''Shock'' is a 1946 American

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 ' ...

directed by

Alfred L. Werker Alfred L. Werker (December 2, 1896 – July 28, 1975) was a film director whose work in movies spanned from 1917 through 1957. After a number of film production jobs and assistant directing, Werker co-directed his first film, ''Ridin' the Wind ...

and starring

Vincent Price Vincent Leonard Price Jr. (May 27, 1911 – October 25, 1993) was an American actor, art historian, art collector and gourmet cook. He appeared on stage, television, and radio, and in more than 100 films. Price has two stars on the Hollywood Wal ...

Lynn Bari Lynn Bari (born Marjorie Schuyler Fisher, December 18, 1919 – November 20, 1989) was a film actress who specialized in playing sultry, statuesque man-killers in roughly 150 films for 20th Century Fox, from the early 1930s through the 1940s. ...

and

Frank Latimore Franklin Latimore (born Franklin Latimore Kline, September 28, 1925 – November 29, 1998) was an American actor. Life and career Latimore was born in Darien, Connecticut. He came from a well-to-do family, and was able to trace his lineage ba ...

Plot

A young woman named Janet Stewart is anticipating the arrival of her husband and attempts to check into a hotel. They are meeting after years apart and have planned to meet at the hotel. During his military service he was presumed dead, but was a prisoner of war. Unfortunately, her cable requesting the reservation never arrived. The staff, after hearing her story, agree to provide a room for the night. Restless, she isn't sleeping. She hears a loud argument and goes to the balcony window where she witnesses a man striking his wife with a candlestick. The woman is killed. The next morning, her husband arrives and attempts to surprise Janet. Instead, he discovers her sitting on the couch, staring into space. She has gone into a state of shock as a result of seeing the murder. The hotel doctor is called, but he suggests she see a specialist. The specialist that she sees turns out to be Dr. Cross, the man who murdered his wife.

Cast

as Dr. Richard Cross *

as Elaine Jordan *

as Lt. Paul Stewart *

Anabel Shaw Anabel Shaw (born Marjorie Henshaw; June 24, 1921 – April 16, 2010) was an American film actress. Active during the 1940s and 1950s in a mixture of lead and supporting roles, she then made a few appearances on television. Biography Shaw was ...

as Janet Stewart * Stephen Dunne as Dr. Stevens (as Michael Dunne) * Reed Hadley as O'Neill * Renee Carson as Mrs. Hatfield * Ruth Nelson As Mrs. Margaret Cross (Uncredited) * Charles Trowbridge as Dr. Franklin Harvey

Production

The film was originally to be directed by Henry Hathaway.

Reception

Above and beyond the typical characteristics of the

horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...

genre, reviewer Bosley Crowther 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 ...

'' took particular offense to the film's treatment of psychiatry. Coming in the wake of

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

, in which so many people had suffered shock and could benefit from treatment of their anxieties, Crowther asked the "critical observer to protest in no uncertain tones" the movie's "social disservice" in its fostering "apprehension against the treatment of nervous disorders", deploring the lack of consideration for those in need of treatment evidenced by producer Aubrey Schenck and distributor

Twentieth Century-Fox 20th Century Studios, Inc. (previously known as 20th Century Fox) is an American film production company headquartered at the Fox Studio Lot in the Century City area of Los Angeles. As of 2019, it serves as a film production arm of Walt Disn ...

. Philip K. Scheuer of the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' took no such offense, calling the film a "nominal 'B' feature", which screenplay author "Eugene Ling and Director Alfred Werker have imbued... with a grade-A suspense". Jonathan Malcolm Lampley wrote in ''Women in the Horror Films of Vincent Price'' that his role in this film "foreshadows the mad doctors and scientists Price would frequently portray in his later career".

References

External links