Le loup des trois collines

Cry Wolf is directed by Peter Godfrey and adapted to screenplay by Catherine Turney from the novel of the same name written by Marjorie Carleton. It stars Errol Flynn, Barbara Stanwyck, Geraldine Brooks and Richard Baseheart. Music is by Franz Waxman and cinematography by Carl E. Guthrie.

Effective old dark house mystery picture boasting star appeal and class from Guthrie and Waxman, Cry Wolf is an enjoyable failure. The story finds Babs Stanwyck as Sandra Marshall, who turns up at a creaky old mansion investigating the death of her husband. Met with a frosty reception by the lord of the manor, Mark Caldwell (Flynn), it's not long before Sandra is neck deep in intrigue and suspicious behaviours.

Flynn and Stanwyck aren't asked to stretch themselves for this plot, in fact Flynn garnered unfair criticism for his portrayal of the shifty Mark Caldwell (wooden/miscast etc). Unfair because the character is meant to be restrained and sombre, keeping his cards close to his chest, you can certainly see why Flynn took the part, it was a chance to tackle something away from the flamboyant roles he was so iconically known for.

As the main characters move through the standard plotting of such fare; what's the secrets of the house, what is going on in the locked room? And etc, the house is the major player. Again it's standard stuff, a place of creaky doors, shadowy rooms, ominous clock chimes and things that go bump in the night. Guthrie (Backfire/Caged/Highway 301) brings his awareness of film noir visual conventions to the piece, where all the night time sequences carry atmospheric punch. While Waxman at times scores it like a Universal Studios creature feature, which is just dandy, the string arrangements delightfully menacing.

Some back projection work is poor, and although the twisty finale worked for me, I personally can understand it being a disappointment to others, while there's definitely the feeling of wasting the stars hanging over proceedings. Yet there's a nice old fashioned feel to the movie that charms, even if the stars and technical purveyors are bigger than the material handed to them. An enjoyable failure, indeed. 6/10

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.

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.

Recently viewed this on TCM and was captivated. What was going to happen? Why was Barbara Stanwyck sneaking about? Where was her husband? What had happened??

Errol Flynn also stars, and he was good. Don't usually see him in many suspense films that I remember.

Barbara S. was amazing as usual. Believable - and wouldn't want to mess with her - but she's met her match with Flynn.

I thought a very good plot from which I have seen picked up in several other more recent movies. A solid "8" from this reviewer. I think you'll be entertained.

Barbara Stanwyck and Errol Flynn are two of the most dynamic screen personalities of their time, so I had to watch this one. And I wasn't disappointed, I was glued to the screen to see if Flynn was really up to no good. I found their chemistry intriguing to say the least. My only complaint about the film was the ending was too rushed. But all in all, I found this to be quite entertaining