AboveDeepBuggy Some things I liked some I did not.

Ava-Grace Willis Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

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

Staci Frederick Blistering performances.

AaronCapenBanner Otto Preminger directed this fanciful mystery that stars Gene Tierney as happily married Ann Sutton, who is also a kleptomaniac, and in an act of desperation, goes to hypnotist David Korvo(played by Jose Ferrer) to help her overcome her embarrassing compulsion, especially since her husband(played by Richard Conte) is a noted psychiatrist! Unfortunately, Korvo is untrustworthy, and involves Ann in an elaborate murder scheme that she desperately tries to convince both the police and herself that she is innocent of. Though melodramatic, with an unlikely premise, this is still reasonably entertaining, with good cast and direction.

JohnWelles "Whirlpool" (1949), directed by Otto Preminger, the man brought us the classic "Laura" (1944), and stars the luminous Gene Tierney, Richard Conte (who would eventually go on to co-star in Francis Ford Coppola's "The Godfather" [1972] as Don Emilio Barzini), the wonderfully world-weary and haggard Charles Bickford and the malicious José Ferrer giving his best. The main fault in this otherwise fine film that benefits from a nice score by the famed David Raksin and attractive cinematography by Arthur C. Miller, is an exceptionally silly plot from the usually reliable Ben Hecht (who was forced to use the pseudonym Lester Barstow because of a blacklist) that has Gene Tierney, a secret kleptomaniac married to world-renowned psychologist Richard Conte, being manipulated by the villainous José Ferrer to unwittingly become the chief suspect in a murder. The resolution is daft and somewhat spoils the effect of the whole film. So while it's not one of Otto Preminger's finest movies, it still has a lot to like, especially an impeccable cast.

writers_reign This is one of those movies that keep you watching despite a sloppy screenplay - why, for God's sake, does Korvo (Jose Ferrer) first attempt to gain control of Ann Sutton's (Gener Tierney) mind in the middle of a cocktail party albeit in an empty room into which anyone could have wandered and why, when Tierney discovers the body of Ferrer's ex lover, do two guys turn up from nowhere and call the police. Add to this Richard Conte as arguably the most unconvincing psychiatrist in screen history and we begin to see the size of the problem. Nevertheless Tierney keeps us watching as Ferrer is effective as the quack Korvo.

ackstasis The second of three films that Otto Preminger directed with Gene Tierney, 'Whirlpool (1949)' is also the least of them. Clouded by the dubious Freudian psychology that was sweeping Hollywood in the late 1940s, the film is simply too implausible to prove sufficiently effective, despite the best efforts of the director and stars. I was reasonably willing to accept that David Korvo (José Ferrer) could control Ann Sutton's (Tierney) movements through hypnosis – and, indeed, a similar idea forms the backbone of Frankenheimer's classic thriller, 'The Manchurian Candidate (1962).' However, that the shifty psychologist could hypnotise himself into carrying out murder only hours after voluntarily offering himself for gall-bladder surgery really pushes one's credulity, inspiring laughter rather than intrigue. Perhaps somebody should have told the actors not to take the story quite so seriously, and the resultant lighter mood would have provided some surefire entertainment. As it happens, the principle members all give solid dramatic performances that they probably needn't have bothered with.Gene Tierney was, of course, one of the most stunning actresses to grace the silver screen, but she was also among the most misused. When utilised as a traditional, innocent damsel-in-distress, Tierney's acting is usually dependable without being particularly memorable. However, at least two directors realised that she was at her best when her character's intentions are either ambiguous {see 'Laura (1944)'} or downright evil {see 'Leave Her to Heaven (1945)'}. Given that Preminger directed the first of these, one wonders why he here decided to use Tierney in a purely conventional capacity; he repeated this offence in his follow-up picture, 'Where the Sidewalk Ends (1950).' José Ferrer is smarmily sinister as the psychiatrist abusing his "powers," though the screenplay does him a disservice in the final act. Richard Conte is more subdued than he is in 'The Big Combo (1955),' but nonetheless brings a likable intensity to an otherwise-passive role. Charles Bickford, whom I last saw in Renoir's 'The Woman on the Beach (1947)' here also gives a strong performance.'Whirlpool' is strongest in its middle-act, with Tierney as a wrong-accused innocent for whom every piece of evidence points to her guilt. However, since the story's conclusion is ultimately never in any doubt, much of the film's second half feels as though it is merely going through the motions. I think it would have been more effective had the audience been uncertain of Ann's innocence, just as she herself is unsure. Alfred Hitchcock did something similar just a few years earlier in 'Spellbound (1945),' casting doubt on the virtuousness of Gregory Peck as he is hunted for a crime of which he has no memory. Hinting at the tantalising possibility that Tierney is a murderer would undoubtedly have brought out the actresses' talents, the audience meanwhile tentative about whose story they can trust. For fans of 1940s psychological thrillers, in the same vein as 'The Dark Mirror (1946)' and 'Secret Beyond the Door… (1947),' this is worthwhile viewing, but also a regrettable disappointment.