Dark Waters

Merle Oberon (Leslie) is a traumatized survivor of a sinking ship and Dr Alan Napier recommends that she goes to recuperate with her uncle and aunt on a plantation in the Louisiana swamps. Her mother and father have not survived the sea tragedy and she is loaded. However, she has never met her aunt or uncle. Does the visit do her any good……? Is her trauma sending her over the edge…?

Is everything as it seems in this film? No, it isn't but I don't think that it is the intention of the director to hide this. Perhaps this film could have been more suspenseful but the story still grips and has tense moments as we follow Oberon's awakening to what is going on around her. In fact, it is quite a rewarding moment when we watch her realize that things are not right. Thankfully, she has strength to take the situation on as opposed to crumble as a victim.

The cast are all good with the exception of that forever unconvincing loser that is Elisha Cooke Jr. In this film, he plays, once again, a heavy. How!!?? He's about 2 foot high, scrawny and more like a gimp than a threatening presence to anybody living in the real world. However, yet again, he turns up in a pretty decent film - see also "Phantom Lady" (1944), "I Wake Up Screaming" (1941) and "The Maltese Falcon" (1941). Check out "The Lodger" for another good film from this year starring Merle Oberon.

"Dark Waters" is a better film than I remembered it as being when I saw it around 10 years ago and so I recommend a viewing.

DARK WATERS is an engaging little movie with a great setting: the almost-deserted bayous of the American South, which provide a hostile backdrop to the hostile storyline. This is one of those descent-into-madness type movies, where you're never quite sure if the protagonist is losing his or her mind, or whether everyone really is out to get them. As such, it's one of the earliest variations on the theme I've seen.

The movie benefits from some strong players in the cast, notably Merle Oberon's lead, Leslie, who does the whole haunted-while-remaining-sympathetic thing very well. Franchot Tone, as the doctor who becomes involved in her case, is also very stalwart as a dependable hero type. Thomas Mitchell's villain has more than a touch of the Charles Laughtons about him, and of course there's a nice part for Elisha Cook Jr., too.

The story is quite slowly paced but it does take time to build the atmosphere and in the end it pays off with the doom-laden climax which finishes everything up as you would hope. As such films are usually all about the atmosphere, I think this one's readily up to the job.

Most of the IMDb reviewers found something to like about this odd little flick, and so did I. For sure, it's not at the top of the thriller heap by any stretch, but it has some good moments and decent casting. The plot is standard for '40's Hollywood (translation: it would never happen in real life) but it gives Oberon's glam lady-in-distress an excuse to freak out and hook up with a conveniently sympathetic doctor, adequately portrayed by Tone. The supporting cast is the main recommendation here---particularly Thomas Mitchell, the gifted character actor. He rises above the melodramatic material and makes a convincing mystery man. Reliable Elisha Cook Jr.--who apparently had a long career playing weird loners with one facial expression--is a natural scene-stealer. The other players are there to try and make the plot believable while leads Oberon and Tone do their drama thing. (Credibility would have been improved if the characters---remember, this is set near New Orleans on a plantation---had even a trace of Southern accent. Nobody noticed when they were filming this thing???)

This film is often labelled as film noir; but this is incorrect. Dark Waters certainly has some elements of the genre; but not nearly enough for the film to be considered a part of it. That aside, however, this is still is still a very interesting melodrama/thriller. The film is directed by André De Toth, the director most famous for his remake House of Wax; but a director that also did plenty of work within the thriller genre. Dark Waters works well principally because of the atmosphere; but also benefits from a well worked script. The film focuses on Leslie Calvin. Leslie was fortunate enough to be the only survivor of a submarine accident. Naturally, she's emotionally distraught at the situation; and her doctor recommends that she recuperates with relatives. She looks up her aunt and uncle, who she has never seen, and goes to stay with them. However, her recovery soon starts to go awry after a series of strange events and Leslie comes to question her own sanity.

The film is slow to start and the first hour mainly focuses on the characters and their situation before the plot starts properly. However, getting there is at least interesting and the final third of the film certainly justifies the wait. The film is bolstered by a host of strong performances; especially Merle Oberon who takes the lead role. She has just the right atmosphere about her to take the role and convinces throughout the film. She gets good backup from Franchot Tone, Thomas Mitchell, Fay Bainter and the ever-talented Elisha Cook Jr who stands out as usual. Director André De Toth implements a thick atmosphere that benefits the film throughout. The film is set in a swamp and this provides an ideal location for it all to take place; as it is moody and ensures that we are always aware that everything we are seeing is taking place in an isolated location. As mentioned, the final third is really well worked and the director ensures that everything boils down to a suitable conclusion. Overall, this is an interesting little thriller and is well worth a look.

Leslie Calvin is the sole survivor of a submarine sinking and, having seen other survivors die before they could be saved, her mental health has suffered and it is only the help of Dr George Grover that sees her making progress. To aid her recovery she heads out to see her relatives on their plantation but is bothered when nobody is there to collect her. Arriving at the home she meets her aunt, uncle and extended family for the first time and tries to settle in. However a series of mental triggers set Leslie's recovery back and it almost seems that her family are deliberately being insensitive.

With very few votes on this site, I decided to watch this film on the basis that very few people have seen it. Unsure of the plot I braced myself for a bland melodrama when the film opened with a hysterical Leslie but I was pleasantly surprised when the film became something much darker and more interesting. I can't go into more detail without spoiling it for you, but the plot sees a group of people trying to drive Leslie deeper into her madness; on this level it maybe doesn't work quite as well as it should have done because the plot does have holes in it but these are not that much of an issue because it does manage to do a lot of other things well enough to cover the gaps and carry the film.

The first of these is the atmosphere, created by lighting, cinematography and direction. It is as close as a real swamp and has a genuine air of tension and creepiness to it throughout. The material is a lot darker than I had expected and, once the real hearts of the characters are revealed I was quite taken by the quite moral void they seemed to inhabit. Of course without the actors this wouldn't work as well as it did but a mix of good performances and clever casting means it was pretty good. Oberon is excellent in the lead role and is convincing in the way in which she seems unsure of her own sanity while also being genuinely afraid of things around her (or herself?). Beside her Tone is far too bland and is much of a muchness but does meet the requirements on him well enough. Mitchell is a great bit of casting; much more famous for warmer, comic roles, he seems to relish the character and does well for the majority before excelling at the end. Cook Jr is as good as he often can be and plays "naïve/unhinged sidekick" pretty well. The rest of the cast are all strong enough but for me the film is worth seeing for the from Oberon and Mitchell.

Overall this is a very enjoyable little film that trades a lot on its atmosphere and main performances. The story is interesting even if it does have basic holes in it and dealing with logic problems by just ignoring them but for the reasons above I think this is well worth a wet weekend's viewing.