The Suspect (1944)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Suspect (1944) – R. Siodmak

Charles Laughton is a kindly businessman with a shrewish wife in early 20^th century London. When young jobseeker Ella Raines chances into his office, they strike up a friendship which blossoms into affection.  Eventually, Laughton decides to ask his wife for a divorce, but she refuses. He tells Raines that they can’t meet again but it is too late because his wife has found out and threatens to tell everyone about his suspected infidelity.  The next thing we know, she is dead and a police inspector is nosing around Laughton’s place.  We never feel anything but sympathy for Laughton, even as the police start tightening the screws upon finding a “motive” (his relationship with Raines).  But they can’t pin anything on Laughton – that is, until his drunken rotter of a neighbour (Henry Daniell) claims to have heard the murder through the walls. Now Laughton is really cornered and the usual fate of the film noir protagonist awaits him.  Yet he is willing to try one last gambit (and still remarkably retains audience sympathy).  This is not the typical noir, but a character driven piece with Laughton more subtle than his later scenery chewing years would suggest and fine direction from noir stalwart Robert Siodmak (The Killers, Criss Cross, etc.). 

 

Horror Castle (1963)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Horror Castle (1963) – A. Margheriti

Another atmospheric Gothic chiller from director Antonio Margheriti (see also Castle of Blood, 1964), here credited as Anthony Dawson.  Originally entitled “The Virgin of Nuremberg”, here we find married (not virginal) Rosanna Podesta moving to a spooky medieval castle in Germany with her husband whose ancestors lived there. The castle is also home to a museum full of ancient torture devices (‘natch) that were once wielded by ancient patriarch The Punisher.  There is a statue of him in a hooded masked outfit with barbaric mace. On her first night, Mary (Podesta) awakens to find her husband Max (Georges Riviere) missing – she wanders downstairs, through the lonely castle (full of shadows and bumps in the night) and into the museum. Following a trail of blood, she finds a dead woman inside the legendary iron maiden. Of course, no one believes her the next day.  Once we see someone roaming the halls dressed as the Punisher, we are led to suspect that anyone could be the killer, including husband Max, loyal (but disfigured) aide Erich (Christopher Lee), and possibly even the cryptic old housekeeper Martha (Laura Nucci).  Although much of the film is Podesta wandering the castle in her dressing gown, there are enough suspenseful events to hold your interest – and the unexpected twist at the end is worth the wait.  Beautifully gruesome.  

 

The House on 92nd Street (1945)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

The House on 92^nd Street (1945) – H. Hathaway

Using the documentary style for which Dragnet later became famous on TV, Henry Hathaway’s war-time noir includes voice-over narration, real location shooting, found footage (of Nazi spies, J. Edgar Hoover, etc.) mixed with actors (Lloyd Nolan and Leo G. Carroll, most noticeably) and a torn-from-the-headlines plot (Nazi spies are trying to smuggle secrets of the atomic bomb out of the US).  Bill Dietrich (William Eythe) is a college student recruited by the Germans to spy for them but he quickly tells the FBI and works as a double agent for them.  We see how he makes contact with the Nazi spy ring and attempts to earn their confidence while still passing along details of their actions and communications back to the FBI.  With this information, FBI Inspector Briggs (Nolan) hopes to find the local kingpin, Herr Christopher, and break up the ring before it’s too late.  Apparently, references to the bomb were added just before this was rushed into release in September 1945.  Not bad but a bit of a programmer.

 

The Spanish Prisoner (1997)

☆ ☆ ☆ ½

The Spanish Prisoner (1997) – D. Mamet

There was a time when David Mamet was compared to Alfred Hitchcock, at least with regard to the puzzle films he created (if not for his primary work as a playwright). House of Games (1987), his first, was probably the best of these films.  Then, there seemed to be a distinct dropping off in quality – I don’t even recall his last two features, Spartan (2004) or Redbelt (2008), but they do suggest the macho one-ups-man-ship that has also been a hallmark (or target) of his work (see also his Glengarry Glen Ross, 1992, directed by James Foley).  Returning now to The Spanish Prisoner (1997), I was pleased to discover the twists and turns of the classic con-game film, even if it took a few minutes to get used to the stylized literary dialogue (and they way the actors speak it).  Campbell Scott plays an inventor (of the MacGuffin, or “Process”) who promises his boss (Ben Gazzara) that he will protect the company secrets, even as he begins to worry that he won’t be fairly remunerated.  This worry is encouraged by Jimmy Dell (Steve Martin), a rich New Yorker who Joe Ross (Scott) meets on a Caribbean island when sent there for a company meeting.  As viewers, we are quickly led to suspect Dell is not all he seems – and secretary Rebecca Pidgeon soon joins forces with Ross (and the FBI) to investigate.  But is it all too late?  Maybe.  Styled perhaps on the Hitchcockian chase thriller (as the noose tightens Ross finds himself on the run from both baddies and the cops), this is mostly prestidigitation on the surface without too much of a look at Mamet’s deeper themes. But fun enough, as the pieces slowly fit together.  

 

Crossroads (1942)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Crossroads (1942) – J. Conway

William Powell plays David Talbot, a French diplomat, recently married to beautiful Hedy Lamarr, who is suddenly accused of an outstanding debt and asked to turn over $1 million francs.  Unfortunately, Talbot has long been suffering from amnesia and can’t remember his past!  When he refuses to pay, he’s taken to court where witnesses identify him as another man (Jean Pelletier). There are a few twists and turns in the plot (that involve Basil Rathbone and Claire Trevor) but Talbot remains inscrutable throughout.  Is he pretending to have amnesia? It's a possibility. Powell only occasionally allows his witty and dapper (Thin Man) persona to show through and instead remains glum and rather dour most of the time.  This takes a bit of the shine off the film but it is nevertheless a solid watch, if not quite noir. Of course, it’s all tied up with a bow at the end (although didn’t seem like it would be). 

 

The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940)

 ☆ ☆ ☆

The Doctor Takes a Wife (1940) – A. Hall

Screwball comedy starring Loretta Young and Ray Milland (before he moved over to Noir and after his turn in the much funnier Easy Living, 1937).  Young plays a feminist author (a “career woman”, said with disdain by many in the film, one of its many dated aspects) who is mistakenly thought to have married neuroscientist Milland. Both have other lovers – she has her publisher (Reginald Gardiner) and he has a society fixture (Gail Patrick) – but it turns out that pretending to be married suits them both, despite the fact that they hate each other (naturally). Initially, Milland suggests that he is going along with the scheme simply to help Young write her new book on marriage (to make up for the losses that her earlier feminist books are now suffering) but it turns out that he’s been promoted to a professorship by a dean who values marriage. Nevertheless, they are both desperate to head to Reno for a divorce as soon as possible (despite not really being married).  Of course, the plot takes us in a completely different direction.  Not really laugh-out-loud funny and awkwardly old-fashioned in many places but it fills the bill for this genre if you’ve exhausted the many other better entries.

Nobody Lives Forever (1946)

 ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

Nobody Lives Forever (1946) – J. Negulesco

Nick Blake (John Garfield) has been honorably discharged (returning home in 1944, when this film was shot) but isn’t anxious to return to his life as a con-man/swindler, although his friend Al (George Tobias) is keen to get him back into the game. With his life in New York suddenly less interesting (when he finds that his gal has been cheating on him while he was away), Nick heads to California to catch up with his mate Pop Gruber (Walter Brennan) who turns out to be down on his luck.  Although he really just wants to rest and recover from his wartime trauma, Nick allows Al and Pop to convince him to sign up to con a widow out of her $2 million fortune (a scam organised by evil “Doc”, George Coulouris). But, of course, Nick falls for the beautiful widow, Gladys (Geraldine Fitzgerald).  This being noir, things get complicated fast. Director Jean Negulesco adds a few unusual flourishes (the visit to the Mission) and occasionally undercuts the noir vibe with a humorous note. Garfield is strong as the conflicted anti-hero and holds things together throughout, with strong support from the assorted character actors. Above average.