Jennifer

It has been almost 50 years since I saw "Jennifer" for the first and only time. I did not know the name of this movie until I looked it up on this web site, but I have told many people (especially my grandchildren) how movies do not have to include graphic details in order to frighten you and leave powerful impact. The story skillfully introduces you to concepts which if true put Ida Lupino in a very dangerous situation. Each time Miss Lupino discovers a new "fact" she draws the viewer into her confusion and fear.

This movie has such impact on me that almost 50 years later I still list it as one of the most frightening movies that I have ever seen. Yet this movie does not contain the blood and gore which became popular shortly after this movie was made. It's amazing what impact a good story and great actors can make.

Jennifer stars real-life married couple Ida Lupino and Howard Duff from 1953, directed by Joel Newton.

No wonder Ida fell for Howard - he was quite the handsome hunk back then.

Lupino plays Agnes Langley, who takes a job as caretaker of a spooky mansion, where Duff is Jim Hollis, the financial manager for the family. The previous resident was a cousin, Jennifer who supposedly disappeared. Agnes is assured Jennifer won't be back.

Curious, Agnes begins to suspect there was more to Jennifer's story. She hears from a handyman that Jennifer worked for a big attorney and stole valuable papers. She finds Jennifer's diary and bank book and comes to two conclusions- Jennifer is dead somewhere in the house, and she was a blackmailer.

Gothic drama innovatively photographed with some good effects as Agnes wanders around the house hearing noises and looking nervous. Duff is a true gothic character- you don't know if he had anything to do with Jennifer's disappearance or if he's a good guy interested in Agnes.

Some scary moments and not much of a dénouement. Of note, this film introduced a Sinatra favorite, Angel Eyes.

Worth seeing.

A woman is hired to look after a vacated old mansion that seems to be haunted by the spirit of the woman who previously had the job but disappeared. It sounds like a good, old-fashioned thriller and gets off to be pretty good start. Soon, however, it goes awry, turning into a dull drama. It becomes a drag despite the short running time of only 73 minutes. It was directed by some mysterious fellow named Joel Newton, who has no other film credit on his resume. Perhaps he is an earlier version of "Allen Smithee," the alias given to the director of films to which no director would attach his name. Lupino and off-screen husband Duff try their best but are given little to work with.

A few years later and this 70-minute flick could have been an entry on TV's The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. It's cheaply produced with a bare-bones cast and in b&w at a time when Hollywood was going all out in Technicolor. But the plucky Lupino plugged along with her gritty little programmers that bucked the tide.

There's nothing special here, but there's enough ambiguity in Agnes's (Lupino) character and the circumstances to keep viewers engaged. A troubled Agnes (note the unflattering name) seeks escape by signing on as caretaker to a vacant old mansion, perhaps haunted by the missing former resident, Jennifer. Soon she gets involved with locals Hollis (Duff) and Orin (Nichols). At the same time, the mystery of Jennifer's disappearance deepens and we wonder about Hollis and Orin.

Oddly, not much really happens. Still, it's a clever screenplay with a number of provocative dark hints. That plus Lupino's superb acting skills provide subtle compensation. I especially like the unexpected hints that goofy kid Orin may not be the innocent he appears. But just why the studly Hollis would be attracted to the rather plain, unstable Agnes remains something of a stretch. Still, it's a measure of Lupino's all-around artistry that, for the sake of the role, she wouldn't flatter her looks. But get out your ear-muffs whenever Agnes starts spinning "Vortex" on the turn-table. It's music-to-go-mad-by, and the last thing wobbly Agnes should glom onto.

Anyhow, the results amount to a decent variation on a familiar thriller theme. I just wish the all-around gifted Lupino would get the industry recognition she so richly deserves.

I first caught up with Jennifer years ago while out of town when it showed up on TV in the middle of the night; I fell asleep before it ended but it stuck with me until I had to track it down. Its appeal is that, though there's not a lot to it, it weaves an intriguing atmosphere, and because Ida Lupino and Howard Duff (real life man-and-wife at the time) display an alluring, low-key chemistry. Lupino plays a woman engaged to house-sit a vast California estate whose previous caretaker -- Jennifer -- up and disappeared. (Shades of Jack Nicholson in the Shining, although in this instance it's not Lupino who goes, or went, mad). Duff is the guy in town who manages the estate's finances and takes a shine to Lupino, who decides to play hard to get. She becomes more and more involved, not to say obsessed, with what happened to her predecessor in the old dark house full of descending stairways and locked cellars. The atmospherics and the romantic byplay are by far the best part of the movie, as viewers are likely to find the resolution a bit of a letdown -- there's just not that much to it (except a little frisson at the tail end that anticipates Brian De Palma's filmic codas). But it's well done, and, again, it sticks with you. Extra added attraction: this is the film that introduced the song "Angel Eyes," which would become part of the standard repertoire of Ol' Blue Eyes.