Convoluted film noir mystery? You’re soaking in it! I'm not 100% sure
I have all the details correct, but this is how the movie played out to
me. Victor (Claude Rains) is a radio personality whose specialty is
true crime stories. He has two nieces. Matilda (Joan Caulfield) is his
legal ward and the inheritor of lots of money which Victor has been
handling for her—and some of which he has possibly been misusing. Althea
(Audrey Totter, at left), the other niece, stole Matilda's boyfriend
Oliver out of spite but now is stuck in a bad marriage as Oliver has
taken to drink. Matilda, out of the country, has been reported dead in a
ship accident. This is the situation as the movie begins with a shadowy
and creepy scene showing Victor's secretary Rosalyn murdered and hung
up from a chandelier to make it look like suicide, all while Victor is
on the air relating a murder story. Althea knows it was murder because
she was on the phone with her when she was attacked, but Althea isn't
telling anyone what she knows—yet. While everyone feels bad for Victor's
losses, a young man named Steven shows up out of the blue, claiming to
have been married to Matilda. The thinking is that Steven has come in
search of a chunk of her money, but it turns out that Steven is from a
rich family himself. Before the family can get used to this new
development, Matilda turns up alive, having survived the accident and
spent time recovering in Brazil. But she doesn’t recognize Steven, and
insists that they are not married. Obviously, amnesia from her traumatic
experience secretary explains this, so Victor and the rest assume. The
stage is now set for plot twists, betrayals, and more murders.
I
did find this difficult to follow, though ultimately, once everyone's
motives are made clear, it settles down into a traditional murder
mystery template. But the primary reason to watch this is the shadowy
film noir style from director Michael Curtiz and cinematographer Woody
Bredell. Nothing quite matches the opening sequence of the murder of the
secretary, but the visuals remain interesting throughout. Several times
we see the faces of people reflected diamond-sharp in glass or mirrors
or, most effectively, in a recording disc—Victor keep records of most of
his radio shows, and recordings of conversations are crucial to the
climax. There’s a LAURA vibe here due to the resurrection of a character
thought dead, though it's handled almost too matter-of-factly here.
Many reviews and summaries mention the killer's identity, but, even
though it is revealed relatively early (about halfway through), I still
think it shouldn't be spoiled. The acting is all over the place. Rains,
of course, is very good, but Audrey Totter practically steals all her
scenes with her portrayal of a jealous schemer; you can never quite
figure out whose side she's on. At times she sounds like Bette Davis at
her most devious. Michael North (credited earlier in his career as Ted
North) is striking looking and in his first few scenes, he's effective
as someone whose motives, as with Totter, are not clear, but as the
movie goes on, he recedes into the background with not quite enough
charisma to be on the level of Rains and Totter. Joan Caulfield is far
too bland to make her character interesting, which is a shame because
with another actress in the role, this might have been a truly
first-rate noir. Hurd Hatfield does his usual effete male role as the
weak Oliver. Constance Bennett is lots of fun as an Eve Arden-type of
sidekick. When Rains feels sorry for her because he assumes since she's
single that she's never really "vibrated" with the joy of living, she
replies, referring to her past, "For six months, I vibrated like a
musical saw!" The complicated plot bothered me for a while, but I'm glad
I stuck with this. Pictured at right are Totter, Caulfield and Rains.
[TCM]
Convoluted film noir mystery? You’re soaking in it! I'm not 100% sure
I have all the details correct, but this is how the movie played out to
me. Victor (Claude Rains) is a radio personality whose specialty is
true crime stories. He has two nieces. Matilda (Joan Caulfield) is his
legal ward and the inheritor of lots of money which Victor has been
handling for her—and some of which he has possibly been misusing. Althea
(Audrey Totter, at left), the other niece, stole Matilda's boyfriend
Oliver out of spite but now is stuck in a bad marriage as Oliver has
taken to drink. Matilda, out of the country, has been reported dead in a
ship accident. This is the situation as the movie begins with a shadowy
and creepy scene showing Victor's secretary Rosalyn murdered and hung
up from a chandelier to make it look like suicide, all while Victor is
on the air relating a murder story. Althea knows it was murder because
she was on the phone with her when she was attacked, but Althea isn't
telling anyone what she knows—yet. While everyone feels bad for Victor's
losses, a young man named Steven shows up out of the blue, claiming to
have been married to Matilda. The thinking is that Steven has come in
search of a chunk of her money, but it turns out that Steven is from a
rich family himself. Before the family can get used to this new
development, Matilda turns up alive, having survived the accident and
spent time recovering in Brazil. But she doesn’t recognize Steven, and
insists that they are not married. Obviously, amnesia from her traumatic
experience secretary explains this, so Victor and the rest assume. The
stage is now set for plot twists, betrayals, and more murders.
I
did find this difficult to follow, though ultimately, once everyone's
motives are made clear, it settles down into a traditional murder
mystery template. But the primary reason to watch this is the shadowy
film noir style from director Michael Curtiz and cinematographer Woody
Bredell. Nothing quite matches the opening sequence of the murder of the
secretary, but the visuals remain interesting throughout. Several times
we see the faces of people reflected diamond-sharp in glass or mirrors
or, most effectively, in a recording disc—Victor keep records of most of
his radio shows, and recordings of conversations are crucial to the
climax. There’s a LAURA vibe here due to the resurrection of a character
thought dead, though it's handled almost too matter-of-factly here.
Many reviews and summaries mention the killer's identity, but, even
though it is revealed relatively early (about halfway through), I still
think it shouldn't be spoiled. The acting is all over the place. Rains,
of course, is very good, but Audrey Totter practically steals all her
scenes with her portrayal of a jealous schemer; you can never quite
figure out whose side she's on. At times she sounds like Bette Davis at
her most devious. Michael North (credited earlier in his career as Ted
North) is striking looking and in his first few scenes, he's effective
as someone whose motives, as with Totter, are not clear, but as the
movie goes on, he recedes into the background with not quite enough
charisma to be on the level of Rains and Totter. Joan Caulfield is far
too bland to make her character interesting, which is a shame because
with another actress in the role, this might have been a truly
first-rate noir. Hurd Hatfield does his usual effete male role as the
weak Oliver. Constance Bennett is lots of fun as an Eve Arden-type of
sidekick. When Rains feels sorry for her because he assumes since she's
single that she's never really "vibrated" with the joy of living, she
replies, referring to her past, "For six months, I vibrated like a
musical saw!" The complicated plot bothered me for a while, but I'm glad
I stuck with this. Pictured at right are Totter, Caulfield and Rains.
[TCM]
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