ChikPapa Very disappointed :(

MoPoshy Absolutely brilliant

Fairaher The film makes a home in your brain and the only cure is to see it again.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

bkoganbing Edward Dmytryk directed this British film Obsession during his exile years in the United Kingdom and was fortunate to have Robert Newton in the lead. As the cheated upon husband Newton who could chew up the scenery when let loose gets a firm directorial hand. His performance here is really brilliant because it is so carefully controlled.Newton is married to Sally Gray who isn't all that subtle with her affairs. But this one with American Phil Brown is just one too many. He takes Brown prisoner and locks him in a dungeon in one of the bombed out buildings of London at the time. There he keeps Brown on a chain like a dog, but when Gray's pet terrier Monty follows Newton to the dungeon and has to be kept there, it's the missing dog that proves to be the mistake Newton didn't count on.I have to say that Newton did have a meticulously conceived plan for the murder and that he did have a reason other than sadism for keeping him alive for weeks until he was ready to do the deed.Like Dmytryk, Brown was also a victim of the blacklist and glad to be working over there. His American speech pattern and idiom also contributes to Newton's downfall.Kudos also go to Naunton Wayne as the Scotland Yard police inspector who pursues this investigation with Columbo like intensity. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if the Columbo character was inspired by Obsession and Naunton Wayne.This is one top drawer British noir feature.

HotToastyRag "You've heard of the last straw, Bill? Well you're it."So sums up the plot of the chilling thriller The Hidden Room. Robert Newton's wife, Sally Gray, has been repeatedly unfaithful. Bobbie can't take it anymore, and he's vowed to kill the next of her lovers. Phil Brown just happens to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.The Hidden Room was ahead of its time, no doubt inspiring stories like Sleuth and Secrets in Their Eyes. It's not your normal revenge story of the 1940s; it's very creepy. Robert Newton was an easy casting choice for the frustrated villain, but I'm sure James Mason, Herbert Marshall, and Claude Rains were envious that they weren't chosen instead, as they each could have played the part.My biggest criticism of the film is its untapped potential. When Scotland Yard gets involved in the story, the cleverness of writer Alec Coppel dwindles. There could have been many more cat-and-mouse games, or gotchas for the audience, all of which would have fit in with the opening tone of the film. It doesn't make any sense that Scotland Yard even becomes involved in the first place, let alone the other steps that are taken. Still, if you like creepy stories or revenge schemes that involve mental torture, you'll definitely want to check out The Hidden Room.

Hitchcoc Robert Newton (whom I remember from Disney' "Treasure Island") is the one with the obsession. He is a psychologist whose wife (a real minx) has been having a series of affairs with young men. He finally reaches the end of his rope and decides to kill the next one. He happens to be a young American playboy who, unfortunately, is the one. Newton locks him in a room, hidden away, not far from his garage. He visits him frequently. He has him chained and bolted to the wall and has marked an arc, representing the distance he can go from his cot. Every day he goes into a bathroom with a water bottle full of what appears to be acid. The idea is to torment the guy and then kill him, later using the acid to consume the body and send it down the drain. Bill Conin, the victim, is glib and manages to keep his spirits up. While his disappearance at first is big news, he is soon relegated to the back pages, and, after three months, there is no mention of him. That is until Newton gets his wife's ire up by disposing of her dog (actually, he wants to use the dog to test the acid), but Bill gets hold of the dog and keeps him behind his arc. Now she is willing to go to Scotland yard and complain, and a series of questions occur and a superintendent gets involved. He's sort of a prototype of Columbo, always asking one more question. The acting is splendid. None of the people here are very admirable. Newton is fixated on the "perfect" murder. The wife is just as bad as Newton figured, and her paramour has few redeeming qualities (not that he deserved his fate). The suspense builds nicely with dark images. The language is delightful, especially the visits to the hidden room when the threat of death lingers in the air. A really fine film.

LeonLouisRicci Obscure British Crime Film Directed by Blacklisted Edward Dmytryk, as He Exiled Across the Pond. The Superb Acting by All Four Leads Coupled with a Dry, British Upper Lip Script and Bare Bones Production make this a Hidden Gem.Owing Much to Hitchcock and Film-Noir it isn't as Good as the Best of Either Hitch or Noir. The Movie is Entertaining and is One of those Stories that is So Popular in Detective Fiction, The Perfect Murder.Suspenseful Cat and Mouse, or in this case Cat and Dog, Film that is Well Crafted All Around with some Detail and a Gruesome Underbelly. It is Witty, Diabolical, and yet has a Calmness Under Stress and that British Way of being Respectful while the World Shrinks and Crumbles all Around.Overall American Audiences used to More Extremism and Expressionism in Their Crime and Noir Films Might Find this a bit too Calculating and Slow, but that is Part of its Offbeat Charm and is as Good as Any from 1940's and 50's British Crime Cinema.