Inclubabu Plot so thin, it passes unnoticed.

Voxitype Good films always raise compelling questions, whether the format is fiction or documentary fact.

PiraBit if their story seems completely bonkers, almost like a feverish work of fiction, you ain't heard nothing yet.

Alistair Olson After playing with our expectations, this turns out to be a very different sort of film.

Captain_Woodrow_Call Kudos to the unnamed stuntman who (as the Ronnie Mason character) near the end of the film takes a tough fall over the cliff and lands in the ocean at an angle. I really cringed.Also, like others I found the acting, direction, camera work and overall atmosphere in this film were terrific. Two caveats though:First, as noted, the ending was indeed too pat and a little sugary. Second, Anne went through some some real difficult to believe 180 degree turn arounds in this film . She quickly goes from the family devoted, all-American girl next door--to a seemingly older person who immediately assumes all of the worst about her sister--to (at the end) the innocent high school girl unaffected by what should have been deeply troubling events.

dougdoepke Tepid noir too slack for its own good, despite smooth work from both an amoral Scott and a de-glamorized Emerson. Of course, movie buffs will spot a plot line from Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt and actors from Mildred Pierce. In fact, the film as a whole appears cobbled together from each of these betters. However, the main trouble is that director Florey and/or the screenplay fail to generate the kind of suspense the movie depends upon. Thus we get a slack series of developments instead of a driven series once Emerson knows Scott's planning to kill her. As a result, the movie's dark psychological core is dissipated instead of concentrated. Also, the climax is dissipated by having Scott stand around talking instead of more plausibly (and suspensefully) menacing Emerson for poisoning him. Even the final chase scene is drained by an unexpected abruptness, as other reviewers have noted.Too bad, because Scott's Ronnie Mason is one of the most cold-blooded schemers in noir annals. His duel of wits with psychologist DeCamp is, I think, the movie's best scene—both unusually well written and expertly performed. But whose idea was it to cast the handsome ex-Tarzan Bruce Bennett as a timid-soul chemist. Not only are those shrinking traits beyond his range as an actor, but his sheer athletic presence shouts miscasting even louder. My guess is producers wanted someone impressive for leading lady Emerson to fall back on. Still the movie does have Scott, an interesting actor whose early movie career was fascinating, before apparently being diverted into TV by a rafting accident. He certainly had a different look for the time. With sharp features and dagger-like moustache, he's perfect as a certified scoundrel. On the other hand, his sympathetic sharecropper in Renoir's The Southerner (1945) and hapless whipping boy in Flamingo Road (1949) demonstrate a surprising versatility. Anyway, it's too bad that this movie fails to live up to its many promising elements, despite the generous comments from other reviewers.

keylight-4 This is a great little movie, full of interesting characters and situations. While not in the same class as some of the better-known movies of its time, it is still extremely watchable and memorable. The scene where Zachary Scott, sitting on a bus, casually steals the airman pin from the lapel of a coat thrown over the seat next to him, is terrific. It defines his character beautifully -- a guy who's so low, he'll purloin something of inestimable value to a war veteran, to use as a prop in his various charades. He lies easily as the situation calls for, and captivates the women in the Fenchurch household with his irresistible charm and that killer smile.I couldn't help wondering if this movie was made to capitalize on the success of Mildred Pierce. Scott and Bruce Bennett were teamed again, and Faye Emerson bears some resemblance to Joan Crawford, with her facial bone structure and large eyes. Also, the Mona Freeman character is not unlike the odious Veda in Mildred Pierce.I agree with a previous comment that the ending to the movie was too pat, with the convenient tumble over a cliff for "Ronnie Mason", Zachary Scott's character. Also, in one of the final scenes, we see bratty Mona Freeman reunited with the boyfriend she had previously scorned in favor of the older, smoother Zachary Scott. I think the script should've called for her to be chastened for her behavior and for her cruelty toward her sister, instead of treating it as just a typical adolescent episode. But these are minor flaws in an otherwise enjoyable and well-made movie.

David (Handlinghandel) Robert Florey and James Wong Howe gave this a frightening, Expressionistic look. Scenes are shot at weird angles -- especially scenes involving figurative and literal lady-killer Zachary Scott. His sociopathic behavior presages another superb, medium-budget movie, "The Stepfather," by more than two decades.The entire cast is excellent, though (though no fault of her own) it's hard to think of Joyce Compton as anyone but the singer in "The Awful Truth.") Scott, Bennett, Emerson, DeCamp (especially, and though playing an older woman looking gorgeous) -- they couldn't have been topped.Setting a creepy lodger-in-the-house-of women story against a background of psychiatrists is a risky trick that pays off beautifully. Nothing corny at all.beautifully. Nothing corny at all.The resolution is a little pat, unfortunately. Not Emerson's getting together with Bennett. That makes sense. But Scott is dispatched too quickly. I seem him more as a Mr. Ripley character, who could have escaped everything -- the botulism, the murder rap, the jealous sisters -- and disappeared into the great world beyond this story. That would not have impeded the essentially happy ending of the secretary and her boss finally getting together.