Whirlpool

A woman is taken terrible advantage of by a hypnotist in "Whirlpool," a 1949 film starring Gene Tierney, Jose Ferrer, and Richard Conte, directed by Otto Preminger. Tierney is the wife of a successful psychiatrist who is caught shoplifting. She is helped by Ferrer, a hypnotist who steps in during her interrogation. He works with her to help her solve some of her problems, but he adds some other hypnosis as well.

This isn't a great Preminger. The acting is good, but the script is weak. First of all, is it really possible to hypnotize someone that completely? I don't know. What I do know is that it's absolutely against all ethics to talk about a patient with anyone as freely as Conte does. Since a good deal of the plot hinges on his breaking of that doctor-patient privilege, the story doesn't hold up.

Gene Tierney is her usual beautiful self. This is not, however, a role that plays to her strengths as an actress. She's sympathetic but doesn't explore the range of the role enough. She more easily played an icy or feisty type. In those days, as actresses neared 30, studios became less interested, and Tierney found herself in roles which she was not particularly right for - or that wasted her talent just to fulfill her contractual obligations. Ferrer is excellent as the oily hypnotist, keeping his voice even when he was saying the most outrageous things. Conte is very good as well as Tierney's husband.

All in all, this was interesting to watch, but it could have been much better given the talent behind and before the camera.

Part psychological drama, part film-noir. The beautiful wife of the famous psychoanalyst Dr. William Sutton, gets caught stealing an expensive pin from a department store. The infamous astrologer David Korvo comes to her aide but for a price. Through hypnosis, Mrs. Ann Sutton will unconsciously become a party to an elaborate scheme involving murder. What's most interesting about this film is the relationship between psychology and astrology. Are they both pseudo-sciences? Psychological tricksters preying on the weaknesses inherent in the human psyche? Mrs. Sutton suffers from the condition Kleptomania, but is caught between the patriarchal righteousness of her husband, "Stay as you are, as you've always been - healthy and adorable" and the cold cynicism of Mr. Korvo, "A successful marriage is usually based on what a husband and wife don't know about each other." Both Dr. Sutton and Mr. Korvo are bright guys adept at exploiting human weakness in others (especially Ann's), but both fall prey to a shared weakness: wounded vanity. An interesting film that is well worth watching. Jose Ferrer as Korvo is a standout but Gene Tierney seems to have lost her fire and ends up sleepwalking through the film, even when she is not hypnotized.

Movies were meant to entertain, and not all movies can be a "Citizen Kane" but this movie does what it's meant to do. Gene Tierney, perhaps the most beautiful actress ever to grace the screen, and highly under rated, handles the task of playing the fragile, accused murderess in the movie. An odd choice but Jose F. does a great job too...his hospital scene still makes me wince when he gets up from his bed! Barbara O'Neil (aka, Scarlet's mother) pops up in the most unlikeliest of places, but I have a new appreciation for her work. She adds style and elegance to every movie she appears in, including this one as the murdered socialite. Sure the movie might have some flaws, but if you listen carefully everything can be explained. It's great viewing time and again.

This is well enough written and well enough directed and shot, Gene Tierney, Richard Conte and Jose Ferrer cannot be faulted and yet there is some a little lacking here. All begins well but I think Ferrer's character is just too horrid and as his role and control over Tierney is increased the fact that he is so unlikeable begins to work against the film. We should have a greater understanding why women fall for this piece of s*** and his confident use of hypnotism. So proficient is he that towards the end his mastery of self hypnosis rather stretches credibility too far. The role of the married woman, her perceived hysteria/mania and the wonders (or not) of hypnotism combine to drive this noirish movie more into what was once called 'a woman's picture'. It is still interesting and holds the attention, especially with regard to the shining performance of Tierney but could perhaps have been trimmed just a little.

In a movie like "Whirlpool" you must take the good together with the weaknesses and naivety. The story is reasonably interesting and entertaining: the quack doctor Korvo (Jose' Ferrer) hypnotizes and cheats Ann Sutton (Gene Tierney), the spouse of a distinguished psychoanalyst (Richard Conte). A mysterious murder ensues... Unfortunately, some twists of the story are unplausible, to say the least. The moody atmosphere and the suspense are tame, even for the standards of the 1940's.

The black and white cinematography and the use of the camera are excellent. The direction by Otto Preminger is sound. The job of the cast is very good, especially by Jose' Ferrer, Gene Tierney and Charles Bickford, as the old, life-weary policeman. Richard Conte is less convincing, possibly due to the uneasy character he has to play: a famous analyst who, indeed, is incredibly dumb in getting the mental problems of his adorable spouse. There is a certain evidence that old masters of film-making had no much esteem of psychoanalysis: here Dr. Sutton seems far less competent in psychology than the quack doctor Korvo.

The major credit of "Whirlpool" is the presence of Gene Tierney. Her divine beauty shines through the film, although it somewhat makes Dr. Sutton seem even more stupid. I say: Sutton neglects Gene Tierney, to go to some blasted scientific conference. Are you kidding or what? And Gene has some scenes to show her outstanding talent as an actress. For instance, see Gene at the police station, first dizzy at her voids of memory, thereafter bravely facing and ill-using her husband, who thinks her to be an adulteress (another great job by Sutton! He is really a genius!).

Thus Gene Tierney's class, loveliness, radiant beauty, talent are largely enough to erase the defects of "Whirlpool". Let me recommend this nice movie.