Boobirt Stylish but barely mediocre overall

FuzzyTagz If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Merolliv I really wanted to like this movie. I feel terribly cynical trashing it, and that's why I'm giving it a middling 5. Actually, I'm giving it a 5 because there were some superb performances.

Delight Yes, absolutely, there is fun to be had, as well as many, many things to go boom, all amid an atmospheric urban jungle.

alexanderdavies-99382 "Cry Wolf" came along when Errol Flynn's career was in slight decline. He hadn't had a successful film at the box office for the last few years but the above film is interesting and reasonably intriguing. His character in "Cry Wolf" displays almost nothing of the usual character traits. He is rather austere and emotionally detached. Flynn could quite easily have been cast as a villain. The film is a lot more low key in comparison with other Errol Flynn films. The story mainly revolves around a big house with many acres of land out in the sticks. There aren't the usual lavish production values. The plot doesn't allow for any of the usual camaraderie or any shenanigans that the fans had come to expect from Flynn. The tone of the film is a lot more serious, perhaps a bit grim but still very watchable. As the female lead, Barbara Stanwyck plays a character who attends the reading of a will after learning that her husband has died. Her husband was the nephew of Errol Flynn, who is quick to question if Stanwyck is the genuine article after the family has never heard of her. Whilst her background is being investigated, Stanwyck stays at the family estate where not all is what it seems..... There is a bit of mystery about "Cry Wolf" until about the last 15 minutes when all is explained. The two leads engage upon a series of verbal assaults upon each other and with both giving their all. Worth watching.

vincentlynch-moonoi Before watching this film, I read the old review by Bosley Crowther. And I quite disagree with his assessment of the film. I quite like this film. But -- and there is a big but here -- you have to approach it understanding that at one time most people believed that insanity could be passed on through the family line, and that it was an established fear that if one person in your family was insane, that others were likely to become insane, as well.For me, there was "menace" in this film from beginning until the climax. It is downright eerie. From the opening scene with the young girl galloping her horse until the murder attempt at the climax, this is a truly dark film.Errol Flynn is excellent as the serious and sophisticated scientist. Barbara Stanwyck also excellent as the secret wife who suspects something is amiss. Richard Basehart -- who does not appear until late in the film -- equally great as the insane member of the family. And, Geraldine Brooks as the ill-fated young lady is quite good, although she was more successful in later years in television than on the big screen.If I have one criticism, it's about the character played by Errol Flynn. Sinister or kind? Romantic or cold? Rather than play the character more subtly, the director seemed to have Flynn jerk from one attitude to another.Nevertheless, I enjoyed this under-appreciated film. Although it hasn't earned a place on my DVD shelf, it's one I'll watch again on TCM...for the third time. :-)

bkoganbing Cry Wolf was one of three films in which Warner Brothers tried in the immediate post World War II years to vary Errol Flynn's screen image, the other two were Never Say Goodbye and Escape Me Never. None of them really succeeded and Flynn had mediocre results at best.In a biography of Barbara Stanwyck I read, the author tells us that Barbara felt Flynn had very little interest in the project, he gave a pedestrian performance. At the time he was very concerned with an oceanographic expedition his father was embarking on as a tax write off. Even then Errol's troubles with the IRS were getting started.Though Barbara Stanwyck is two years older than Flynn, he's cast as the uncle of a recently deceased husband of Stanwyck's. When she arrives, the family is somewhat jolted as no one knew of her marriage, not Flynn who is a research scientist nor did Jerome Cowan a United States Senator up for a big appointment. One who does welcome her is her sister-in-law Geraldine Brooks who was the sister of her late husband Richard Basehart.Cowan's not on the scene much, he leaves and it looks like he's leaving to give himself deniability as it would be spun today. Flynn carries himself with a sinister air about him and the sudden appearance of a woman claiming to be his nephew's wife has taken him aback. Flynn certainly does not like the questions Stanwyck is raising about her alleged husband's death.This was interesting casting for Errol Flynn and I think with some better material Flynn might have carried off the part. As it was by what I see and according to Stanwyck he lost interest in the project.Still fans of Flynn and Stanwyck might like to see the only film these two ever did together.

Ripshin The leads perform admirably, the set is fantastic, and the supporting characters well chosen, but overall, this film tends to fall apart, with its obvious "surprise" twist telegraphed quite early in the film.Obviously influenced by "Jane Eyre," the plot intrigues during the first 45 minutes, but fails to hold onto its mystique.Stanwyck is her usual wonderful self, and Flynn holds his own in a decidedly unusual role, for him. Brooks is a tad much, and Basehart is indeed wasted.Certainly, a film worth watching, but more for the atmosphere than the storyline.