Dein Leben in meiner Hand

#265moviwreview

Terrific blend of melodrama and noir, this film doesn't have any surprises but the sturdy direction by Michael Gordon and terrific performances by the always great Ida Lupino good Stephen McNally, good Howard Duff and the terrific Peggy Dow make this worth a watch.

The ending is a bit lazy and during a climactic fight scene, it's kind of a mistake in showing the stunt men's faces in closeup.

But, seeing Joe Besser 7 years before Stoogedom saying "stop crowding me" is worth a watch.

Fun fact: Lupino and Duff got off to a rocky start. She thought he was obnoxious. Obviously their time on screen made their relationship blossom since they got married in 1951.

WATCH IT

3.5/5.

To begin with I never liked noir genre and thankfully this movie has only got a small portion of it - all the rest consists of a gorgeous drama, chilling thriller and a romance that happened unintentionally and all the three genres perfectly blend together making it one of the best movies in its genre which is unfairly forgotten now. Ida Lupino is an absolute master and her stunning performance has been playing the first fiddle throughout the whole movie, not allowing us to leave it in peace. "Woman in hiding" keeps you guessing until the very end, it hints, gives clues to what might happen but you can never really be sure what exactly and this is the best thing about movies in general as an art. For me, unfortunately, this is a one-time movie as I don't really like paperthin storylines and no subtext but it was a brilliant ride anyway.

Where has this movie been all of my life? It's a great noir. Deborah Chandler (Ida Lupino) is planning a long term trip to New York. Her dad (John Litel) owns the mill in Clarksville - A huge source of employment for the town. Seldon Clark IV (Steve McNally) is the general manager of the mill and has matrimonial aspirations towards Deborah, but Deborah's dad holds him in low esteem. He sees him as the same as the previous Seldon Clarks - headstrong dreamers with a flair for the melodramatic.

Just before Deborah can leave for New York, her father dies in an accident at the mill. This causes her to get closer to Seldon and they marry a few months later. On their honeymoon an angry past paramour of Seldon's shows up at their honeymoon cabin - she's obviously been there before with Seldon - and pretty much sows tons of doubt into Deborah's mind about Seldon's motives. A car accident with Deborah as the driver and lone passenger follows, and she believes it was a murder attempt by Seldon, so she decides to stay "dead".

Seldon has choreographed this entire thing out carefully, but the authorities not being able to find the body makes him wonder if Deborah isn't still alive. He puts out an ad in papers across the nation offering a five-thousand-dollar reward if she is found. His clever plan has been to claim Deborah was not in her right mind when she dashed off on their wedding night in their car, that her death was a suicide, and that if she is alive, she is still mentally unstable - Just so nobody would believe her and so that he can commit her and get control of her estate and thus the mill.

Enter stage left Howard Duff as a semi employed drifter who sees Deborah, sees the reward offer, and from her strange behavior genuinely believes she is a danger to herself and that Seldon has only her interest at heart - at first.

This was a great noir with a good use of score and cinematography to build tension. It casts against type in that Peggy Dow is not playing a good girl here and Howard Duff plays a well meaning character for once. I have to credit the film for taking place in the south without having the entire cast sound and act like they are something out of a Tennessee Williams play. Highly recommended and hard to find.

Deborah Chandler (Ida Lupino) assures her mill owner father that she is not marrying dubious plant manager Selden Clark IV (Stephen McNally). Then her father dies in a plant accident. On the day of the funeral, Selden asks her to marry him. She eventually accepts, but suspicion soon arises when distraught Patricia Monahan (Peggy Dow) shows up on their honeymoon.

There are so many red flags. It is probably for the best that the audience doesn't always see him sweet-talk her to ignore those flags. I don't think that I would believe those scenes. I can always ignore what I don't see. This is a nice little melodramatic potboiler. It helps to have Ida Lupino selling the material.

"Woman in Hiding" from 1950 stars Ida Lupino, Stephen McNally, and Howard Duff.

The film begins with a narration by Lupino, over a scene where police are trying to find her dead body after a car crash.

After her father (John Litel) dies from a fall, Deborah Chandler inherits the successful mill the family owns. She marries the general manager Selden (McNally). On her wedding night, they go to a cottage and find a girlfriend (Peggy Dow) of Selden's who has let herself in with a key.

Deborah then finds out that Selden killed her father. She flees from the cottage, only to find out that Selden, knowing she would do this, has cut the brakes of the car. Deborah jumps out before the car hits the water.

Selden isn't sure she's dead because no body was found; he wants to know for sure so he can inherit the mill free and clear. So he offers a $5000 reward for anyone who can find her. Deborah sees the ad while working in a restaurant and takes off. Passing a beauty salon, she hatches the idea to change her appearance.

Well, this is a not too great part of the story. She reappears with her hair maybe two shades lighter - she keeps calling herself a blonde, but she isn't - no sunglasses, hat, nothing. A man, Keith Ramsey (Duff) running the newspaper counter at the bus station remembers meeting her. When he sees her again, he takes off in pursuit.

Keith manages to earn Deborah's trust. His motives are a little ambiguous. He calls Selden and says he's not totally sure it's his wife, and he seems concerned about her. As Deborah attempts to keep running, things get rough.

Very exciting film with good performances. Lupino gives a strong performance as frightened and vulnerable woman; McNally is good at playing evil; and a young Howard Duff is handsome and charming. As Selden's girlfriend, Peggy Dow is terrific. The screen lost a real beauty as well as a fine actress when she married and retired.

The last ten minutes or so are nerve-wracking. Enjoy.