Diagonaldi Very well executed

NekoHomey Purely Joyful Movie!

Tyreece Hulme One of the best movies of the year! Incredible from the beginning to the end.

Raymond Sierra The film may be flawed, but its message is not.

clanciai This is one of the most intelligent thrillers ever made, with actors like Charles Laughton, Ray Milland, James Macready and Elsa Lanchester adding to the excellence. The main thing about the film is how the intrigue develops. It is a quiet war between an editor and his number one journalist, and while the almighty editor suspects nothing of Ray Milland's involvement, Ray Milland has the more reason to tread the more carefully - and does so with a vengeance all the way through - he actually never has to implicate his boss himself. Maureen O'Sullivan plays the poor wife who has the arduous task of adding yet another intrigue to the horribly mixed up mess of complications by her personal objections to her husband's blatant liberties, but there are several ingenious comedy instances as well, especially the goings-on at the bar where Ray Milland is too well known. There are so many captivating details about this brilliant thriller, that it will never do to see it only once.

jadedalex This movie stands out for films in the genre. It's a very gimmicky tale, and a bit confusing, but it remains entertaining and by the flick's end, it asserts its own individuality.Laughton is a wonderful villain here. His performance? For the most part, lethargic would be an apt description. His one 'Mr. Hyde' moment is his brutal killing of his paramour, a very pretty Rita Johnson, which stands out, because we see the tub of lard Laughton back to his old lethargy soon afterward, as he is enjoying a massage.Featured also is a strangely sinister Henry Morgan, who of course later became the amiable character actor Harry Morgan of 'MASH' and 'Pete and Gladys' from television.Maureen O'Sullivan is given a very nominal role as Ray Milland's long-suffering wife. She actually figures into the movie's melodramatic climax, but is seen throughout the film basically nagging her husband, who is of course 'married' to the Jonith Newspaper, Jonith being Laughton's role.Farrow and his screenwriter have fashioned an unusual murder tale where we are given all of the information. We are shown the murder, and, as even Sir Alfred Hitchcock would surely appreciate, we are left to agonize over Milland's plight of easily being framed for a crime he didn't commit.Venerable character actor Lloyd Corrigan is put to good use. George Macready is wonderful playing his usual shady, snaky character. Milland's performance is spirited and the action moves fast. It's easily a film you would appreciate more the second time.In short, the film is made with the assumption that the audience has a brain and an imagination. And let's not forget the wonderfully eccentric Elsa Lanchester, perfectly cast as the down-on-her-luck painter out to profit one way or another from the scandal.

LeonLouisRicci High Class and Glossy, this Lively Production is Filled to the Top with Big Stars, Big Sets, and a Big Story All Wrapped Up in a Slick Package for Post War Audiences that Wanted Quality Pictures for Their Meager Ticket Prices.Headlined by Ray Milland and Charles Laughton and Surrounded by Familiar Character Actors that Resonate, All Decked Out in Modern Fancy Big City Attire, the Film is a Treat to Look At with John Farrow's Artsy Direction and Fancy Blocking Using the Moving Camera in the Wide Open Indoor Spaces of Big Buildings that were a World Within a World.The Story is Complicated Enough and Interesting Enough for Mystery Fans and Crime Aficionados. Elsa Lanchester Devours the Scenery Playfully Adding the Comedy Relief and Wrings Every Second of Her Short Screen Time. This is Borderline Film-Noir and is Usually Included On Lists but Hardly Pure and Definite. The Strong Off Center Characters, Some Lighting Effects, and an Innocent Man on the Lam are its Strongest Noir Elements but Other Non-Norish Ingredients are too Prevalent to Make this Quintassential. The Corporate Takeover of the American Soul is a Subtext to All This and is Done with Symbolism and Clever Innuendos and is a Film-Noir Consideration.Overall, Not Without Some Weak Ingredients, Like the Back Story of the Workaholic with the Neglected Family, and the Opening Binge that Goes On too Long. This is a Solid, Highly Polished Picture that is Almost Magazine Like in its Pretty Pictures of the Post-War, Urban Landscape of Upper Middle Class Life When $30,000 a Year was a Hefty Paycheck and worth mentioning a number of times in the Film and was Laid Out for the Budding Capitalist in the Audience to Ponder.

mamalv Thirty six hours ago starts the beginning of the clock ticking down on George Stroud. He tries to put it together how he got here, hiding in the clock mechanism, afraid to move. We see him backlog through his predicament, being chased by everyone, the cops, the boss, his wife. Ray Milland is perfect as the suave man about town, it does not seem to matter to him that he is a husband and father. He gladly accepts the attention of other women, and to his wife's (Maureen O'Sullivan) dismay he is never around. Always running, always chasing the next big story for Charles Laughton the editor of Crime Ways magazine and others. The wife goes on a trip without him, as again, he has not shown up. Stroud goes on a bender with a blond model, Pauline York. She is Laughton's mistress. Laughton is great here, slimy and manipulative. Although dressed to the nines he is still physically unattractive. The only reason Pauline is with him is for the money of course. She wants George to write a biography of Janith (Laughton) so that they can blackmail him. He soon passes out in her apartment and upon leaving sees Janith arriving. Janith and Pauline have a row and Janith kills her. He goes to George McCredy for help covering up the deed. They find out the Pauline was with a man around town and they put Stroud on the search, not knowing he is that very man. This is great noir, and Milland is the perfect man for this part. As good or better than Cary Grant in North By Northwest. There is just something wonderful about the black and white photography that years later holds up so much better than newer film noir in color. Great movie.