunshots, and a body falls from the car. At that point, Rembrandt starts barking, and the killer, realizing there's a witness, takes a few shots at Frank before speeding off.

Inspector Martin Ferris (Robert Keith) arrives and explains to Johnson that the murdered man was a valuable witness, and since Frank saw the shooter, that makes him valuable too. At that news, Frank panics, and goes on the run.

Once Frank disappears, Inspector Ferris goes to Frank's wife, Eleanor (Ann Sheridan) with the idea that she'll know the whereabouts of her husband. And this is where the film gets really interesting--Eleanor is sour, full of great one-liners, and she doesn't particularly care where her husband is. Gradually it's revealed that most of the tension in their unhappy marriage is based in Frank's artistic endeavors. The result of Frank's talent is that after 4 years of marriage, the little money the Johnsons had is gone, but there's a room full of unsold paintings.

While Inspector Ferris pesters Eleanor for answers, nosy newspaperman Danny Leggett (Dennis O'Keefe) befriends her. He has a talent for breaking through her sour, prickly facade, and so manages to strike up a quasi-relationship with Eleanor. Eleanor is feeling more than a bit bruised. Not only has her husband ditched her entirely, but the Police imply that she must have been a bad wife. Teaming up, Eleanor and Leggett search San Francisco together for clues to Frank's whereabouts, and it gradually becomes clear that Eleanor--the one person in the world who should know Frank the best--doesn't know her husband well at all.

"Woman on the Run" from director Norman Foster is a surprisingly good, well-paced noir film with a tight, no-scenes-wasted plot, and a tense, terrific conclusion. The character of Eleanor also adds a great deal to the film, and Ann Sheridan is great fun in this role. One of the best scenes occurs between Eleanor and Leggett in a taxicab. She's reached the end point when it comes to implied criticism of her wifely performance: "In the past ten hours, I've met three men--three men who put together haven't known Frank for a fraction of the length of time I've known him, yet they know him better than I do." The Alpha DVD is acceptable--although some of the night scenes are too dark and this blots out detail. Also the film skips in a couple of spots--chopping off a word or two. But for film noir fans, this obscure title deserves a viewing--displacedhuman

Solid Noir.......2006-03-02

Since there are no other DVD's with this movie, I must recommend it highly for noir fans-- but it IS Alpha, and extremely poor video quality. For the price, and for the movie, go for it! Then toss it when a better one comes along.

More Alpha Trash.......2005-12-22

At least Alpha Video appears to be consistent. I've purchased two of them, and both are unwatchable. This movie would probably be a B or B+ if you could make out what the characters are saying or not be bothered incessantly by skipped dialogue and a horribe DVD picture transfer.

Even the gorgeous Ann Sheridan doesn't look so hot in this movie. It may be that God-awful hair style. Or else it's just the D-- picture quality.

Next DVD you buy - check to be certain its not an Alpha which, I believe, is Greek for awful.

San Fran Gangland........2005-10-14

This is a better than average example of its genre. It moves right along, interesting characters,always fun to see old San Francisco!

Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948) with Joan Fontaine

Average customer rating:

White Rose is a Symbol of Neverending Love...
Dvd Coming Soon.
"A Beautiful Love Story"

Letter From an Unknown Woman (1948) with Joan Fontaine

Manufacturer: DVD/Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Lola Montes
All That Heaven Allows - Criterion Collection
The Heiress (Universal Cinema Classics)
The Conformist (Extended Edition)
Double Indemnity (Universal Legacy Series)

ASIN: B000CC0KP6

Product Description

Format: BLACK & WHITE, IMPORT, NTSC, ALL REGION, WIDESCREEN. AUDIO: DIGITAL SOUND in ENGLISH. SUBTITLE LANGUAGES: Chinese, English. PRIMARY ACTOR: Joan Fontaine, Louis Jourdan, SUPPORTING ACTORS: Louis Jourdan, Mady Christians, Marcel Journet DIRECTOR: Max Ophüls "By the time you read this letter, I may be dead," reads aging bon vivant Louis Jourdan from a letter found in his tiny hotel room. With tousled hair and a tux tired from yet another night of meaningless flirtation, he's startled by these opening lines and suspends his preparations to flee a duel in order to read the history of a love affair that he can't remember. For the rest of the film we're transported to the life of Joan Fontaine's awkward young Viennese woman, who has been hopelessly enthralled by the dashing pianist ever since adolescence. For a moment she was his lover, the emotional pinnacle of her life but for the philandering rogue simply another fling in a blur of women passing through his bedroom. This was Max Ophüls's first personal project in Hollywood, and he injects this exquisitely stylish romantic melodrama (based on a novel by Stefan Zweig) with his continental sensibility. Both lush and restrained, the endlessly moving camera tracks, cranes, and circles around the characters while maintaining a measured distance. Fontaine delivers one of the best performances of her career, vulnerable and yearning without lapsing into sentimentality--and ultimately showing a hidden strength as she risks all for one more moment with the love of her life. Jourdan is genial and callow, an empty figure faced with the meaningless of his life and shamed with self-discovery. It's a sensibility more European than American, right down the empty gesture that concludes this sad melodrama. --Sean Axmaker --

Customer Reviews:

White Rose is a Symbol of Neverending Love..........2007-04-17

Deeply moving story from one of cinema's great stylists, Max Ophuls (Le Ronde, Earrings of Madam De..., Lola Montes), stars Jane Fonatain as Lisa, a young woman hopelessly in love with dashing but callous piano player Stefan (Louis Jordan). Fontain played perhaps the best role of her career and was incredibly touching and convincing as a teenage girl (she was 31 when she took the part) that fell in love from the first sight and whose whole life was under the spell of this rare unrequited love that was recognized, alas, too late. One may ask how such a beautiful, sublime, and charming creature like Lisa would carry a torch through the years for a man who uses her without pity and does not remembers her name or her face - well, the mystery of love is unsolvable. King Solomon, one of the wisest men ever lived said once, "There are three things I can't explain, and one, I can't understand - the way of an eagle in the sky, the way of a ship in the sea, the way of a snake crawling up the mountain, and the way of a man to the heart of a woman." I guess, nowadays we can explain the first three mysteries but never will be able to understand the fourth one... Max Ophuls' who had worked in many European countries and "gave camera movement its finest hours in the history of the cinema" made romantic and elegant "The Letter from an Unknown Woman" in Hollywood and it is regarded as his best American movie.

Dvd Coming Soon........2006-06-07

This movie was suppost to be issued by the end of may 2006 but apparently was recalled before its release. Be patience and don't be robbed or pay the ridiculous prices this movie will be on dvd soon................

"A Beautiful Love Story".......2005-11-22

I was so happy to find this wonderful movie in DVD here in Amazon. The quality of this import is surprisingly pretty good both in image and sound. Definitely better than VHS.
A lovely movie to own and watch again and again.

Average customer rating:

William Keighley directed the film with a firm and fresh efficiency...
Another good gangster film
Decent Gangster Film
Getting Rid Of The Racket
One Tough Movie

Bullets or Ballots
Starring: Edward G. Robinson , Joan Blondell , Barton MacLane , Humphrey Bogart , and Frank McHugh
Director: William Keighley , Roy Mack , and Friz Freleng
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B000FI9OAY
Release Date: 2006-07-18

Amazon.com

Get two gangster-movie icons for the price of one as tough police detective Edward G. Robinson faces off for the first time against Humphrey Bogart, the ambitious enforcer for a big-time racketeer. Bogart's effectively the co-star--virtually a one-man crime wave--though he rates only fourth billing behind Eddie G., Joan Blondell, and Barton MacLane. Still, no question it's Robinson's movie; the former "Little Caesar" walks the line beautifully as an honest cop who, unjustly jettisoned from the force, agrees to go to work for the mobster (MacLane) he's long pursued. A fascinating air of fatalism attaches to Robinson's character, whether shrugging off his betrayal by the new police commissioner (and his oldest friend), trading polite threats with his new criminal colleagues, or dismissing the possibility of happiness with the nightclub operator (Blondell) who clearly cares for him.

The title is a bit of a misnomer: Despite a rhetorical reference to "ballots" as the public's means of expressing outrage over the costs of crime, it's bullets that get the job done. Bullets and fists: the movie makes clear that Robinson has beaten confessions out of people on many occasions, and in best hardnosed Warner Bros. tradition, it has no illusions about the empty symbolism of crime commissions and grand juries. There's a nice subplot involving Blondell creating the numbers racket as off-hours distraction from her main occupation; her territory is Harlem, and Louise Beavers, usually relegated to maid roles, has spirited fun with the chance to strut as Blondell's partner. William Keighley directed. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

"They rule by the fear of their guns. They must be stopped by the power of your ballots." They refers to Bugs Fenner and other mobsters whose illicit rackets will be smashed to smithereens by undercover cop Johnny Blake. When Warner Bros.' Depression-era gangster movies began to draw protests, the studio reinvigorated the genre with stories emphasizing law enforcers instead of lawbreakers. The swift, sturdy Bullets or Ballots reflects that, with Edward G. Robinson (as Blake) siding with the good guys for the first time in a gangland saga. Humphrey Bogart plays the short-fused Fenner. And Joan Blondell and Louise Beavers, in an unusual story element for the times, are thriving numbers operators whose grift is usurped by the mob. Director: William Keighley Starring: Edward G. Robinson, Joan Blondell, Barton MacLane, Humphrey Bogart, Frank McHugh

Customer Reviews:

William Keighley directed the film with a firm and fresh efficiency..........2006-12-22

Following his brutal portrayal in "The Petrified Forest," Bogart became a much more articulate and calculating killer in "Bullets or Ballots," a gangster thriller starring Edward G. Robinson as a crusading crime-buster, modeled after true-life cop Johnny Broderick, known as "the toughest cop on Broadway," who pretended to be thrown off the police force in order to infiltrate Bogart's gang and get the evidence to bring him to justice...

Bogart revealed no emotion whatever as he goes about his gun-happy chores of shooting a respected newspaperman as well as his partner-in-crime, Barton MacLane, in his characteristic double-cross...

The exciting finale found both Bogart and Robinson in a blazing showdown, an unusual ending for this period in film history, but one which Robinson had fought hard to retain...

William Keighley directed the film with a firm and fresh efficiency...

Another good gangster film.......2006-08-12

With the implementation of the Hays Code in 1934, Warner Brothers explored new ways of retaining the excitement of the pre code films while honouring the principle of not making the gangsters into heroes. The solution was to make their great stars switch sides so in this one, Edward G. Robinson is an ex-cop who infiltrates the mobs. The head of the racketeers is Barton MacLane who lacked Robinsons's star power and accordingly, the heavy is much less attractive.

The plot is more complex than most of these films with the introduction of the bankers and politicians who actually head the syndicates. Whether Robinson has turned crooked or not provides most of the suspense and he cleverly walks a fine line between good and evil. His character is a loner and the film is dominated by the relationships between the men. It is also not as fast moving as others films in the genre where actions speak louder than words.

Joan Blondell has a small part as a smart business woman who runs the "numbers game" and invests it with more depth than she was often given the opportunity to do. Her two encounters with Humphrey Bogart, typecast as a violent but very suave racketeer, are memorable. Her sidekick is Louise Beavers who transcends black stereotypes and plays a woman of resource and intelligence. The presence of Blondell implies a romance but Robinson's loner avoids a relationship with her in a couple of touching scenes.

The DVD is chock full of worthwhile extras including an interesting documentary on the immigrant in the gangster film, an amusing short film on golf with Joe E Brown, Douglas Fairbanks Junior and Edward G Robinson himself, a Vitaphone cartoon with the signature detailed drawings and rollicking music, a musical short and a very funny newsreel item. There is also one of those blooper shorts from the Warner Brothers Films of 1936. If you know your Warner's films, these are always good fun to see. The commentary attached to the film itself is analytical to the point of boredom - a bit like a university thesis on the film's plot and script. The commentator misses the opportunity to say much about the players and the sheer entertainment value of the Warners product. Incidentally, the print of the film itself is outstanding, particularly preserving the superb lighting.

The DVD is excellent value particularly if it is purchased as part of the Warner's Tough Guys Collection.

Decent Gangster Film.......2006-03-27

Bullets or Ballots is a good gangster film set in the later 1930s which helps to explain their existence after Prohibition. Edward G. Robinson plays Johnny, a veteran of the police force whose unpopular methods leave him with nowhere to turn but to the gangsters who want him on their side. Humphrey Bogart plays a gangster who feels his position is being threatened and who serves to make trouble throughout the film. Joan Blondell plays Leigh, a pretty girl who is close friends with Johnny.

Robinson plays his decent character very well, but not particularly notably. Bogart's character is childish and headstrong and he plays the part well, a variation on his many gangster parts. Blondell is less pretty here than in her pre-code films and she dons many low cut dresses perhaps to compensate.

One of the most notable parts of this film is the incredibly sexy kiss between Bogart and Blondell.

Getting Rid Of The Racket.......2002-07-22

Edward G. Robinson stars as a cop dedicated to getting rid of gangsters running rackets. When he is fired, he winds up taking a job with crime boss Barton MacLane, against the wishes of MacLane's number one man, Humphrey Bogart. MacLane wants Robinson to make his organization foolproof against the police. When they start having more interference from the police, people in the organization start questioning Robinson's trustworthiness, especially trigger-happy Bogart. This is a tough film, trying to address the problem of gangsters after Prohibition ended. Robinson, MacLane, and Joan Blondell as Robinson's disappointed girlfriend all turn in terrific performances, while Bogart contributes yet another of his bad guy jobs that he did so often until he became a star. I liked the perspective in this gangster film, which focused more on what the law was doing to end the problem, rather than simply giving us the story from only the gangsters' point of view. It's one of Warner Brother's least well known crime films, but it definitely deserves a look.

One Tough Movie.......2002-05-23

BULLETS OR BALLOTS is a well constructed "law and order" vs. the "mob" gangster film. Credit has to be given to Edward G. Robinson for his sincere performance as undercover cop Johnny Blake who pretends to go bad and Seton I. Miller's well conceived script for elevating this film above the ordinary gangster film. There is good and bad, black and white and a lot of gray area to the characters created for this film and that's what makes it so interesting. Robinson sees both sides and plays by his own set of ethics. This film also features Humphrey Bogart as the no good gangster Nick "Bugs" Fenner. However, Barton MacLane outshines him in an excellent performance as the local crime boss Al Kruger who counterbalances Robinson's character. This is one tough film and is very suspenseful and intelligently told.

Average customer rating:

what a crock
Interesting film; poor DVD quality

Pope Joan
Starring: Liv Ullmann , Jeremy Kemp , Natasa Nicolescu , Sharon Winter , and Margareta Pogonat
Director: Michael Anderson
Manufacturer: Platinum Disc
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0000C23HX
Release Date: 2003-08-12

Customer Reviews:

what a crock.......2005-04-25

Whether you like the Catholic Church or not, there never was a Pope Joan. If you want historical fiction get an Oliver Stone movie and be done with it. If you want anti-Catholicism get the writings of Martin Luther, but at least be intellectually honest.

Interesting film; poor DVD quality.......2004-10-30

I have just rented this title from Neflix. The storyline they advertise is that of a 20th Century woman who feels that she resembles the legendary Pope Joan of the 9th Century. Through a visit to a psycharist, she manages to time-travel to Joan's world.

The actual movie, however, has nothing to do with the 20th century. No visit to a psycharist, no time-travel in her mind. This is a costume drama, a straight-forward bio pic of a woman who pretended to be a man (in order to save her life in those savage times) and was elected Pope (a story vigoriously denied by the Catholic Church).

While supporting actors Maximillian Schell (as a monk/painter), Franco Nero (as the Emperor) and Trevor Howard (as an aging pope) turn in convincing performances, it is Liv Ullman who steals the show (she is in practically every scene). Her face is the perfect actor's mask. Her transformation into Father John is so convincing that I found myself saying that, if I had just met him, either as priest or Pontiff, I'd believe she was a man. The actress does this entirely with her face, the mark of a true creative artist.

The set and costume designs easily transport you back in time. Maurice Jarre's music score is lovely, although it often tends to dominate rather than support the action. This is also a European production, so that the editing seems jarring at times, as if you are getting a cut-down version for international distribution. Also the sound has a thin, hallow quality, not well balanced as in Hollywood productions. This can also be digitally corrected (enhanced) for today's DVDs.

Unfortunately, all the efforts of the filmmakers are undercut by the horrific film/negative elements used in the DVD transfer. This looks like an old print that was found in someone's basement where the reels had moulded for years. There is a snow-storm of negative dirt floating across the screen, plus terrible negative scratches that frequently blemish the actor's faces. There are numerous rips/tears in the element and were poorly taped back together. It is a shame that nobody tried to digitally correct this problem.. And there is absolutely no attempt at color correction.

DVD was supposed to usher in a new digital age were studios protected their investments by finding and restoring their original elements. Instead, like the old, cheap video tapes of the recent past, some distributors are treating the DVD format as just another cheap way of getting people to part with their money. It has become a "buyer beware" situation. It often seems that more care is lavished on the box cover art than on the actual film transfer.

Film is an art form. So is it's presentation. Somebody needs to remind copyright, distributors of this simple fact. As in the theatrical exhibition of any film, the multi-millions of dollars lavished on a production can be undone by a single projectionist who lets the film go out of focus, or who doesn't clean the projector gate and allows a deep scratch to appear.

Average customer rating:

Great Film, Awful transfer
Love From a Stranger

Love From a Stranger
Starring: Jean Cadell , Donald Calthrop , Binnie Hale , Ann Harding , and Joan Hickson
Director: Rowland V. Lee
Manufacturer: Alpha Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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ASIN: B0001ZMWT6
Release Date: 2004-05-25

Customer Reviews:

Great Film, Awful transfer.......2005-06-24

I'm reviewing the Alpha DVD Edition of this film, the three stars I gave the product are due to the bad quality of the transfer, because I'd given the film alone, four and half stars. With Alpha's DVD Editions, you either have the luck of getting decent copies (sometimes even very good ones like "The Strange Love of Martha Ivers") or awful ones, like this one in particular.

The film is based upon a Play of an Agatha Christie Story and is superbly directed by Rowland V.Lee, with an almost complete English Cast, except for Ms. Harding. The plot is quite simple and suspenseful: a working girl wins a huge amount of money in the Lottery and meets a mysterious, attractive man.

It was filmed in 1937, when the leading actress' stardom (Ann Harding) had already waned in the United States (after being one of the Top Stars during the Early Sound Era). Nonetheless, her acting ability and talent are obvious as well as her charm and grace. Basil Rathbone is excellent too as the mysterious man who arrives into her life, giving a skilled performance.

The rest of the supporting cast is very good too and the sets and the film's atmosphere give the proper background to this entertaining story. In spite of the bad quality of the transfer, I could enjoy the film's plot completely, because it's so absorbing and well paced, that you forget about the "technical flaws" of the copy.

If you liked Robert Montgomery's "Night Must Fall", this one's for you. 'Til now Alpha's is the only DVD Edition available of this film.

Love From a Stranger.......2004-09-13

LOVE FROM A STRANGER is based on the Frank Vosper play of Agatha Christie's short story "Philomel Cottage." Indeed, it feels a little stage bound and static. The plot is simple enough. Working girl Ann Harding wins the lottery, throws her fiance over for Basil Rathbone, and they move to a secluded cottage in the country, where....
But that would be telling, and one doesn't do that with Agatha Christie. It's enough to say that young Ann might have been better off if she had patched things up with her intended before marrying stranger Rathbone.
There are a few items you'll have to endure before you get to the rewarding ending. The transfer print this dvd was taken from was in pretty rough shape, and I couldn't say for sure that it contains one unblemished frame. There's also a lot of background noise on the soundtrack. Rathbone's character travels the steepest arc I recall ever seeing. If you don't buy into it (I did) I can imagine his acting would be enough for someone to turn this one off.
LOVE FROM A STRANGER is worth sticking with to the end. I thought I'd figured it out and the movie still managed to throw in a surprise or two that caught me unawares. A perfect movie for a rainy, Sunday afternoon.
LOVE FROM A STRANGER is based on the Frank Vosper play of Agatha Christie's short story "Philomel Cottage." Indeed, it feels a little stage bound and static. The plot is simple enough. Working girl Ann Harding wins the lottery, throws her fiance over for Basil Rathbone, and they move to a secluded cottage in the country, where....
But that would be telling, and one doesn't do that with Agatha Christie. It's enough to say that young Ann might have been better off if she had patched things up with her intended before marrying stranger Rathbone.
There are a few items you'll have to endure before you get to the rewarding ending. The transfer print this dvd was taken from was in pretty rough shape, and I couldn't say for sure that it contains one unblemished frame. There's also a lot of background noise on the soundtrack. Rathbone's character travels the steepest arc I recall ever seeing. If you don't buy into it (I did) I can imagine his acting would be enough for someone to turn this one off.
LOVE FROM A STRANGER is worth sticking with to the end. I thought I'd figured it out and the movie still managed to throw in a surprise or two that caught me unawares. A perfect movie for a rainy, Sunday afternoon.

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