Acque scure

Most of the IMDb reviewers found something to like about this odd little flick, and so did I. For sure, it's not at the top of the thriller heap by any stretch, but it has some good moments and decent casting. The plot is standard for '40's Hollywood (translation: it would never happen in real life) but it gives Oberon's glam lady-in-distress an excuse to freak out and hook up with a conveniently sympathetic doctor, adequately portrayed by Tone. The supporting cast is the main recommendation here---particularly Thomas Mitchell, the gifted character actor. He rises above the melodramatic material and makes a convincing mystery man. Reliable Elisha Cook Jr.--who apparently had a long career playing weird loners with one facial expression--is a natural scene-stealer. The other players are there to try and make the plot believable while leads Oberon and Tone do their drama thing. (Credibility would have been improved if the characters---remember, this is set near New Orleans on a plantation---had even a trace of Southern accent. Nobody noticed when they were filming this thing???)

Leslie Calvin is the sole survivor of a submarine sinking and, having seen other survivors die before they could be saved, her mental health has suffered and it is only the help of Dr George Grover that sees her making progress. To aid her recovery she heads out to see her relatives on their plantation but is bothered when nobody is there to collect her. Arriving at the home she meets her aunt, uncle and extended family for the first time and tries to settle in. However a series of mental triggers set Leslie's recovery back and it almost seems that her family are deliberately being insensitive.

With very few votes on this site, I decided to watch this film on the basis that very few people have seen it. Unsure of the plot I braced myself for a bland melodrama when the film opened with a hysterical Leslie but I was pleasantly surprised when the film became something much darker and more interesting. I can't go into more detail without spoiling it for you, but the plot sees a group of people trying to drive Leslie deeper into her madness; on this level it maybe doesn't work quite as well as it should have done because the plot does have holes in it but these are not that much of an issue because it does manage to do a lot of other things well enough to cover the gaps and carry the film.

The first of these is the atmosphere, created by lighting, cinematography and direction. It is as close as a real swamp and has a genuine air of tension and creepiness to it throughout. The material is a lot darker than I had expected and, once the real hearts of the characters are revealed I was quite taken by the quite moral void they seemed to inhabit. Of course without the actors this wouldn't work as well as it did but a mix of good performances and clever casting means it was pretty good. Oberon is excellent in the lead role and is convincing in the way in which she seems unsure of her own sanity while also being genuinely afraid of things around her (or herself?). Beside her Tone is far too bland and is much of a muchness but does meet the requirements on him well enough. Mitchell is a great bit of casting; much more famous for warmer, comic roles, he seems to relish the character and does well for the majority before excelling at the end. Cook Jr is as good as he often can be and plays "naïve/unhinged sidekick" pretty well. The rest of the cast are all strong enough but for me the film is worth seeing for the from Oberon and Mitchell.

Overall this is a very enjoyable little film that trades a lot on its atmosphere and main performances. The story is interesting even if it does have basic holes in it and dealing with logic problems by just ignoring them but for the reasons above I think this is well worth a wet weekend's viewing.

DARK WATERS is an engaging little movie with a great setting: the almost-deserted bayous of the American South, which provide a hostile backdrop to the hostile storyline. This is one of those descent-into-madness type movies, where you're never quite sure if the protagonist is losing his or her mind, or whether everyone really is out to get them. As such, it's one of the earliest variations on the theme I've seen.

The movie benefits from some strong players in the cast, notably Merle Oberon's lead, Leslie, who does the whole haunted-while-remaining-sympathetic thing very well. Franchot Tone, as the doctor who becomes involved in her case, is also very stalwart as a dependable hero type. Thomas Mitchell's villain has more than a touch of the Charles Laughtons about him, and of course there's a nice part for Elisha Cook Jr., too.

The story is quite slowly paced but it does take time to build the atmosphere and in the end it pays off with the doom-laden climax which finishes everything up as you would hope. As such films are usually all about the atmosphere, I think this one's readily up to the job.

A young woman, Leslie (Merle Oberon) is one of only a few survivors in a submarine accident that claimed the lives of her parents. Deeply traumatized, she goes to a relative's plantation to heal. She soon realizes that she's not safe, and turns to the local doctor (Franchot Tone) for help.

Elisha Cook, Jr., Fay Bainter, and Thomas Mitchell are the plantation residents, with Mitchell playing against type - rather than the absent-minded Uncle Billy of "It's a Wonderful Life," or the befuddled Mr. O'Hara, he's a calm conniver.

An exotically beautiful woman of mysterious background, Merle Oberon is excellent as Leslie, a real victim of post-traumatic syndrome if there ever was one. The elegant Tone gives her good support.

Nice, atmospheric film with a tense ending.

With a dark pertinence for the time of its release, Oberon is the scarred, traumatized survivor of a German U boat attack, which took the lives of her parents.

Invited to stay with family, who she has never met, alarm bells are ringing almost immediately when nobody meets her at the station and her relatives deny any knowledge of the telegram she sent, prior to her arrival. Shortly afterwards, the aforementioned correspondence is clearly seen....being slung out with the garbage. Herein lies Dark Waters' fundamental dilemma, it simply shows its foreboding hand way too soon. There is something stereotypical about the characters: Thomas Mitchell, dapper, cultivated, avuncular and seemingly unflappable, until he explodes over a plate of fried chicken. (Check out Alan Arkin in Little Miss Sunshine for further insight into this clearly sensitive subject). Faye Bainter is the affectionate, fussy, slightly eccentric aunt, who arouses Oberon's suspicions by putting her foot in it whenever she opens her mouth. Creepy, flirty Elisha Cook Jr, is the plantation boss, who Oberon finds deeply unsettling. At the opposite end of the spectrum, local doctor, Franchot Tone is a pillar of society and all round Mr Nice Guy.

Oberon feels increasingly threatened by otherworldly voices and a disconnected radio blasting out. Refusing food so often, that she must have been a prime candidate for Slimmer of the Year long before the final credits. Despite the impending doom, the movie never quite ignites or captivates. The waters may be dark, but they're not very deep. Everything comes off as mechanical and formulaic rather than spontaneous. In short the movie is missing that essential WOW! Factor, until.....the taut, tense exciting climax, amplified by its isolated and treacherous location, without which Dark Waters would be little more than a muddy puddle.