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Although a bit noir-sh at times, and produced during the golden era of that film genre, this is by no means a pure film noir. Rather, "Tension" is a B-movie version of the melodramas popular at all of the studios during the late 40s. And, certainly, as suggested by other posters, this film has no business being compared to Hitchcock.

Overall, I am pleasantly surprised with the talent, direction, script and locations.

Granted, the whole "Clark-Kent-wearing-glasses-isn't-Superman" form of disguise is ludicrous, but it has always been an accepted modus-operandi for the concept of hidden identities on stage, film and TV. The performances of all of the leads are good - none chew the scenery. Basehart never "got his due" as an actor, as I'm afraid most remember him as the captain on TV's "Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea" in the 60s. Totter is excellent, and while Cyd Charisse is little more than set dressing, she requites herself well.

The techniques of law have certainly changed, as the means of tricking the guilty party in this film is nothing less than entrapment.

And for those of you interested in architecture, that great Deco-ish apartment complex featured in the film is still much the same 55 years later, even down to the vines on the railing. It is located off West Olympic Blvd, just west of Century City (across from Pavilion's, behind hotel). By the way, contrary to what a previous poster states, most of this film takes place in Culver City - only the beach house and apartment complex are "in" Malibu. Being an MGM film, they stuck close to home with locations.

UPDATE: Bad news - that beautiful apt. complex is coming down in 2006. Now THAT is a crime!

Update 2: Jan 2007 - the building is still there.

Update 3: Oct 2008 - they're moving people out by 2010.

Update 4: October 2013 - still there!!

MGM's Film Noir's may not have been up to par with RKO's during this time period but this is a pretty good film that doesn't actually become a Film Noir until well into the film but it has the look of a Film Noir throughout. Cinematographer Harry Stradling Sr. had a 50 year career in films beginning in the 20's as a young man and up until he died in 1970. Before this he had photographed such films as The Picture of Dorian Gray, Till The Clouds Roll By and had worked on the classic Intermezzo among his many films. He would go on to do A Streetcar Named Desire, Johnny Guitar, Gus & Dolls, My Fair Lady, Funny Girl, Hello Dolly and The Owl & The Pussycat. Director John Berry had made some dramas in the 40's and was really moving into Film Noir with this film. Unfortunately had also just completed a documentary about the blacklisted Hollywood filmmakers that got himself blacklisted and went to Europe to make films before returning to the USA and making some mediocre films. This is the story about a meek and mild mannered night manager of a 24 hour pharmacy/diner who toils 12 hour shifts to save money to make a comfortable life for his gold-digging, fast and loose wife. They are a mismatch who married while he was in the service because she thought he looked cute in his uniform but their life with living above the pharmacy is something she would like to ditch and she finally does. Audrey Totter is your classic femme fatal bad girl in a bullet bra. Richard Basehart is the pharmacist husband with a plan to seek a new identity. Cyd Charise is his new interest and Lloyd Gough is Totter's. Barry Sullivan and William Conrad are the detectives and Tom D'Andrea is the sympathetic late night counter guy. A story by John D. Klorer and screenplay by Allen Rivkin. 21 year old André Previn before he became a noted composer and conductor provides the film's score. I would give this a 7.0 out of 10.

Richard Basehart-an actor who never received the roles his talent merited-plays Warren Quimby a drugstore employee whose modest salary and aspirations frustrate his more avaricious wife Clare,played woodenly by Audrey Trotter.She leaves him for a wealthy operator ,Barney Deager,who compounds Quimbys misery by beating him up in front of Clare He resolves to take on another identity and kill Deager but while having the opportunity cannot bring himself to do it However Deager is murdered shortly after and suspicion falls on him.The rest of the movie centres on the investigation by the devious and shrewd police detective Collier Bonnabel (Barry Sullivan)and his attempt to get at the truth

It is not a who done it as the identity of the killer is never in doubt and instead the focus is on how the culprit will be revealed The performance ,the pouty and sulky Trotter aside ,are solid and the direction by John Berry brisk and to the point

It is not a major thriller but solid studio genre film making and worth the less than 90 minutes of your time that will be taken in watching it.

Why is everyone here comparing this (unfavorably) to Hitchcock? Apples and oranges! What this is is a damn good little B mystery lifted to art by the estimable, underrated Audrey Totter and an evocative score by Andre Previn. He reused the theme here years later in the much more well known Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. Parenthetically, can anyone think of a movie that wasn't bettered by the presence of the fabulous Miss Totter? Let's file belated criminal charges against M-G-M for misusing this dream girl!

This is in a category of its own. The central role of a bad, bad girl is played by Audrey Totter with such spectacular power and intensity that you would think it would break the projectors in the cinema. She was like an earthquake on screen. She was also well supported by superb performances from Richard Baseheart as her husband, Barry Sullivan as a sardonic detective, and the elegant Cyd Charisse who exerts her powerful charms in a non-dancing role. This film does not conform to any strict formulae of noir construction, is almost quirky, but is a genuine classic of the genre by breaking so many of the rules. There is no murder for absolutely ages, but we forget that we are waiting for it, so mesmerised are we by Totter. The balance of attention shifts from character to character, and there is a lot of misdirection of attention to keep the audience guessing. This is absolutely not a film about a murder, which in itself is incidental. This is a powerful psychological study of extreme character types. There are absolutely superb minor touches of direction throughout, and John Berry, the director, would have had a future as one of the top directors in Hollywood after this if he had not been blacklisted. William Conrad (later 'Cannon' on TV for 102 episodes) was just as fat a cop then, and Barry Sullivan actually pulls a bag of popcorn out of his hand, gives it to a passing stranger, and pats Conrad on his bulging stomach to admonish him. The film is full of little things like that which are creative embellishments added by a director with his imagination and his eye both in top gear. The best touch of all is the stretching of a rubber band throughout the film by Barry Sullivan, who says 'everybody has his breaking point', and snaps the band. In the scenes with the greatest tension, the band comes out and gets stretched and stretched. In one amazing scene, Sullivan and Totter even stretch the rubber band together with their fingers both entwined in it absentmindedly, while the psychological tension builds. This use of the rubber band throughout the film as a motif actually works, because it is done so well and with such extraordinary subtlety. All the suspects are under tension bigtime, hence the title. There are many good lines, such as Sullivan saying to Totter: 'I've got a file on you going back as far as you can remember and into the future as far as you dare imagine.' They end up kissing. This film positively reeks of classic noir elements, while being put together in an original manner. We have irrational passion, greed, amorality, lust, love, betrayal, selfless devotion, murder, as well as an inability to kill despite wanting to. It's all there. Just add DVD and stir.