Cry Wolf

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

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

"Cry Wolf" came along when Errol Flynn's career was in slight decline. He hadn't had a successful film at the box office for the last few years but the above film is interesting and reasonably intriguing. His character in "Cry Wolf" displays almost nothing of the usual character traits. He is rather austere and emotionally detached. Flynn could quite easily have been cast as a villain. The film is a lot more low key in comparison with other Errol Flynn films. The story mainly revolves around a big house with many acres of land out in the sticks. There aren't the usual lavish production values. The plot doesn't allow for any of the usual camaraderie or any shenanigans that the fans had come to expect from Flynn. The tone of the film is a lot more serious, perhaps a bit grim but still very watchable. As the female lead, Barbara Stanwyck plays a character who attends the reading of a will after learning that her husband has died. Her husband was the nephew of Errol Flynn, who is quick to question if Stanwyck is the genuine article after the family has never heard of her. Whilst her background is being investigated, Stanwyck stays at the family estate where not all is what it seems..... There is a bit of mystery about "Cry Wolf" until about the last 15 minutes when all is explained. The two leads engage upon a series of verbal assaults upon each other and with both giving their all. Worth watching.

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.

Just saw this last night for the first time. Must say that I loved Stanwyck running, leaping, jumping, being thrown by a horse, springing up again only to leap from an eight foot fence to the ground...This was clearly no stunt double. The gal was fleet of foot, and tenacious. She loved playing tough cookies, and that's what she served up here, a tough cookie who was really heroic and unafraid. She, as opposed to Flynn, does all the swashbuckling in this movie, and it's worth seeing just for that reason alone.

And it was suspenseful...I was really quite frightened of what she would find in the lab, in the lodge, in the dumb waiter...what's that about the cold cream??? I was so edgy after she scaled the fence into the lodge compound and got lost, that I had to turn off the volume so as not to hear the scary music. So the score really REALLY adds to the suspense.

I loved Errol Flynn in his early swashbucklers, and I really liked the character turns he took in Too Much Too Soon, and The Sun Also Rises and That Forsythe Woman. But here, he's just uneven..sometimes even blank, and then other times he's okay. Clearly the writers were trying to create a Max de Winter or Edward Rochester-type character ...is he good, or bad, sincere or lying? But the execution of the idea doesn't gel enough to satisfy.

So, the writing's choppy and shallow (especially the last 2 lines of dialogue and resolution), and there's not a TON of chemistry between Flynn and Stanwyck. And yes, the other roles are either over, or under written, so you end up with shadows or stereotypes. But still, I found it fun, and there's no reason why NOT to watch this movie, unless Rebecca or Jane Eyre or Pat & Mike is playing on another channel.