Alibi

Starring:Michael Kitchen, Sophie Okonedo, Phyllis Logan, Stefan Weclawek, Paul Thornley, Simon Hyde, Francis Magee, Jem Wall, Hilary Maclean, Tom Knight, Adam Kotz, Jerome Willis, Anna Mottram, Peter Lovstrom, Clare Clifford, Sadie Shimmin, Paul Williams (XIX), Belle Hithersay, Neil Boorman, Laura Roxburgh
Director: David Richards (II)
Studio: Lance Entertainment
Product Type: DVD

Amazon.com essential video

Billy Wilder cowrote and directed this brilliant 1957 mystery based on Agatha Christie's celebrated play about an aging London barrister (Charles Laughton) who's preparing to retire when he takes the defense in the most vexing murder case of his distinguished career. In his final completed film (he died of a heart attack less than a year later), Tyrone Power plays the prime suspect in the murder of a wealthy widow, and Marlene Dietrich plays the wife of the accused, whose testimony--and true identity--holds the key to solving the case. A classic of courtroom suspense, Witness for the Prosecution is one of those movies with enough double-crossing twists to keep the viewer guessing right up to the very end, when yet another surprise is deftly revealed. This being a Billy Wilder film, the dialogue is first-rate and the acting superb, with both Laughton and his offscreen wife Elsa Lanchester (playing the barrister's pesty nurse) winning Academy Awards for their performances. Although later films would concoct even more complicated courtroom scenarios, this remains one of the best films of its kind and a model for all those films that followed its lead. --Jeff Shannon

Description

Tyrone Power, Marlene Dietrich and Charles Laughton star in this brilliantly made courtroom drama (The Film Daily) that left audiences reeling from its surprise twists and shocking climax. Directed by Billy Wilder, scripted by Wilder and Harry Kurnitz and based on Agatha Christie's hit London play, this splendid, six-time Oscar-nominated* classic crackles with emotional electricity (The New York Times) and continues to keep movie lovers riveted until the final, mesmerizing frame. When a wealthy widow is found murdered, her married suitor, Leonard Vole (Power), is accused of the crime. Vole's only hope for acquittal is the testimony of his wife (Dietrich) but his airtightalibi shatters when she reveals some shocking secrets of her own! *1957: Best Picture, Actor (Laughton), Supporting Actress (Elsa Lanchester), Director, Sound, Film Editing

Customer Reviews:

Witness for the Prosecution.......2007-06-27

Adapted from Agatha Christie's celebrated stage play, Billy Wilder's quintessential 1957 courtroom drama steadily builds narrative tension with its crisp, cynical dialogue. Surprises of identity, double and triple crosses, and a succession of plot twists keep this "Witness" from becoming predictable. Laughton and real-life wife Elsa Lanchester, playing Robards's meddlesome nurse, both won Oscars for their roles, but it's Wilder's razor-sharp script and direction that make this mystery tick. Sadly, this was Power's last completed role.

A highly skilled and professional movie, with four highly skilled and amusing performances.......2007-06-13

"I'll snatch her thermometer," snarls the aging, portly, brilliant, irascible London barrister Sir Wilfred Robarts, just back in his office after spending time in a hospital recovering from a heart attack, "and plunge it between her shoulder blades!"

In Witness for the Prosecution, based on an Agatha Christie story and popular stage play, Sir Wilfred (Charles Laughton) is referring to his personal nurse and attendant, the chirpy and determined Miss Plimsoll (Elsa Lanchester). Sir Wilfred has strict instructions to give up everything he holds dearest, namely brandy, cigars and the excitement of criminal defense cases. Nurse Plimsoll is there to see that he does, as well as to give him his injections, make sure he swallows his pills and tuck him in for his afternoon naps. In an effort to sneak a cigar that first day back in his office, Sir Wilfred finds himself intrigued by the case of Leonard Vole (Tyrone Power). Vole is a charming, too charming, man whom we don't quite trust. He has been charged with murdering a rich, silly woman...who coincidentally changed her will in Vole's favor a week before her death. Vole stands to become a very wealthy man. There is means, motive and opportunity, and for Sir Wilfred, there is a challenge. Vole swears he's innocent, but his story is not altogether plausible. His only hope, and a shaky one it is, is the testimony of his German wife, Christine (Marlene Dietrich). She has supplied an alibi, which cannot be verified, but at least she cannot be forced to testify against her husband. Then, when the marriage is found to be invalid, who should decide to become a witness for he prosecution? Sir Wilfred is mortified but even more determined to save his client.

The case, full of startling twists, legal shenanigans, first-rate performances and vivid characters, ends with a typically Agatha Christie surprise. Some argue that Christie perhaps was weak as a writer, but peerless as a storyteller, able to construct mystery plot puzzles that consistently stumped her readers until the last chapter. With Billy Wilder directing and Wilder and Harry Kurnitz, an old pro, providing the screenplay, Christie once again gives a surprise twist that leaves us open-mouthed, yet smiling at her cleverness. Thanks to Wilder and Kurnitz, we also have a conclusion that involves Sir Wilfred and Nurse Plimsoll that is immensely satisfying. If only there had been a sequel.

The four leads do marvelous jobs. In a way, the movie is about two relationships, not just one. There is the relationship between Vole and his wife. They met when Vole was a sergeant stationed in Germany right after WWII. He met Christine when she was earning money entertaining in a dive for soldiers. We see some of this in flashback. With Vole's opportunistic charm and Christine's cool manner, it's difficult to determine who, if either of them, is using whom, or to what degree love enters the picture. Christine's first entrance is memorable. Says Sir Wilfred to a group of fellows awaiting Mrs. Vole, "Be prepared for hysterics and even a fainting spell. Better have smelling salts handy and a nip of brandy." Then in walks Marlene Dietrich as Christine Vole, with perfect assurance. "I do not think that will be necessary," she says to Sir Wilfred. "I never faint because I am not sure that I will fall gracefully and I never use smelling salts because they puff up the eyes. I am Christine Vole."

In the second relationship, Sir Wilfred and Nurse Plimsoll provide the acerbic and mutually bullying comic relief for the movie. The two actors, however, married in real life, manage to develop a touching inter-dependence. It's not just a smile they give as at the end, but also a modest lump in the throat.

And personally, I was delighted to see Henry Daniell in a substantial secondary role. He plays Mayhew, the solicitor who brings Vole to Sir Wilfred. Daniell could look like he was sneering with disdain even if he was just admiring the view. He played some wonderfully upper-class cads and villains in a lot of so-so movies. He also was a first-rate actor, who, given the chance, could also play serious, concerned men, the kind you wouldn't mind having for a friend. He does a fine job here.

The movie, filmed in black and white, looks very good in the DVD transfer. There are no extras to speak of.

From the Old School!.......2007-04-25

"Witness for the Prosecution" is a first rate courtroom drama with razor sharp direction by Billy Wilder and a cast to die for. As the plot opens, "nice guy" Tyrone Power stands accused of murdering a wealthy widow. Unemployed and shiftless, he reminded this reviewer of Ray Milland in "Dial M for Murder". TP was the last known person to see the demised alive, has a shaky alibi-and is in the lady's will for big bucks! TP turns in desperation to big shot London lawyer Charles Laughton. In fact, Scotland Yard busts him in CL's office! Most have already commented on the lively courtroom drama but this reviewer admired the out of court sparring too as Laughton and his colleagues prepare for trial. Just out of the hospital, CL is perfect as the curmudgeonly and crafty barrister, even if he does tear up most of his scenes. His tart banter with his nurse (Elsa Lanchester) is softened by the knowledge that she was his real life wife. There are at least 3 huge plot twists to WFP, leading this observer to write a concise review in the interests of not divulging the ending. That leads us to female lead Marlene Dietrich: She is central to those twists- watch her closely! MD played 30 movies from 1930-1965; was she ever better than here? Hollywood took notice of WFP: It was nominated for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor (Laughton) and Best Supporting Actress (Lanchester), though winning none. Dietrich was ignored by the Academy but nominated for Best Actress by the Golden Globes. How many times were husband and wife nominated together? WFP is filmed is beautiful black and white-a lost art-and features true economy of sets, perhaps reflecting its' stage origins. This review tried to maintain an aura of mystery about the ending; there is a good deal more suspense than implied here. Like the header states, WFP is a winner from the old school -one that has long since been out of session.

Guilty, Your Honor - I Love This Movie.......2007-04-19

The film is based on Agatha Christie's story with the enormous twist not on the last page but on the last line. Billy Wilder's direction is perfect and all actors get it right. Charles Laughton is absolutely superb; he has the best lines and scenes and he brings the wit, intelligence, and the heart to the film. Marlene Dietrich is perfect playing not one but three roles, convincingly transforming from one character to another, from the present to the past. This is not just a good mystery but a classic of the courtroom genre and a very enjoyable film even after you know the ending. "Witness for the Prosecutionis" is one of my favorite Agatha Christie's screen adaptations.

Charles Laughton Steals the Show.......2007-04-04

Witness for the Prosecution is an outstanding film with a number of great performances. I've seen some criticism of Tyrone Power but I can't agree. Far from wooden, he alternates between suave man-about-town and frantic defendant depending on the scene. Marlene Dietrich is also very compelling as his wife although I'm not sure I see her appeal as a sex-symbol which she used to enjoy. By far the best role, however, belongs to Charles Laughton as the defense attorney (or barrister) and he nails it beyond belief. His character is a classic curmudgeon but he plays it with such charm and humor that he is one of my favorite characters of all time from any movie.

The story moves along briskly and there are plenty of mood shifts as some scenes are very light and funny while others are quite tense. It's a bit of a roller coaster but one that is pure pleasure to ride. All in all, I highly recommend this film for virtually any movie fan.

Average customer rating:

Le Samourai
The epitome of 'Cool'
pretty noir but also very very pretentiously made
Le Boring
Full of Air

Le Samourai - Criterion Collection
Starring: Alain Delon , François Périer , Nathalie Delon , Cathy Rosier , and Jacques Leroy
Director: Jean-Pierre Melville
Manufacturer: Criterion
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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Point Blank

ASIN: B000AQKUG8
Release Date: 2005-10-25

Amazon.com

Alain Delon is the coolest killer to hit the screen, a film noir loner for the modern era, in Jean-Pierre Melville's austere 1967 French crime classic. Delon's impassive hit man, Jef Costello, is the ultimate professional in an alienated world of glass and metal. On his latest contract, however, he lets a witness live--a charming jazz pianist, Valerie (Cathy Rosier), who neglects to identify him in the police lineup. When Costello survives an assassination attempt by his employers, he carefully plots his next moves as cops and criminals close in and he prepares for one last job. Melville meticulously details every move by Costello and the police in fascinating wordless sequences, from Costello's preparations for his first hit to the cops' exhaustive efforts to tail Jef as he lines up his last; and his measured pace creates an otherworldly ambiance, an uneasy calm on the verge of shattering. Costello remains a cipher, a zen killer whose façade begins to crack as the world seems to be collapsing in on him, exposing the wound-up psyche hidden behind his blank face. Melville rethinks film noir in modern terms, as an existential crime drama in soft, somber color and sleek images (courtesy of cinematographer extraordinaire Henri Decaë). Le Samouraï inspired two pseudo-remakes, Walter Hill's Driver and John Woo's Killer, but neither film comes close to the compelling austerity and meticulous detail of Melville's cult masterpiece. --Sean Axmaker

Description

In a career-defining performance, Alain Delon plays blue-eyed Jef Costello, a fedora- and trench-coat-wearing contract killer with samurai instincts

Customer Reviews:

Le Samourai.......2007-06-27

Seminal gangster movie homage combines elements of Kurosawa and American film noir to create a spare film strikingly short on dialogue. Delon is ideal for the role of Jef, as his surface male beauty amplifies the character's underlying moral and emotional vacuum. Behind those icy, classic features, you glimpse nothing but oblivion. (Note: Delon's wife Nathalie plays Jane, who furnishes Jef's alibi).

The epitome of 'Cool'.......2007-05-29

Delon at his coolest and best. The clothes, the hat, the cars. All scream '60's COOL'. This update(from the Japanese) of the lonely hitman, the outsider with few friends, has been a long time coming to DVD. Any fan of the French new wave, who has never caught this film, should see it immediately. There are many themes and influences that are later repeated in the American crime films of the 70's. The only reason that it does drop a star, is that is was a film very much of its time and place. As such, it should be viewed historically, and may disappoint fans of later, more violent, US and Japanese films in the same genre. Delon steals every scene by doing almost nothing. A masterclass in mimalism, and a good example for the later much wordier, and more character-driven pieces we are more used to. For the more mature movie buff, it's a must!

pretty noir but also very very pretentiously made.......2007-05-10

cat and mouse, hide and seek, the game was on but circled around and finished up with a no-way-out ending. the screenplay sometimes gave you a false hope that the whole thing might have turned out differently, but the french screenplay writers usually knew how to start a story with great scenario and plot, but they also got a problem: they never quite got the grip how to finish a story in the end. alain delon in this movie looked too stereotyped noir, very pretentiously cool with hat and windbreaker. you didn't feel any empathy or compassion about how he survived or not, because the movie itself was too 1 dimensional simple, lack of a strong dose of mystery. the hired assassin/hitman he played was just a too simple-minded gofer with a gun for hire. very appropriate title: 'the samurai', a servant (usually no brain needed) blindly serves to the rich and the powerful, no question asked, just like what the samurai did in ancient japan.

Le Boring.......2007-04-03

I think there was packaging or a sticker that compared this film to Pulp Fiction. As if. Beyond minor superficial similarities - I dont see it.

Le Samurai is one of the most boring films Ive watched recently without turning it off. In retrospect I wish I had turned it off or never wasted my time since the ending is so dull.

Imagine if breathless had a slightly more complicated plot, but the main character had no charisma. Or if Alphaville (the film not the treatment) was more 100 times more boring. Le Samurai makes Tokyo Drifter seem like a thrill ride. I was not impressed by this film on any level.

If you are into being bored. Or if your so freaking smart you can watch paint drying and fill it with significance, this is the film for you.

Full of Air.......2007-03-14

From the beginning the viewer expects a great film; the blank face of the main character, his silence, and his solitude prelude what seems is going to be a lot of excitement. We witness the daily chores of this seemingly cool (but liable to absurd) hired killer, we share his vital space, we follow him. He speaks hardly any word, he has no facial expression whatsoever... how cool. What kind of a man is this? Very interesting, you may think. Well, think not, because whatever he is underneath that handsome face is not the point of this film. The point is the facade itself. A big balloon filled with nothing but air and liable to explode any moment.

How the critics fell for this one does not amaze any more. They took the gag seriously! Check out the other reviews. The funny trick is, I believe, that Melville didn't pretend to do anything else but a mock of all the cliches of the genre. He meant it for a mock. Therefore all the iconography of film noir: the raincoat, tha hat, the jazz, the cigarette, the beautiful girl, the gun fight, the blank face, the bluffing detective... at least it must provoke some smile. How about the artificial style of the police station, or the night club? All these elements are chosen intentionally to produce this effect, not to be taken serious. This is the product of an onanist's dream. An interesting, though not fulfilling, film.

Average customer rating:

Los Angeles: The Movie.
American Gigolo from Amazon
Stud Poke Her
i have a question if anyone knows....
Emotionless film effectively shows pitfalls of materialsim

American Gigolo
Starring: Richard Gere , Lauren Hutton , Hector Elizondo , Nina Van Pallandt , and Bill Duke
Director: Paul Schrader
Manufacturer: Paramount Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
Binding: DVD

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ASIN: 0792160347
Release Date: 2000-05-23

Amazon.com

Writer-director Paul Schrader viewed this as the second part of a trilogy that began with Taxi Driver and concluded with Light Sleeper--each dealing with a lonely man trying to deal with both his own dizzily spinning moral compass and the hypocrisy of the society that's trying to tell him what to do. Richard Gere plays a high-priced prostitute, an immaculately dressed stud for hire who services the bored women of Beverly Hills without ever allowing himself to be touched emotionally. His affair with a politician's wife (Lauren Hutton) changes that, at a point when he is being framed for a murder he didn't commit. Even as he tries to elude the law, he allows himself to become enmeshed with her in unexpected ways. Too cool and distant for some viewers, the film has a distinctive look and deliberate pacing--and about two endings too many. But it will keep you watching in spite of yourself. --Marshall Fine

Customer Reviews:

Los Angeles: The Movie........2007-06-28

I couldn't agree more with many of the other criticisms regarding the shallowness of the romantic story or essential lack of sympathy for any of the characters. The thing that makes American Gigolo such a gem is that even this aspect of Paul Schrader's attempted New Wave/LA hybrid is corrupted by its material.

And on a purely superficial level, the film perfectly captures just how a Southern California "tragedy" would unfold. Really quite brilliant, although I'm not sure all of it is intentional.

American Gigolo from Amazon.......2007-05-14

I ordered the DVD, and three days later it was on my front porch. Great work! And, of course, the movie is a classic.

Stud Poke Her.......2006-05-03

This is one movie that grew entirely from its failings into one of the most influential movies of the last 20 years.How could the director of "Taxi Driver" blow it? The ingredients were in line: attractive stars: Model of the decade, Lauren Hutton; Richard Gere, Slim Von Wink;supporting cast,Hector Elizondo, Latino on the rise, Bill Duke (future director)and the blond near-actress tied to Howard Hughes, Nina Von whatever.The movie rides entirely on the surface, two wheels instead of four on the ground. Slick, teasing.Innuendos,political smear. The screenwriter could not tie the pieces together into a cohesive drama. You didn't know whether it would be a political thriller or a fashion thriller. The clothes, the glitter and gloss blend with the gross. You had as much concern for Gere's fate as his choice of wardrobe at the end. Let the music play, end of movie.Made you want to shop forever.All wrapping.Strictly beefcake.

i have a question if anyone knows...........2005-03-01

Hi I was just wondering if anyone knows the song that is playing in the backround that he is singing when he's deciding which Armani suit to wear. It's not on the soundtrack so if anyone knows it I'd realllllyyy appreciate it if you e-mailed it to dollface10288@aol.com under the subject AMERICAN GIGOLO...thanks!

Emotionless film effectively shows pitfalls of materialsim.......2005-01-14

American Gigolo is one of my favorite films and yet it is really not one of the greatest films that you might encounter. Shot in rich tones, particularly blues and greys, the director, Paul Schrader, wants us to know that we are not going to be afforded the opportunity to get to know the characters too well. One might be able to argue that American Gigolo was one of the films that literally catapulted the movie going public into the 1980's mindset of materialism.
Richard Gere in one of his earliest films, protrays straight male call boy, Julian, who is tops in his game. Julian is gorgeous and knows many gorgeous women. He sleeps with those who will pay him. He doesn't bother with those who won't. Julian's lifestyle is one of everything "is a means to an end". He is interested in beautiful clothing and looking good, but because it helps him get something that he wants. He enjoys artwork and stylish digs, but not because he loves them, but because they are status symbols for his success. Julian enjoys being a gigolo because he is the best there is. He wouldn't (and doesn't) enjoy it when it isn't on his terms. For someone like me who feels he is too in tune with his emotions, Gere's Julian is cool, calculating and enviable. He goes about life without a care for anyone but himself.
When Julian meets Lauren Hutton, he is actually smitten with her. This is evidenced by the meeting taking place in a bar with deep reds and comfortable upholstered booths instead of the abounding greys, blues, and steel evidenced elsewhere in the film.
When Julian finally becomes intimate with Hutton and allows his emotional wall down for a moment, Schrader pulls us in close, but just afterward he lets us see that Julian can't maintain such intimacy and the camera pulls back for a long shot of him as he gets out of the bed leaving Lauren Hutton alone in the bed.
The story is secondary to the style of the film. It is a thriller, but not an exciting one. The music of Georgio Moroder and Blondie complement the film and give it even more atmosphere. It needs it because the films two false endings drag this picture out longer than needed in trying to show us how emotional involvement can change someone. The message should be left that a lack of emotion can be dangerous.

I rewatch this film every so often. It's a guilty pleasure watching the opening of the film with Julian driving down the PCH in his 450SL. Or when he's laying out different Armani outfits determining which to put on. Or looking at paintings, never deciding where he will hang them.

Average customer rating:

Solid Mystery, if not Great Nior
Ferrer as Satanic Svengali
Tierney's best acting. A noir treat!
This is an excuciatingly dull, BAD movie
Love eventually conquers all

Whirlpool (Fox Film Noir)
Starring: Gene Tierney , Richard Conte , José Ferrer , Charles Bickford , and Barbara O'Neil
Director: Otto Preminger
Manufacturer: 20th Century Fox
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ASIN: B0009X7682
Release Date: 2005-09-06

Amazon.com

Laura will always be director Otto Preminger's most beloved movie, but he gets closer to the essence of film noir in this fascinatingly slippery item about a psychiatrist's wife whose weakness for kleptomania makes her prey to an oily hypnotist, con artist, and manipulator par excellence. The fashion-plate wife (dresses, robes, and peignoirs by Oleg Cassini) is played by Laura herself, Gene Tierney. The mellifluous conniver is Jose Ferrer, coming off like the illegitimate son of Waldo Lydecker ("I'm so glad you're here--you make Tina's party seem an almost human event"). Among other things, Ferrer would probably like to get Tierney into bed, and a good many people--including Richard Conte as the caring husband--come to believe he has. But that's not the extent of his ambitions, and before long Tierney has been framed for a murder of convenience to clear up another bit of messiness in the cad's career. Whirlpool's mise-en-scène has a sinuous fluidity and subtle play of light and shadow (it was among the last films shot by that master of black-and-white, Arthur C. Miller), and the complexly structured screenplay--by Ben Hecht and Andrew Solt--takes us by surprise in reel after reel. There's nothing redeeming about Ferrer's character (except how much pleasure his villainy affords), but Preminger doesn't really side with any of the characters or permit our facile identification with anyone. Different parts of the movie are dominated by each of the key figures, including police detective Charles Bickford, and we keep learning there's more to each of them than we initially assumed. Whirlpool's a good title for it. Dive in. --Richard T. Jameson

Description

The wife of a psycho-analyst falls prey to a devious quack hypnotist when he discovers she is an habitual shoplifter. Then one of his previous patients now being treated by the real doctor is found murdered, with her still at the scene, and suspicion points only one way.

Customer Reviews:

Solid Mystery, if not Great Nior.......2007-02-14

"Whirlpool" is a first rate murder mystery but it's debatable if it qualifies as a noir release. Silver and Ward's encyclopedic "Film Noir" does not list it, though it does mention other releases by the lading cast members. No matter, W can stand on its' own merits. As the story opens, Gene Tierney is pinched for shoplifting by the house dick at a fancy department store in LA. Quickly, perhaps a bit conveniently, GT is sprung by a smooth talking Jose Ferrer. It develops that GT is a very vulnerable young woman. Among her problems is kleptomania and JF is quick to exploit. He hypnotizes GT under the guise of "helping her sleep at night" but he has far darker motives. It seems he has bilked Barbara O'Neill out of $60Gs and O'N wants her $$ back. Soon she is found murdered-with GT at the crime scene! As many of previous reviews have revealed the resolution, this one will try to maintain an air of mystery. Will justice be done? Is GT on her way to the electric chair? Her lawyer is planning an insanity defense! What happens? My amazon friends will have to watch for themselves, but what develops is a very solid murder mystery with many more angles than mentioned here. This reviewer believes that the males carry W. Richard Conte is GT's supportive husband, capably shedding his customary tough guy role. (He is a shrink with a penchant for taping his sessions!) Charles Bickford is perfect as the gruff but patient veteran homicide detective. And Ferrer is over the top as an effete oily, smug villain with an airtight alibi. (Wasn't he flat on his back in a hospital bed the night O'N met her demise?) One wonders why he didn't play the black hat more often. With all the references to hypnosis and kleptomania W is an easy movie to over analyze. Amazoners are urged to resist this temptation and simply enjoy W on its' own terms. Watch attentively. This is a good one, noir or not.

Ferrer as Satanic Svengali.......2007-02-09

Jose Ferrer proved he had a strong acting presence and reached his peak in his virtuoso role in "Cyrano de Bergerac." In "Whirlpool" he is cast in a role that stretches his talents.

Ferrer can display a modicum of style mixed with a strong measure of authority when he is so disposed. Ultimately he emerges as a satanic Svengali hell bent on destroying beautiful Gene Tierney.

Tierney, for her part, is cast as a vulnerable woman who is seen as ripe pickings by the opportunistic Ferrer. After all, she is the wife of a prominent psychiatrist, played by Richard Conte in a shift from more traditionally machismo roles, and has plenty of money.

Otto Preminger, the director who specialized in films dealing with the "moral ambiguity" of America in the mid-century period, was just the person to develop such a conflict on screen in this 1949 release.

It was only natural for veteran scenarist Ben Hecht to write the screenplay, working with Andrew Solt. After all, it was Hecht who gave us such psychological thrillers working with Alfred Hitchcock as "Spellbound" and "Notorious."

The film begins with Ferrer helping Tierney out of a jam. Even though she lives an affluent life with her highly successful husband, Tierney is a kleptomaniac. When she attempts to steal a brooch from a department store the store's detective is there to apprehend her before she has a chance to drive away.

Ferrer comes to the rescue of Tierney. The store manager knows him well and immediately seeks to bring an unfortunate matter to a close. His conduct tips off viewers early that Ferrer is the type of individual who can and will cause trouble if and when he feels so disposed and has a formidable reputation.

It takes Ferrer little time to adopt his Svengali manner and seek to dominate Tierney, who in turn resists. Before long circumstances develop under Ferrer's unscrupulous planning that she is charged with a murder.

To give away more would interfere with the suspense plotting, but it can be said without giving away critical facts that Ferrer is a man who plays by the "take no prisoners" rules. Opportunism and domination are his twin hallmarks.

Just as we have an ongoing conflict in the relationship between Ferrer and Tierney, we have a corresponding cooperative alliance that emerges between Tierney's husband Conte and police-investigating detective Charles Bickford.

When Bickford sees that Conte is a loyal husband convinced that the woman he loves is innocent, Bickford confides that his wife died recently, generating empathy between the two men as he begins to increasingly believe that Tierney is an innocent victim.

Bickford, as a shrewd and veteran police officer, realizes that he can benefit from Conte's professional expertise from his background as a world famous psychiatrist. Conte's knowledge of the effects of hypnosis proves highly beneficial in helping solve the case.

Bickford at a critical juncture treats Conte more like an investigative partner rather than the husband of the official prime suspect of the moment and his strategy ploy brings results when a Conte strategy ploy results with Ferrer figuratively "hanging himself on his own petard."

Tierney's best acting. A noir treat!.......2006-07-25

This is a marvelous film noir story set in every day upper-middle-class America. It presents the popular ambivalence felt at the time about psychoanalysis, with one "good" Doctor and one charlatan.

I am a fan of Gene Tierney, without thinking she a great actress. She was exceptionally pretty, had a very polished manner, and very average in range. This made her a wonderful representative of both the middle class, and their hopes of being refined. To my mind, while this is not her best film (That being either THE GHOST AND MRS. MUIR or LEAVE HER TO HEAVEN), this IS her finest acting work. It uses her blankness to advantage, and this script also gives her the pathos and confusion to vent full emotional range which is rare for her films. (To the observant person, it also displays the flaws of her presentational acting style; as when she breaks down in a torrent of bitter tears, and looks up afterwards - dry eyed and serene. But for THIS film - playing a woman completely divorced from her own emotions - even that works to the benefit of the plot.)

An actor is always helped - made better, challenged more - by working with other great actors, and she is working here with one of the very best, Jose Ferrer. This was shortly before his academy award win in CYRANNO, and quite possibly, this incredibly complex performance contributed to that win, he is simply excellent. All screen villains should watch this, every second of his performance is filled with a gamut of emotions, and mundane details. It is clear that not only is his character the smartest person in the room, but Ferrer may be as well. Tierney carries the story and Ferrer moves it along. Charles Bickford also gives a marvelous performance in a smaller, yet layered role as the rumpled, grieving Detective.

Richard Conte, is the real oddball casting. His street-tough demeanor is what carried his career. (He is magnificent as the psycho mob boss in stylish expressionistic noir film, THE BIG COMBO.) So it was an interesting choice to cast him as the intellectual top-notch psychologist, and ideal husband, but it doesn't really work. We just can't really believe that people would turn to him for help, that level of sensitivity isn't there. Ultimately, this is an undercurrent of the movie, however, and Director Otto Preminger may have been making the point that even a good Psychiatrist may not be that good for people.

This film was probably shocking in its day - not very nice - like watching those lovely people next door have a drunken brawl. A larger theme which is being exposed here is that the "perfect post-war life" is an empty façade. Since this was made in 1949, this film presents a very early warning shot across the bow of the "Cleaver Family" façade. It would be almost 10 years before this was a much more common thread, in such movies as the Kim Novak/Kirk Douglas "STRANGERS WHEN WE MEET," and then films with James Dean, who became the poster boy of idyllic family life with a dysfunctional core.

The talented Ben Hecht wrote the screenplay with Andrew Solt, based on a novel by Guy Endore. Much more than mystery, much more than noir, this is a very fine story with good plot twists, emotional life (which is usually absent or ice-cold in noir), developed with subtlety and brains. It is still a joy to watch for itself, but made timeless by the despicable, love-to-hate-him performance of Jose Ferrer.

This is an excuciatingly dull, BAD movie.......2006-05-29

As a lover of film noir and proud owner of most that are on DVD or VHS, I can say without hesitation that this is one of the very worst ever. The only reason I gave it two stars, instead of one, was because of the fine performers who were saddled with this inane script.
Joe Ferrer's hypnosis of Gene Tierney to allow her to sleep is nothing compared to the yawns brought about by the agonizingly slow pace, lack of action, and interminable pauses between lines. At one point, Gene Tierney swears that she hasn't been lying, and you find yourself wanting to respond: "Of course, you haven't. You haven't said anything of import."
The storyline makes absolutely no sense. Jose Ferrer has set
up the perfect crime so what does he do? He returns to the scene for no apparent reason other than to be captured. He hypnotizes Gene Tierney to steal incriminating evidence and then has her place the items where they will inexorably be discovered.
A complete waste of wonderful performers. Cross this one off the list, and donate the $9.99 to your favorite charity.
Or pourchase "The Dark Corner," a truly memorable Fox noir with an outstanding performance by a breathtakingly gorgeous Lucille Ball.

Love eventually conquers all.......2006-05-28

Gene Tierney stars as the young and attractive Ann Sutton, wife of a wealthy and prominent Los Angeles psychoanalyst in the worthy Otto Preminger directed tale of deceit and intrigue, "Whirlpool". Unbeknown to her husband Dr. William Sutton played by Richard Conte, Tierney had been suffering from lifelong bouts of kleptomania. She was apprehended for the theft of a broach at a chic department store. This commenced a chain of events that would drastically alter her life.

Happening to be nearby and coming to Tierney's rescue was a persuasive Jose Ferrer who convinced the store manager to drop the charges. Ferrer the star of the film played David Korvo, a suave and smooth talking charlatan and hypnotist. Ferrer eventually gained Tierney's confidence by using hypnosis to cure her sleeplessness born out of guilt about her secret afflition. When Ferrer failed to use his charm and power to seduce Tierney during their sessions he proceeded to use her as a pawn in another fantastic scheme.

Ferrer had seductively bilked a previous "patient" Theresa Randolph played by Barbara O'Neil out of $60,000. She had threatened to expose him to the police. Ferrer strangled her and then hypnotized Tierney into certain actions and being present at the crime scene to implicate her as the murderer. Ferrer had set up a very clever alibi and convincing evidence that Tierney was his lover.

A devastated Conte and a skeptical and craggy police lieutenant Colton played grumpily by Charles Bickford collaborated together to prove Tierney's innocence.

Preminger did well in setting the tone of suspense in this effective film noir based on the novel by Guy Endore. Tierney was decent as the femme fatale but the villainous Ferrer was excellent in his role aided also by the very solid performance of Bickford.

Average customer rating:

Her Alibi......
Good clean fun
It holds up -- like comfort food.
I LOVE HER AND I FEAR HER
Fun Mystery Romp

Her Alibi
Starring: Tom Selleck , Paulina Porizkova , William Daniels , James Farentino , and Hurd Hatfield
Director: Bruce Beresford
Manufacturer: Warner Home Video
ProductGroup: DVD
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Folks!

ASIN: 6305161984
Release Date: 1998-11-10

Amazon.com

To see why Tom Selleck's movie career has been a constant uphill battle, look no further than this tepid mystery/comedy from 1989. Selleck plays a successful mystery novelist who cures a persistent case of writer's block by visiting the courtroom trial of a young Romanian woman named Nina (played by late '80s supermodel Paulina Porizkova) who has been accused of murder. He supplies the alleged murderer with an alibi--she can claim she was having an affair with him at his Connecticut country home at the time of the murder--and then he brings her to Connecticut to make the alibi look legitimate. Is she in fact a killer? Did she serve poisoned casserole to a group of dinner guests? You'd have to be a major fan of Selleck or Porizkova to want to find out what happens next, because despite a few light moments of engaging comedy this is the kind of nonsensical fluff that quickly wears out its welcome. --Jeff Shannon

Customer Reviews:

Her Alibi.............2007-02-07

Extremely funny movie with some mystery mixed in with it as well! Great storyline and very well acted movie by all cast members involved.

Tom Selleck plays a best selling mystery writer who hits a long dry spell after he divorced his wife. His publisher is pressuring him to write another best selling novel. Selleck's character falls in love with a young, beautiful, Romanian woman (Paulina Porizkova) accused of murder with whom he doesn't know. Is she innocent or is she guilty of the crime she's being accused of? Selleck doesn't know, but decides to be "her alibi" by saying that he knows her and that she is his lover.

Porizkova's character unwillingly moves in with Selleck's character because the Romanian Secret Police are after her which only adds to the suspense of this movie...... Is she a criminal or what? Through out the movie Porizkova's character provides Selleck's character with lots of fodder to write another best selling novel..... She becomes the muse he needs to write his next book.

In the end all is revealed. Sit back and enjoy the humorous story as it unfolds.

Good clean fun.......2006-11-07

Tom Selleck, writer of mysteries, is enchanted by a beautiful foreigner, Paulina Porizkova. Searching for a new spin for his fictional character, this writer finds a plot brewing in the eyes of the alluring murder suspect. In the process he falls in love but at the same time is unsure of her innocence. Will he be the next victim? Their interplay is charming but not sophisticated. This is a simple, fun movie with loads of laughs.

It holds up -- like comfort food........2006-11-07

After almost 18 years, this largely underrated little comedy remains a perennial treasure and brings a special brand of joy with every viewing.

Ms. Porizkova is always just as gorgeous; Tom Selleck's faux macho narration as unfailingly corny and amusing; the dark comedy about the cat and the food poisoning just as unnecessary and out of place; and the slapstick surrounding the arrow in Selleck's posterior just as forced and, well, funny.

Her Alibi is an escape, a return to a simpler time that at this writing is still less than two decades ago.

Keep a copy of this DVD in your collection and pop it into the player to lift your spirits on a rainy day.

I LOVE HER AND I FEAR HER.......2006-04-23

Her Alibi will never be a listed as one of the top 100 movies of the century. It will never be considered a piece of art that will change your life forever. However, it is a great choice for a delightful way to spend a lazy afternoon or quite weekend evening with your significant other.

First of all, this movie is very funny. Tom Selleck is a bit out of his typecast as a bumbling writer. He narrates the novel that he is writing while the film shows the experiences that inspired the writing. The contrast between reality and fantasy is hilarious.

Second, the interplay between characters is touching and witty. One never knows what is and is not true as the story unfolds. Yet, some scenes are both touching and insightful. Along those lines, the scene where Tom Selleck gets a haircut is more erotic than many more graphic scenes from movies made for today's more coarse society.

Finally, this reviewer finds this movie interesting, at least to this viewer, as a case study in technology use. This movie was made in 1989 a bit before cell phones, pda's, and desk top computers become ubiquitous. It is interesting to see how many of these tools have become so imbedded in our lives that to view folks working and living without them is almost like a trip to some ancient culture.

Overall, this movie is a nice and entertaining way to spend a few leisure hours. Likewise, it is a good story that will hold up under repeated viewings.

Fun Mystery Romp .......2005-05-11

Tom Selleck has spent his entire career after Magnum P.I. making entertaining movies that out-of-touch critics hate and the public loves. Here is one you may have missed from director Bruce Beresford (Driving Miss Daisy, Tender Mercies). It is gently moving and amusing, with some hystericaly funny moments along the way.

Tom Selleck is mystery writer Phil Blackwood and William Daniels of TV's St. Elsewhere fame is his best friend and editor Sam. Blackwood hasn't had a bestseller in some time and has been living on his reputation far too long. He needs something to break his writers block, and he may just have found it in beautiful Romanian Nina (lovely Paula Porizkova). He meets the accused murderer in court while watching trials for inspiration, and decides to become her alibi.

James Farentino is the cop who knows Blackwood is lying for the lovely Nina and decides to keep an eye on things so he doesn't get killed. Once Blackwood takes Nina to the estate his Peter Swift mystery novels have paid for, he turns every situation into fodder for his fictional Peter Swift, and you'll find youself laughing hard at Selleck's voice-over as he writes.

Some European thugs are after Nina, and Blackwood becomes increasingly paranoid and begins to suspect the child-like innocence of Nina may be an act. There are some hilarious moments as he begins to wonder if she's out to kill him. William Daniels as his buddy Sam gives fine comic support and Farentino has a good role as the cop who knows these guys are in over their heads!

The film is full of old-fashioned charm reminiscent of films made during the 1930's. Patrick Wayne and Tess Harper as Blackwood's very worried family add some nice moments to this entertaining film. I won't give too much away, but there is one scene that takes place after a huge dinner that will have you laughing as hard as you ever have at the movies. It is absolutely hilarious!

You'll like this movie a lot, especially if you like Tom Selleck, and who doesn't? It's a lot of fun to watch and since you can pick it up so inexpensively here on Amazon there's no need to wait. Pick up this one today!

Average customer rating:

good chemistry between Bogard and Gloria Grahame
Classic psychological thriller
NOT AMONG BOGART'S BEST
First Rate Noir from the 50s
A brave and intelligent twist to the "man alone" theme...

In a Lonely Place
Starring: Humphrey Bogart , Gloria Grahame , Frank Lovejoy , Carl Benton Reid , and Art Smith
Director: Nicholas Ray
Manufacturer: Sony Pictures
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ASIN: B000087F79
Release Date: 2003-03-18

Amazon.com essential video

One of Humphrey Bogart's finest performances dominates this unusual 1950 film noir, which focuses less on the murder mystery at the center of its plot than on the investigation's devastating effect on a fragile romance. For Bogart, already a noir icon, the Andrew Solt script afforded an opportunity to explore a more complex and contradictory role--an antiheroic persona in line with the actor's most accomplished and absorbing triumphs throughout his career.

For maverick director Nicholas Ray, the film posed the challenge of taking crime dramas beyond their usual formulas and into a more mature realm, as well as a chance to cast a jaundiced eye on the film industry itself. Its protagonist is Dixon Steele, a Hollywood screenwriter with an acerbic wit and a violent temper. Tasked with adapting a bestseller, he meets a hatcheck girl who's read the book, hoping to glean its highlights before writing the script. When she's found murdered, Steele becomes the prime suspect, and a tightening knot of suspicion forms around the writer.

Steele's only, inconclusive witness is a pretty new neighbor, Laurel (Gloria Grahame), and the couple fall in love even as the pressure mounts. At first the new relationship is a tonic to the hard-boiled writer, who plunges into his script with a renewed vigor and discipline. But as the police continue to shadow him, Steele's own penchant for violence erupts against friends, strangers, and even Laurel herself, whose feelings are increasingly eclipsed by suspicion that her lover is a murderer, and fear that he'll harm her.

Bogart conveys Steele's world-weariness and underlying vulnerability, and manages the delicate task of making both his romantic yearning and sudden, murderous rages equally convincing. Ultimately, that performance and Grahame's sympathetic work elevate In a Lonely Place into what has been called "an existential love story" more than a crime drama. --Sam Sutherland

Customer Reviews:

good chemistry between Bogard and Gloria Grahame.......2007-06-25

Both are fine. Unusual role for Bogard as a Hollywood screewriter suspected of being a serial killer. Gloria Grahame, the woman next door Bogart is dating, starts having suspicions of her own about him.

No point going further into the plot, since it's been covered by others. Will only say it's a love story/murder mystery for grownups: Is he the killer, or isn't he? And if he is, will he end up doing away with his lovely neighbor Gloria?

Movie is slightly different from the book. Still, certainly worth seeing. For fans of Bogart, Nick Ray--and Gloria Grahame.

Classic psychological thriller.......2007-06-15

A down-on-his-luck screenwriter's (Humphrey Bogart) violent, antisocial temperament makes him a prime suspect in the murder of a cocktail waitress and ultimately alienates the woman he loves (Gloria Graham). Bogart's performance is sometimes perfunctory and unconvincing in the fight scenes, but he projects a frightening intensity in numerous intimate confrontations with other characters. He creates a character that Graham could believably fall in love with and then just as believably begin to fear later.

NOT AMONG BOGART'S BEST.......2007-05-26

I watched this last night after not having seen it in about 30 years, I think. It's only because of that and the raves from other reviewers that I decided to rent it. The opening stop-light confrontation scene was familiar, but seriously, I don't believe Bogie as a physical, tough guy like when I was a kid. Look at how tiny his torso is when he's not wearing a jacket! He looked great in a tailored jacket. His wardrobe here looks just like his off-screen Hollywood night-club style you can see in all the bios about him.(Cagney really was tough! When he worked with the Dead-end Kids,he didn't take any crap off them the way Bogie did on the CRIME SCHOOL set.) The scene where he beats up a healthy looking young college guy half his age is ludicrous.
Otherwise the plot and pacing are dreadfully slow, and the other actors are more nostalgic than convincing since they were mostly in film noir movies. Frank Lovejoy as the cop buddy was interesting. Especially with the presumably Russian sur-name 'Nikolai.' The only other movie I can recall Lovejoy being in wasn't 'I WAS A COMMUNIST FOR THE FBI' where his name was 'Cvetic.' In reality, I'm pretty sure he was Irish. Gloria Grahame was good in a part that wasn't written very well. Jeff Donnell was interesting to watch as Lovejoy's wife. I don't remember seeing her in anything else, but she was in 'SWEET SMELL OF SUCCESS' as Tony Curtis' secretary.
Oh, I also liked the actual location shooting around L.A. and Hollywood.
I don't know if I'll watch this again in another 30 years.

First Rate Noir from the 50s.......2007-05-17

The aptly titled "In a Lonely Place" is harsh and stark film noir. As the story opens, Humphrey Bogart is a struggling writer with a reputation for being hard to work with and mean tempered. Bogey lands a job doing screenplay but is too lazy to actually read the book! HB invites a hatcheck girl, who has read it, to his apartment to relate the plot. Irritable and bored, he dismisses her. No gentleman, he directs the girl to a nearby cabstand. By the next morning, she is dead and HB is the main suspect. Viewers know Bogey is innocent but the cops don't. Sultry neighbor Gloria Grahame, builds up HB's alibi and the pair are soon in love. GG is the perfect noir girl; her gloomy performance perhaps enhanced by her deteriorating marriage to Director Nicholas Ray. The crux of the film is how the continuing pressure from the Law eats away at Bogey, exposing his fragile personality and worsening his already bad temper. He loses it in Grahame's presence once too often and she begins to doubt him. Afraid to spurn his marriage proposal, she plans to run away. And then? This reviewer won't give away the ending, but the final scenes are good, solid no nonsense, and uncompromising. One can hear that door slam at the fadeout. Viewers should be alert for two big clues. With 20/20 hindsight, the perp is actually quite obvious, in fact the crime is solved in the middle of the film.... but only the most observant will notice! This is because many scenes pass quickly-ILP demands utmost attention. Some will hit that rewind button. ILP will doubtless be more rewarding with multiple viewings; it has certainly aged well. This reviewer is not a major Bogey fan but the guy is well cast here. True HB devotees should pounce. A final thought: Here is yet one more example of why old black and white movies should never be colorized.

A brave and intelligent twist to the "man alone" theme..........2007-01-02

There was a brave and intelligent twist to the 'man alone' theme in an unusually literate thriller which isolated its ambivalent 'hero' inside his own destructive personality... This man was not physically isolated as Robert Ryan ('Inferno') had been: he was an embittered Hollywood screenwriter who lacked self-discipline and confidence. The lonely place in which he was trapped was his own psyche...

Perhaps some people thought Bogart over-acted, played the writer like a thug aggressively touchy... but he played his role well. No gangster this time, or cop, or private eye... He was a Hollywood writer - tough, irritable, moody, edgy, introspective; his nerve-ends constantly steaming; living alone with his talent, his reputation and his typewriter; irritated rather than fortified by a diet of alcohol and nicotine. His temper was uncontrollable: anything, it seemed, could explode it; and his violence was more than merely verbal.

Bogart found himself suspected of a murder that he did not, in fact, commit... He might have been anti-social, but he was no criminal... But the stress within him, reacting to the pressures without, built up so strongly that his rages, always near boiling point, became explosive... He hit people without good reason... There came a time when he was on the point of murder: in blood-hazed rage he 'could' have killed...

One watched the reactions of his friendly and beautiful neighbor, Gloria Grahame, and of his two loyal friends, a policeman and wife played Frank Lovejoy and Jeff Donnell-fully stable and controlled in comparison with the violent personality of Bogart... With them, one came to wonder if he was not really a killer after all...

No, he was not... But the thoughtful irony was that you realized that, if circumstances had been only marginally different, he 'could' have been a murderer... It was only chance, rather than character, which prevented it... In this compulsively furious man, there were the black forces that are inside all of us... The difference was that he could not exercise his control over them...

Average customer rating:

A Real Noir Gem
Excellent noir touches
"That's What You Get When You Set Love So High. . . . ."
Loads of fun
A Forties Noir Programmer, And Not Bad At All

Black Angel (Universal Noir Collection)
Starring: Dan Duryea , June Vincent , Peter Lorre , Broderick Crawford , and Constance Dowling
Director: Roy William Neill
Manufacturer: Universal Studios
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ASIN: B00023P4G0
Release Date: 2004-07-06

Customer Reviews:

A Real Noir Gem.......2007-02-01

The period immediately following World War Two produced a treasure trove of great film noir efforts. Many of these passed quickly from the scene at the time without making the kind of splash they deserved, enhanced by the fact that so many films were being made as Americans flocked to theaters and spent their money freely in the glittery economic period that followed a tumultuous conflict.

Roy Neill, who directed some of the Sherlock Holmes films starring Basil Rathbone and Nigel Bruce, turned in a gem of a film with the 1946 noir mystery "Black Angel." Stunning blonde June Vincent demonstrates in this film how wrong Hollywood was not to give her more starring assignments.

When Vincent's husband is arrested for a crime he insists he did not commit, the death of blackmailer-singer Constance Dowling, June turns detective in an effort to prove her husband's innocence before he faces an impending execution at San Quentin Prison's gas chamber.

The basic plot is very much like that of another great noir film of the forties, "Phantom Lady", when secretary Ella Raines seeks to prove that her boss and the man she loves, Allen Curtis, is innocent of the murder charge that leaves him awaiting execution at New York's Sing Sing Prison.

The similarity is not surprising in that each film was adapted from a Cornell Woolrich novel, as was also Alfred Hitchcock's "Rear Window." Roy Chanslor turned in a screenplay containing the admirable story twists and turns that result in great mystery.

When Vincent, in her detective endeavor, seeks help from deceased Dowling's former husband, her former pianist and songwriter, played by Dan Duryea, the plot takes all kinds of interesting plot turns that keep viewers guessing until the film's final scene.

Duryea suspects that nightclub boss Peter Lorre, who was involved with Dowling, might be the guilty party. As a means of obtaining an opportunity for Vincent to gain evidence to use against Lorre, Duryea breaks Vincent in as a singer and gets a job for both of them at Lorre's club.

One moment the onus of suspicion points toward Lorre, and the next in a different direction that astounds Vincent. Meanwhile dogged police investigator Broderick Crawford, a few years from his Oscar winning appearance in "All The King's Men," continues to search and ask questions.

The suspense never lets up and thankfully "The Black Angel" in this new age of film noir appreciation is getting the credit that it so rightfully deserved.

Excellent noir touches.......2006-06-19

Right from the opening sequence we know we're in real deal noir territory: it's night in a large city, the busy street, two men waiting ominously in a car, the ambulance racing by with the siren blasting, the classy camera work as it goes from the street up the side of an apartment building and in through a window high up off the street - all classic noir touches. The murder mystery turns out to be pretty routine and involves a nightclub singer (June Vincent) who tries to clear her husband of a murder rap he didn't commit (though he was having an affair with the dead woman, which makes it a little difficult to understand her desire to set him free; perhaps she thinks the gas chamber is too severe a punishment for unfaithfulness - but this is a film noir, don't forget, where such evil thoughts are typical). The real murderer is finally tracked down using a brooch and a hospital ward confession to get to the truth. Nothing spectacular occurs in all of that, but the noir touches are obvious and well done. Fans of the genre will enjoy this picture.

"That's What You Get When You Set Love So High. . . . .".......2006-05-09

"Black Angel" is an unjustly forgotten film noir based on Cornell Woolrich's novel. Dan Duryea, tagged in the preview as "he's no angel again!", adds yet another complex, dark portrayal to his gallery of ambiguous bad guys as Martin Blair, the estranged husband of murder victim Mavis Marlowe (Constance Dowling). Mavis is a devious singer who is blackmailing her married lover, Kirk Bennett (John Phillips). Her immaculately decorated apartment, haunting song "Heartbreak" playing in the background, her sheer black gown highlighting what a bad dame she is. Her blackmailer is shrewd, unscrupulous and will stop at nothing to get her way; Dowling's career never fully took off, most likely because of her unconventional screen presence and her independent mind (coincidentally, her sister, Doris Dowling, also appeared in a similar role in another noir of the same year, playing Alan Ladd's unfaithful lush wife in "The Blue Dahlia"). Since Mavis has made so many enemies for herself, it's not surprising that she ends up murdered. As he had the most apparent reason of anyone to want her dead, Bennett is arrested, charged and convicted (on rather circumstantial evidence) and sentenced to death. His loyal wife, Catherine (June Vincent, another under-appreciated talent), vows to clear her husband and enlists the help of Blair, who had passed out drunk after he last saw Mavis, and the pair team up to investigate nightclub owner Marko (Peter Lorre, exceptional performance), posing as a singing act. However, as with many film noirs, there are many red herrings, and things are not what they appear to be. The ending is a surprise and the killer's identity will keep you guessing to the film's conclusion.

I don't know why this movie is barely remembered. There should have been records of the haunting vocal music. June Vincent, the only surviving cast member, retired from show business relatively early, and it's a shame that she did not progress to more roles like this in A pictures.

The DVD looks very good, although it shows faint signs of wear (which is to be expected for a film of its age), and the only extra included is the original theatrical trailer. Any fans of film noir should enjoy this one.

Loads of fun.......2006-04-07

This cult classic (which is what lesser-known noir films get to be called) offers a juicy setup in its opening scenes, revealing just enough to the audience to show that the man who will take the fall for the murder of a shallow beauty was not the person whodunnit. The film picks up his wife (played by the excellent June Vincent) trying to dig up new evidence to save her husband from execution. At this point in Hollywood history, black and white cinematography had reached its most expressive; the film's evocation of the posh rich and seedy poor is equally creepy. The film this reminded me of the most is PHANTOM LADY (1944, Robert Siodmak), especially in its detailed portrayal of reconstructing a hidden crime. Dan Duryea gives a bravura "lost weekend" performance, possibly influenced by Ray Milland's in the 1945 Billy Wilder Oscar winner. As he did in THE MALTESE FALCON, Peter Lorre plays a homosexual with a sadistic streak (he strikes a match across the back of his put-upon strong-arm man). However, everyone in the film seems a bit twisted; a janitor even forces Duryea to pay a quarter to get out of his room after a bender. The script is bold enough to butt heads with the Production Code, which didn't permit the central relationship between Vincent and Duryea to develop. The film proves that director Roy William Neill was capable of more than Holmes and Watson programmers.

A Forties Noir Programmer, And Not Bad At All.......2005-12-11

This low-budget programmer has much to recommend it, especially in the first half of the movie. A beautiful, high-maintenance blackmailer, Mavis M