L'étrangère intime

Richard Basehart has moved on from his womanizing days in the US to steadier waters in the UK with wife Faith Brooke and now works as a successful producer for his wife's father Roger Livesey. During the production of his latest project, which stars one of his former flames Constance Cummings, he receives several letters from a person he doesn't know, claiming they had an affair. Initially thinking it's an attempt at blackmail, he shrugs it off. But when his wife also receives a letter, they decide enough is enough, and they visit the woman, Mary Murphy. When she persists in her story, even in front of the police, Basehart starts to have doubts. Could he really have forgotten?! Soon things start to fall apart for him, as Murphy's story, fabricated or not, starts to threaten his marriage as well as his career.

Released in the UK as 'The Intimate Stranger' and 'Finger Of Guilt' in the US, this movie starts off as a marital drama (told in flashback by Basehart), and slowly moves into thriller territories before culminating in a pretty exciting final 20 minutes inside a studio set. Written and directed by 2 men blacklisted by Hollywood, Joseph Losey ('The Prowler') and Howard Koch ('Casablanca'), the story can be easily seen as a metaphor for what they endured. But the movie never becomes self-righteous or preachy. Most of the movie is filmed in a matter-of-fact type of way, focusing squarely on Basehart ('He Walked By Night'), leaving the viewer guessing about Murphy ('The Desperate Hours') and the truth. Basehart is solid as a man who's confronted with a past he's forgotten about, or has he? Murphy however is great, she manages to come off as both lying and telling the truth at the same time, shrugging of his questions with ease, which in turn confuses him even more. The rest of the cast are also good, thankfully, as the movie is dialogue-heavy and has a pretty slow pace, especially in the first half.

Visually the movie combines 2 opposites. The opening scene as well as the climax are shot imaginatively, appealing to noir heads. The rest of the movie however is shot in a mostly shadow-less, almost TV-like, manner. Having said that, DoP Gerald Gibbs ('No Orchids For Miss Blandish') does a nice job. The climax inside a studio set is beautifully shot, with some creative shots and angles, including a fist fight that moves in and out of a light illuminating a projection screen used for dailies, projecting a shadow fistfight. It stands in stark contrast with the rest of the movie but it also makes the climax more effective. All in all, it's a good drama/thriller that skirts into noir territories. 7/10

a rainy day in the upper Midwest,and waiting to pick up my grandson from school. had me turning on TCM during it's summer under the stars to see who was being featured today. Constance Cummings I was unfamiliar with, however in the previous movie along with Cummings Ralph Bellamy and Irene Dunne stared. I began watching " finger of guilt. having grown up watching 20,000 leagues under the sea with Richard basehart? ( I think that was the name of the series) I began to watch this film. I love location movies, in particular London in the mid 50's. what a terrific movie. basehart was outstanding and Mary Murphy was absolutely stunning. her beauty and the role she played was outstanding. the supporting actors were great. all recognizable , and such pro's. that made a low budget film so wonderful. really a great surprise for a rainy day. wonderful movie !

Reggie Wilson (Richard Basehart) is worn out and recounts his story to his doctor. His Hollywood career ended after an affair with his boss's wife. He decided to pick up the pieces and move back to England. He married Lesley, daughter of a film producer and he's back in the game. It is all under threat when he starts receiving blackmail letters from a woman whom Reggie claims not to know.

I really like the premise. I don't like the progression of the last act. I don't get the pub meeting. I don't get their conversation. I don't get him for that section. There are obvious possible answers to the mystery woman. I kept waiting for him to get there. I don't like him discovering her with him on that set and redoing the dialogue. I'm not impressed with the reveal. I would redo the whole third act.

"Finger of Guilt" was directed by Joseph Losey and written by Howard Koch, under a pseudonym - both he and Losey were called to testify during the Red Scare and refused. Both men were certainly capable of interesting work; somehow this film comes off as not that special. The problem may be that it was originally 95 minutes and the version shown is 84. That can make a huge difference.

Richard Basehart is a film executive who left Hollywood after a scandal. Now he is in England, married to the boss' daughter (Lesley Wilson) with an excellent job at a studio, run by his father-in-law (Roger Livesey).

Reggie (Richard Basehart) has been receiving letters from someone he first believes is a fan, but the letters have become more aggressive, stating that they had an affair, and that she wants to continue it. Reggie is positive he doesn't know the woman, let alone had an affair with her.

He shows them to his boss Ben (Livesey). Then his wife receives a letter from this person, and Reggie decides to find her and confront her. His wife insists on accompanying him. The posts come from Newcastle, and they find the address, a rooming house.

The woman (Mary Murphy) turns out to be an actress and she knows way too much. She knows what he drinks and how he drinks it, where he's traveled -- Reggie begins to think he has a double personality. Meanwhile everyone seems to believe her, including his wife.

I wouldn't call this a film noir; it is an interesting movie that keeps you guessing but I for one was disappointed in the denouement.

Constance Cummings plays an actress, an old lover of Reggie's, who is supposed to star in his film, which is in jeopardy. She is excellent, as is Basehart.

I won't say this is a bad film at all, it just doesn't have Losey's artistic touches. Having seen films he made with Dirk Bogarde, this just seemed like an ordinary film for him. But again, I haven't seen the uncut version.

Worth checking out.

There are a couple of scenes in this mystery drama between "Reggie" (Richard Basehart) and "Evelyn" (Mary Murphy) that are actually quite effective. The latter woman has become the stalker of the former, putting great pressure on his marriage to "Lesley" (Faith Brook) even though he swears blind that he has never even met her! When the couple travel to Newcastle to confront the woman, things take a turn for the worst when she presents a signed photo of him... What's going on? Well, having teed it up quite intriguingly, the rest of the plot falls away pretty quickly as Constance Cummings (the lovestruck actress "Kay") and his fair but suspicious boss "Ben" - the underused Roger Livesey - feature in a declining story of duplicity and plotting that doesn't sustain the psychological element well, but degenerates into a rather messy and clunky affair. Basehart is competent - all you could ever really say about him, and Livesey's voice always had an effect in a film, but otherwise it's all about the first - engaging - twenty minutes.