starring Rosalind Russell
directed by Jack Gage
100 minutes
Valerie Stanton, on the closing night (after the show) of a Broadway production, kills Gordon Dunning, the producer of the show. She had been in a relationship with Gordon for years during which she had also been working for him. She met someone else and wanted to bring an end to their personal and professional relationships. He said no. She felt trapped and out of (what she later describes as) fear hit him with an award statuette.
She leaves, and manages to get out of the theater without anyone seeing her. Marian Webster, one of the other actresses, finds Gordon’s body and quickly becomes the prime suspect. Valerie was wearing gloves when she picked up the statuette, Marian was not so only her fingerprints are on the murder weapon.
New York Police Department Captain Danbury is in charge of the investigation. He suspects that someone in the cast or crew of the recently closed show must have done it. Marian suffers a nervous breakdown. She figures out that it must have been Valerie who did it and tells her. Valerie doesn't know what to do but then Marian commits suicide.
Valerie seems to be in the clear. No one suspects her but her conscience won't let her down quite so easy.
Thoughts
The moment where Valerie kills Gordon wasn't entirely convincing. She hit him with the statuette but she hit him in the shoulder and it didn't look like she put that much effort into hitting him. Maybe he had a heart attack or a stroke but it didn't look like the blow was enough to kill him.
This movie was a little over the top and melodramatic at times but I really loved it. Rosalind Russell's performance isn't terribly subtle but I think that she hit all the right notes. The movie was a little too much to be believed at first. It didn't stay that way. It eventually turned a corner and took on a more serious note. The ending really got to me. I see more than one thing in the look on Valerie's face in that moment. I figured that she wasn't going to get away with it in the end but I didn't foresee exactly hw it would play out.
Notes
This is the third movie that I have seen in 2023 that starred Rosalind Russell. The other two were Auntie Mame (1958) and My Girl Friday (1940).
Claire Trevor played the part of Marian Webster. Is her name supposed to be a joke? I've seen Claire Trevor in a number of other movies including Key Largo (1948), which was also part of Noir City DC this year.
Sydney Greenstreet played the part of Captain Danbuty. I've seen him in a number of other movies including Ruthess (1948), which was also part of Noir City DC this year. I think I liked him a little better in this film.
Esther Howard played the part of Pansy Dupont, a minor tole. I saw her in two films in 2022: Born to Kill (1947) and Sullivan's Travels (1941).
Dan Tobin played the part of Jeff Trent, a reporter. I have also seen him in The Big Clock (1948) and Woman of the Year (1942).
Theresa Harris played the part of Nancy, Valerie's maid. I have also seen her in The Big Clock (1948), Miracle on 34th Street (1947), Cat People (1942), and Horse Feathers (1932).
No comments:
Post a Comment