L'ombre sur le mur

A young girl(Gigi Perreau)suffers amnesia after witnessing her stepmother's murder. Zachary Scott is the husband mistakenly put in prison for the murder. Ann Southern, straying from her comedic roles, has trouble hiding her guilt and even thinks of causing harm to the little girl to keep her quiet.

Fast moving film-noir also starring John McIntire and Nancy Davis. This was before Miss Davis became Mrs. Ronald Reagan. Small roles for familiar Barbara Billingsley and Jimmy Hunt.

Unheralded little thriller with a number of nice touches. Little Gigi Perreau (Susan) has the pivotal role and comes through beautifully. If we don't identify with her or her emotional trauma, the movie doesn't work. Fortunately, we do. The movie scared the heck out of me as a boy, mainly because I was viewing the menace through the eyes of my peer, little Susan. Still, it's the movie's ability to engage even adults through Susan's eyes that drives the suspense. For the little girl, it's an adult world only dimly comprehended that one night turns so shockingly ugly, she must repress it totally. Nancy Davis Reagan-- perhaps surprisingly for many viewers-- is very persuasive as the doctor helping Susan to recover.

Looks like this was another B-movie from MGM's Dore Schary period when he was refashioning the studio's star-studded image. The under-rated Scott and Sothern are certainly playing against type, he as a kind-hearted father, she as a cold-hearted murderess. Oddly, the screenplay shares focus among these four players instead of centralizing one or two as is usually the case. In terms of actual screen time, it's probably Nancy Davis's movie, though she was likely too unknown to get star billing. Then too, whatever happened to Kristine Miller as Scott's faithless wife. She certainly looks the part and acts it wickedly.

Speaking of talented unknowns, director Pat Jackson put this neat little package together. His career appears a rather brief one, mainly in England, where he also directed several episodes of the cult TV series, The Prisoner. Too bad he disappeared so quickly, because there are a number of nice directorial touches here. Note Pike's (John McIntire) shadow engulfing Dell (Sothern) at movie's end indicating the retribution to come; the blurry special effects mirroring little Susan's traumatized mental state; the suggestive hair-drier closing over Dell's head like an electrocution helmet; the great noirish shot of Dell framed against ominous skyscrapers suggesting dark powers looming over Susan. Anyway, this all adds up to a very effective little thriller, proving that even though late to the party, MGM could B- movie with the best of them.

This is a very good B movie done in the noir style. Ray June was the cinematographer, and his deep focus work makes the film worth seeing all by itself. Note particularly the bedroom scene where everything is doubled. Zachary Scott, for a change, plays the typically confused noir male, and Ann Sothern, showing the force of period style, switches from Maisie to a somewhat tormented femme fatale. Enjoy!

This was a pretty decent movie. Nancy Davis (Reagan) was solid

as the psychiatrist trying to help little Susan (Gigi Perreau in a very

good performance) remember a horrible event which she had

witnessed. Zachary Scott, one of my favorites, proved real men can

handle supporting roles with as much flair as the more substantial

roles. And imaginative casting with Ann Southern as the baddie --

she handled it well without going over the top (as some

comedians are tempted to do with dramatic roles). Script could

have used a little more meat and the ending could have been a bit

more imaginative, but, all in all, not a waste of ninety minutes of

your time.

I'm convinced that movies that have SHADOW in the title have a better than average chance of being good flicks. This flick SHADOW ON THE WALL upholds that little axiom. It starts slow, but stick with it, it picks up steam quickly.

This one eschews the normal trappings of noir, such as the seedy private eye, and the femme fatale while maintaining the stark cinematography and riveting suspense. Ann Sothern turning in a surprising performance, always the good girl in movies, here the director plays on that, to create a character whose actions becomes ever more... egregious. And because she is so much one of us, one of the good people, we are carried along... with her fall.

A movie that ultimately revolves around four women as central characters, would hardly seem to fit the noirish mold, but this film is far less lifetime network and far more grim, and gritty. The only foray into the the world of Noir by its director Pat Jackson, and the only script ever done by its writer Hannah Lees, the movie is deserving of far more recognition than its received. A solid little thriller. *** out of **** stars.