Amargo recelo

Sandra (the incredible Barbara Stanwyck, post Double Indemnity) appears at the home of Mark Caldwell (the manly Errol Flynn). they were both related to Jim, now deceased. although the Caldwell family doesn't believe that Sandra was married to Jim. and they say no will has been found. Mystery and intrigue. we meet Julie, the sister, and she tells us about Mark, and how controlling he is. he seems to interfere in everybody's doings. Julie and Sandra hit it off, but will that friendship be enough for Sandra to get to the truth? Brother Mark seems to dark and evil, but is he still hiding something? Sandra uncovers the truth, but will she be able to tell people what actually happened? it's pretty good. lots of build up to what could be going on in Mark's lab, but really, no big deal. low key thriller... ten years later, vincent price or someone would be doing Flynn's role, in color. I like the fact that this one is done in black and white.. it adds to the darkness and mystery. good stuff; a rarely shown Stanwyck.

"Cry Wolf" isn't the greatest or the worst movie I've ever seen, but overall I enjoyed it. Despite what other viewers have said, I LIKED the ending. It was genuinely surprising, and when I thought it over, it all added up and was satisfying. I enjoyed Barbara Stanwyck's athletic performance -- especially when she pulled herself up and down a dumbwaiter! It was fun,too, to watch Errol Flynn play a sinister gentleman against type. In her debut film, Geraldine Brooks was awful but watchable doing a bad imitation of Ann Blyth in "Mildred Pierce." The talented Richard Basehart was awful, too -- but he later gave some classic performances, and it was fun to compare the difference. There are far worse ways to spend 83 minutes of your life, and I'm glad I watched this sleeper.

I wanted to add to the other reviews. I think Flynn's character was strongly based on his own father, a scientist (the film makes a point of saying he is a scientist of some note). Stanwyck's character had some of Flynn's mothers characteristics. And during the film Flynn alludes to a family ancestor who was a rable rouser and sailed about the world and married a French showgirl who was world renowned, a very possible reference to Flynn himself , he loved to sail and certainly was a rable rouser , and Flynn's first wife ( a popular French actress).Then the grim joke about her being poisoned was a snide aside (Flynn was paying alimony ever since the divorce). It seemed like they let Flynn play a part very similar to his own reserved scientist father and paired him with the head strong adventurous woman who resembled his mother.

I disagree with all the reviewers who disagree with me. This was a tense, suspenseful melodrama which I feel has gotten a bad rap since it came out. The mood of the film is ominous and unsettling throughout and benefits from excellent acting jobs from the two stars. Barbara Stanwyck almost never gives a bad performance and does not disappoint, but the big surprise here is Errol Flynn. In "Cry Wolf" he shows unexpected depth and nuance - this from an actor known for one-dimensional action/ swashbuckling roles, in addition to his off-screen antics as a swordsman. Who knew he was capable of such acting?

More disagreement. I thought the script was intelligent and that the pacing was good and that the ending was not a lame copout. It did not rely on its star performances and it kept you guessing right up to the end. I never took a movie course but I know what I like, to coin a borrowed phrase, and this was a good picture. I will have to say I was going to award Geraldine Brooks the Hand-Painted Mustache Cup as Hambone Actress of 1947, but I passed because it was her screen debut.

But don't take my word. Decide for yourself if it's a quick, exciting 83 minutes. That's what makes horse racing.

What could have been a great "old dark house" kind of thriller is instead a tepid melodrama hampered by a rambling script with a not-too- believable twist and a weak ending. On the plus side, it gives Barbara Stanwyck a chance to play the kind of feisty woman we like to root for--especially when she's climbing athletically over rooftops and down dumbwaiter chutes in order to get to the roots of a family mystery. Errol Flynn, still handsome in tweed jacket and smoking a pipe, lends distinction to a poorly written role. But in his confrontation scenes with Stanwyck she comes out the winner--full of fire and fury while he remains bland and aloof. Geraldine Brooks excels as Errol's tormented niece who believes her uncle is up to something sinister. A big help is Franz Waxman's strong background music that creates the right note of suspense. Richard Basehart is wasted in a small, poorly written role that gives him no substance at all. Despite all the flaws, an interesting and absorbing mystery to watch on a rainy day if only for the sheer pleasure of watching Stanwyck race around in pursuit of the truth. The solution, as noted before, is a letdown and the ending much too abrupt. Ah well, you can't have everything...