film noir
Film noir (; ) is a cinematic term used primarily to describe stylish Hollywood crime dramas, particularly those that emphasize cynical attitudes and motivations. The 1940s and 1950s are generally regarded as the "classic period" of American ' ...
thriller film
Thriller film, also known as suspense film or suspense thriller, is a broad film genre that evokes excitement and suspense in the audience. The suspense element found in most films' plots is particularly exploited by the filmmaker in this genre ...
directed by
William A. Seiter
William Alfred Seiter (June 10, 1890 – July 26, 1964) was an American film director.
Life and career
Seiter was born in New York City. After attending Hudson River Military Academy, Seiter broke into films in 1915 as a bit player at Mack Senne ...
and starring
Dorothy McGuire
Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...
,
Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and othe ...
and Mary Murphy. Seiter's last feature directorial effort, the film is an adaptation of the Gordons’ novel of the same name. It was produced and distributed by
Republic Pictures
Republic Pictures Corporation (currently held under Melange Pictures, LLC) was an American motion picture production-distribution corporation in operation from 1935 to 1967, that was based in Los Angeles. It had studio facilities in Studio City an ...
.
Plot
Crystal Benson is a single mother living in a small town in
New Mexico
)
, population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano)
, seat = Santa Fe
, LargestCity = Albuquerque
, LargestMetro = Tiguex
, OfficialLang = None
, Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...
. One afternoon, her teenage daughter, Randy, mentions running into a man who tells her she reminds him of someone he once knew.
Crystal, already jumpy and unable to sleep, knows that this man is her mobster husband, Steve. She knows that he has recently been paroled from prison after serving 18 years. When she first met Steve, she had been captivated by him but, upon discovering his vicious behavior, including involvement in the murder of a police officer, she took their baby and fled.
Expecting Steve to exact murderous revenge on her, Crystal prepares a tape recording explaining everything about her relationship with the man. She puts aside the recording, and money, for Randy to access after her mother's death.
Steve insinuates himself into their lives; he makes it clear he wants to take Randy away and that he will fulfill his long-held plan to torment, and likely kill, Crystal. She tells everyone he is her brother, with whom she has had a difficult, often estranged history. Randy enjoys having her "uncle" in her life.
Crystal organizes an escape for her daughter and herself; she is, however, seemingly transparent to Steve, and he is always, until the end, on her trail.
Cast
*
Dorothy McGuire
Dorothy Hackett McGuire (June 14, 1916 – September 13, 2001) was an American actress. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for ''Gentleman's Agreement'' (1947) and won the National Board of Review Award for Best Actre ...
as Crystal Benson
*
Stephen McNally
Stephen McNally (born Horace Vincent McNally; July 29, 1911 – June 4, 1994) was an American actor remembered mostly for his appearances in many Westerns and action films. He often played hard-hearted characters, criminals, bullies, and othe ...
Edgar Buchanan
William Edgar Buchanan II (March 20, 1903 – April 4, 1979) was an American actor with a long career in both film and television. He is most familiar today as Uncle Joe Carson from the ''Petticoat Junction'', ''Green Acres'', and ''The ...
as Sheriff
*
John Howard
John Winston Howard (born 26 July 1939) is an Australian former politician who served as the 25th prime minister of Australia from 1996 to 2007, holding office as leader of the Liberal Party. His eleven-year tenure as prime minister is the s ...
as Josh
*
Ron Hagerthy
Ronald F. Hagerthy (born March 9, 1932) is an American actor on television and in films.
Early years
Hagerthy was born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, but moved to Glendale, California, before he started school. He attended Glendale City College and ...
as Hack
*
Pepe Hern
José Hernández Bethencourt (June 6, 1927 – February 28, 2009), better known as Pepe Hern, was an American supporting actor, who usually played Spanish and Latino (primarily Mexican) roles throughout his career.Eddy Waller
Edward Carlingford Waller (June 14, 1889 – August 20, 1977) was an American stage, film and television actor.
Early years
Born in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, he was a son of the Rev. Thomas M. Waller, a Presbyterian minister, and Anna Tay ...
as Spud Kelly
*
Carolyn Jones
Carolyn Sue Jones (April 28, 1930 – August 3, 1983) was an American actress of television and film. Jones began her film career in the early 1950s, and by the end of the decade had achieved recognition with a nomination for an Academy ...
as Mary Rose
*
Rosa Turich
Rosa Turich (born Rosa Sinohui, June 9, 1903 – November 20, 1998) was an American film and television actress
An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditiona ...
as Juana
*
Julian Rivero
Julian Rivero (July 25, 1890 – February 24, 1976) was an American actor whose career spanned seven decades. He made his film debut in the 1923 silent melodrama, ''The Bright Shawl'', which starred Richard Barthelmess, Dorothy Gish, William Powe ...
as Carlos
*
Celia Lovsky
Celia Lovsky (born Cäcilia Josefina Lvovsky, February 21, 1897 – October 12, 1979) was an Austrian-American actress. She was born in Vienna,William Bailey as Ed Jenkins
*
Argentina Brunetti
Argentina Brunetti (born Argentina Ferraù; August 31, 1907 – December 20, 2005) was an Argentinian stage and film actress and writer.
Biography
Brunetti was born Argentina Ferraù in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Italian parents; her moth ...
as Mrs. Gonzales
* Bob Carney as Round-Faced Man
* Joseph Vitale as Big Man
*
Paul Lukather
Paul Lukather (August 24, 1926 – October 9, 2014) was a veteran actor known for his vast array of work across stage, television and voice-over work.
Lukather graduated from Drake University and Yale University. He won the Barter Award, which wa ...
as Deputy
* Dickie Humphreys as Dancer
* Norma La Roche as Señorita
Reception
Bosley Crowther
Francis Bosley Crowther Jr. (July 13, 1905 – March 7, 1981) was an American journalist, writer, and film critic for ''The New York Times'' for 27 years. His work helped shape the careers of many actors, directors and screenwriters, though his ...
of ''
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 ...
'' wrote, "Warren Duff's screen play is hackneyed and William A. Seiter's direction is dull. No one's performance is exciting. Only Edgar Buchanan as a sheriff seems slightly real."