''Alias Nick Beal'' is a 1949 American film noir

mystery film A mystery film is a genre of film that revolves around the solution of a problem or a crime. It focuses on the efforts of the detective, private investigator or amateur sleuth to solve the mysterious circumstances of an issue by means of clues, i ...

retelling of the

Faust Faust is the protagonist of a classic German legend based on the historical Johann Georg Faust ( 1480–1540). The erudite Faust is highly successful yet dissatisfied with his life, which leads him to make a pact with the Devil at a crossroa ...

myth directed by

John Farrow John Villiers Farrow, KGCHS (10 February 190427 January 1963) was an Australian film director, producer, and screenwriter. Spending a considerable amount of his career in the United States, in 1942 he was nominated for the Academy Award for B ...

and starring Ray Milland,

Audrey Totter Audrey Mary Totter (December 20, 1917 – December 12, 2013) was an American radio, film, and television actress and Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer contract player in the 1940s. Early life Audrey – some sources indicate "Audra" – Totter w ...

and Thomas Mitchell (although third-billed, Mitchell plays the leading role). The picture is also known as ''Dark Circle'', ''Strange Temptation'' and ''Alias Nicky Beal''.

Plot

Joseph Foster ( Thomas Mitchell) an honest district attorney wants to run for governor in order to clean up the criminal underworld but can't catch their leader Frankie Faulkner (

Fred Clark Frederick Leonard Clark (March 19, 1914 – December 5, 1968) was an American film and television character actor. Early years Born in Lincoln, California, Clark was the son of Fred Clark Sr. He attended Stanford University with plans to become ...

) no matter how hard he tries. One day a smooth talking stranger named Nick Beal ( Ray Milland) visits him at a café beside the docks and he makes a deal with him. Joseph begins his rise to power in the company of prostitute Donna Allen (

) who is sent by Nick to seduce him. But he gets out of his contract with the help of his loving wife Martha, (

Geraldine Wall Geraldine Wall (June 24, 1907 – June 22, 1970) was an American actress who had numerous stage, film and television credits. Her career involved mainly character roles but encompassed a wide range of different acting parts. Early life Wall wa ...

) and his friend Reverend Thomas Garfield (

George Macready George Peabody Macready Jr. (August 29, 1899 – July 2, 1973) was an American stage, film, and television actor often cast in roles as polished villains. Early life Macready was born in Providence, Rhode Island on August 29, 1899. He graduated ...

Cast

* Ray Milland as Nick Beal *

as Donna Allen * Thomas Mitchell as Joseph Foster *

as Reverend Thomas Garfield *

as Frankie Faulkner *

as Martha Foster * Henry O'Neill as Judge Ben Hobbs *

Darryl Hickman Darryl Gerard Hickman (born July 28, 1931) is an American former actor, screenwriter, television executive, and acting coach. He started his career as a child actor in the Golden Age of Hollywood and appeared in numerous TV serials as an adult. ...

as Larry Price *

Nestor Paiva Nestor Paiva (June 30, 1905 – September 9, 1966) was an American actor of Portuguese descent. He is most famous for his recurring role of Teo Gonzales the innkeeper in Walt Disney's Spanish Western series ''Zorro'' and its feature film ''The ...

as Karl *

King Donovan King Donovan (January 25, 1918 – June 30, 1987) was an American film, stage, and television actor, as well as a film and television director. Early years Francis King Donovan was born in Manhattan on January 25, 1918. His parents were vaudev ...

as Peter Wolfe * Charles Evans as Paul Norton * Ernö Verebes as Mr. Cox * Arlene Jenkins as Aileen * Pepito Pérez as poster man * Joey Ray as Tommy Ray * Frank Mayo as committee man (uncredited) *

Lester Dorr Lester Dorr (born Harry Lester Dorr; May 8, 1893 – August 25, 1980) was an American actor who between 1917 and 1975 appeared in well over 500 productions on stage, in feature films and shorts, and in televised plays and weekly series. Even ...

as commercial fisherman (uncredited)

Release

Critical response

A 1949 review of the film in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' notes that, "Due to the fine acting and the wily direction, the story plays exceptionally well, but the script tends to be somewhat wobbly and indecisive upon reflection."

Film4 Film4 is a British free-to-air television network owned by Channel Four Television Corporation launched on 1 November 1998, devoted to broadcasting films. While its standard-definition channel is available on Freeview and Freesat platforms, i ...

commented on the leading man's performance, "Milland is outstanding as the personification of evil—a talent often obscured by his charm and early juvenile good looks."

Home media

Kino Lorber Kino Lorber is an international film distribution company based in New York City. Founded in 1977, it was originally known as Kino International until it was acquired by and merged into Lorber HT Digital in 2009. It specializes in art house films, ...

released a region A

Blu-ray The Blu-ray Disc (BD), often known simply as Blu-ray, is a digital optical disc data storage format. It was invented and developed in 2005 and released on June 20, 2006 worldwide. It is designed to supersede the DVD format, and capable of st ...

edition of the film through their Kino Lorber Studio Classics label on July 13, 2021.

References

External links

* * * * * {{Faust 1949 films 1940s fantasy drama films American fantasy drama films American black-and-white films Films scored by Franz Waxman Films directed by John Farrow Paramount Pictures films Works based on the Faust legend 1949 drama films 1940s American films