Outrage

It was the first film dealing with the burning subject of rape.France,for instance,had to wait till 1977 to see a (female) director -Yannick Bellon- tackle this crime.Bellon had a different way to express her disgust in her "l'amour violé" :she showed the whole scene of the rape which lasted ten interminable minutes and she did not turn the audience into peeping toms ,far from it: most of the time,they had to look away .

Given the Hayes code ,and given the limitations she was working under,Lupino's movie is quite successful.We do not see the rape ,but its aftermath is depicted in lavish details:the scene at the office where the heroine cannot stand the familiar noises anymore is a great moment;the people on the street with their big smile who talk behind her back;the fiancé who cannot understand and who wants to carry on as if nothing has happened;every man becoming a living threat for her;all rings true.

It will take a man's patience,compassion and disinterested love to push Ann towards life again.

Ida Lupino is a name that we know for one of the most stunning beauties ever to appear on screen.

And the beauty is great.

So is the actress.

So is the director.

This is a stage fare sort of film. A great film has to work on stage as well as screen. A great film has to inspire kids to make believe, although the subject matter here probably is over the heads of most kids.

This is the story of a respectable young woman, a total beauty on the order of Ida herself, rich in values, who is sexually assaulted.

What she goes through after-wards is well depicted. Not only does Ida show us what the world sees, but she shows us what the young lady sees.

Throughout the film, we get textbook directing and more. Not only is it blocked like a professional stage director would block it, but it is given all the additives that film can give. To say more would be to spoil what will be a pleasant experience for the viewer.

I call it "perfect directing", but you can't have a film this perfect without perfect writing and acting as well. This film excels on all levels.

I am a stickler for credible characters in incredible circumstances. However, here, we have credible characters in credible circumstances, and we still watch with interest. It is a heart filled story that will leave the strong men in tears.

And it is not dated. Still relevant today. A hidden gem.

"Outrage" is about rape, though the word is never mentioned. Directed and cowritten by Ida Lupino, it concerns a young woman (Mala Powers) who is engaged to be married and is raped on her way home from work. Traumatized and filled with shame, she runs away from home. She ends up in a community where she is attended to by a minister. However, she doesn't tell him what happened to her. Problems arise.

Though made 56 years ago, the elements of the film ring true, and of course, feelings don't change - the victim thinks she's dirty and behaves as if she is the criminal.

Mala Powers gives a very good performance, exhibiting the shock, nervousness, and terror of the victim. Though the script meanders a bit, Lupino does an excellent job of directing, particularly the action scenes.

In 1950, this film was probably ahead of its time. It's good to see to show us where we were (particularly with no DNA tests or rape kits) and where we are.

Outrage is directed by Ida Lupino and Lupino co-writes the screenplay with Collier Young and Malvin Wald. It stars Mala Powers, Tod Andrews and Robert Clarke. Music is by Paul Sawtell and cinematography by Archie Stout.

Transport your mindset back to 1950 and you are in all probability going to admire this picture more than you would think. As is duly noted by other reviewers, this pic, and it's treatment of rape as a core subject matter, is dated as such, but that in no way lessens not only its impact and importance in the pantheon of film making, but also the fine work by Lupino. Lupino treads with careful guile, not resorting to sensationalism, it's a super piece of directing from one of the great ladies of cinema yore.

Pic's story deals with how Ann Walton (Powers) is raped and after the ordeal how she reacts to everyday life under her fragile mental state. The decisions she makes, her perception of things and ultimately a near cataclysmic event that brings things to the boil - sort of. Lupino adds in some imposing images, her film noir work serving her well, thus we get odd angles, ominous bulbous lamp lights, lonely streets and clown posters! The pursuit of Ann by a whistling wolf is frightening under any circumstance, but with Lupino adding her noir touches it's positively shattering.

Rest of the pic is tenderly played, a touch too sedate perhaps, while the appearance of a religious slant is forced and not the wisest of choices for the story, but ultimately it's not about mass market appeal. It's about being noticed and worthy, it achieves both for sure. 7/10

The didacticism and sheer sweetness (a function of film score as well as script and direction) of the cinematic action following the deft direction of a traumatic rape scene will strike many of today's viewers as dated. But upon closer inspection "Outrage" is subtle where least expected--both in terms of its understandings of rape and its expression of a feminine point of view in cinema.

Lupino will not allow a male finance's hasty and almost violent insistence on marriage immediately following the rape of the protagonist (played by Mala Powers) to become separated in the victim's--and by extension the viewer's--mind from the central theme, and plot-motivating device, of rape itself. The villainy of rape cannot be solved by the seemingly heroic gesture of the male, whose "sacrifice" places as much emphasis on the woman's exceptional circumstances as do the violation committed by the rapist. Such attempts to deny the reality of rape simply serve to ensure its persistence. The attempt to erase part of victim's past is another way of treating her as less than human.

The scene in which Powers' character hits an overly aggressive playboy with a wrench lacks the semblance of realism because Lupino shoots it from the point of view of the victim whose action in the present is dictated by the emotions triggered by her remembrance of the past. It's doubtful that any male director would have captured the scene in such non-violent, non-realistic detail and yet enabled us to see the action for what it is--an attempt by the character to erase the impression that the initial criminal act has left on her emotion-mental being.

Some modern viewers will no doubt accuse Lupino of being overly idealistic in portraying the rapist less as a criminal than himself the victim of an illness--one that would be curable, moreover, in a more socially aware and progressive culture. Unfortunately, the sheer logistics of psychological treatment leading to cures of those guilty of such heinous criminal acts will make Lupino's sentiments seem hopelessly naive to today's viewers. But is that sufficient reason to fault the director for acknowledging the gender divide as a two-way street?

Aside: Notice the scene in which the empowering new male friend is shown playing the piano from a camera POV just opposite his hands. In a subsequent scene, the piano is shown placed against the wall, which would make such a shot impossible.

As first I couldn't help but marvel at the similarity of a heavy detective to Hal March, host of the the highly popular "60,000 Question," prior to its exposure. Looking at the credits will reveal that it IS Hal March (the loss of 15-20 pounds obviously didn't hurt his career as much as the downfall of the popular quiz show).