Das Geheimnis der Dame in Schwarz

Poor Lana Turner is forced to wear Jean Louis gown after Jean Louis gown in this picture, a veritable sea of sequins. To add insult to injury, she is kept like a bird in a gilded cage in her magnificent Pacific Heights mansion. Her lover (Anthony Quinn) lives only a couple of blocks away, but in order to tryst with him, she must first go down to Union Square and pretend to shop at the old I. Magnin store (now Macy's), then take a cab back out to Divisadero - very inconvenient. An uncommonly silly movie, but great set decoration and use of locations. If you ever come to visit San Francisco, you can see the house that Lana, Sandra and Lloyd lived in; it's at the corner of Broadway and Baker, just about the ritziest neighborhood in town, natch....enjoy!

A beautiful, but faithless woman(Lana Turner) plots with her handsome, but brooding doctor-lover(Anthony Quinn) to murder her sickly husband(Lloyd Nolan). No, there's nothing overly fancy about this suspense melodrama, in fact in content it's quite ordinary. But the movie is given Hollywood's full treatment with striking photography, splendid costuming and decor, and good performances by a capable cast. Trivia: this film reunited IMITATION OF LIFE producer Ross Hunter with that movie's stars Lana Turner and Sandra Dee. Having played mother and daughter in that film, Turner and Dee are stepmother and stepdaughter this time around.

Unlike Lana Turner's previous Ross Hunter extravaganza, "Imitation of Life," which had a serious side to it, "Portrait In Black" is pure fun. Once again she plays a glamour puss, decked out in Jean Louis gowns and David Webb jewels just to sit around the house. When she goes shopping at I. Magnin she positively drips in fur. The plot is a quasi-remake of Lana's Hollywood high point, "The Postman Always Rings Twice," in which she conspires with her lover to kill her much-older husband. Unfortunately, Anthony Quinn as her lover is completely miscast. Richard Basehart is much better as her slimy scorned suitor. Sandra Dee shows up again, this time as Lana's stepdaughter with whom she has an icy relationship. Once the murder takes place, Lana receives threatening notes and suspicion is cast on every character, including the maid and chauffeur. Hilarity ensues when, in a throwback to her scene in "The Bad and the Beautiful," she becomes hysterical while driving a car. Enjoy this film on many levels, as a mystery, a feast for the eyes, or an exercise in campy entertainment.

Lana Turner, who's married to invalid Lloyd Nolan, has fallen for his doctor Anthony Quinn in one of Lana's most underrated films. This has to be one of the best examples of the melodrama genre, with Lana looking great as usual. I love it when movies know how to fill the cast with recognizable names, giving each role a chance to stand out: Anthony Quinn, Richard Basehart, Lloyd Nolan, Sandra Dee, John Saxon, Ray Walston, silent-screen star Anna May Wong, and Virginia Grey, who was an almost constant presence in Lana's later films. How you can go wrong? Granted, it may be campy or cheesy in some places, with loopholes to boot. But it wouldn't be melodrama without them. And, watching Anthony be driven out of his mind, is priceless. Only a great actor as him could overact so well. And, Sandra Dee comes off surprisingly well in her role, as the stepdaughter skeptic of her stepmother, who goes shopping, but comes back with no packages. If you're yearning for a good old-fashioned movie, the kind they just don't make anymore, this is for you. It's out on DVD, with Madame X. (That's another review.) Knock yourself out! Also, with Lana and John Saxon together in San Francisco, it feels like early Falcon Crest all over again. You gotta love it.

This film was released 40 years ago yet stands the test of time.The music,costumes and sets are excellent, the acting lovable melodrama and the real winner... in my view.... the lighting!

Can you get an Oscar for that??

The tale is of a repressed rich housewife conspiring with her doctor lover to rid them of her invalid husband......and the spiders web which flows from that....

Great acting from all the cast---do not miss it!