Sangue nel sogno

It is told that STRANGE ILLUSION was made in little over two weeks with very, very limited funds and fading star power. But director Edgar G. Ulmer had full reins to do what he could with what he had. Still a decent B-movie with plenty of intrigue. The opening "allusive dream" of college lad Paul Cartwright(Jimmy Lydon)is to set up the story line. His well respected father dies mysteriously in a train/car accident which leads to haunting nightmares in which his father warns him of oncoming danger to his mother(Sally Eilers)caused by a mysterious stranger that wants to cause harm to the family. Inter the mystery man Brett Curtis(Warren William)introduced as the widow Cartwright's suitor. Lydon's character becomes a little obsessed with Curtis wooing his mother and making disturbing advances toward his younger sister. Seeking help sorting out circumstances and illusions, Paul turns to a friend of the family Dr. Vincent(Regis Toomey). Next comes maneuvering in and out of a sanitarium and the revelation of false identity and the reason for the unfinished plot to cause destruction of the Cartwright family. This is an enjoyable little psychological melodrama. Also in the cast are: Charles Ant and George Reed.

Much has been made of Mr. Ulmer's talent, and here, he makes good use of it. While someone on the order of a brooding Farley Granger, for example, would have been preferable as the lead, James Lydon, nonetheless, turns in a commendable job as Paul Cartwright, a college student haunted by prophetic dreams. It's genuinely refreshing for a change, to look back upon a time, when teen-agers were still presented in a wholesome and appealing light. And, Mr. Lydon, movieland's "Henry Aldrich" certainly had the credentials for those traits. But, here, Lydon is caught in a story of deathly threats, with implications far more threatening, than the "Golly--Gee!" consequences of smashing his date's corsage for the Senior Prom.

As for the plot, Paul, manages to prevent his wealthy widowed mother from marrying a male gold-digger, with a string of unsolved murders in his past. Naturally, Paul has to undergo any number of travails before the violent denouement, including amateur "detective" work that triggers both a feigned and a near real nervous collapse. He is even "voluntarily" committed to an asylum where further sinister developments befall him. The ending, cleverly finds him lost in an unconscious dream state again, but now enjoying a vision of a liberated and happy future.

Mr. Lydon was "slumming" at PRC, on loan from Paramount, and preparatory to his turns with glamorous Elizabeth Taylor in "Life With Father" and "Cynthia" both glossy, expensive, mainline productions.

Nonetheless, this PRC production possesses relatively handsome art direction and production values, given that, based on production files with the American Film Institute, it was actually shot in just 15 days, (as opposed to the erroneous oft-cited 6 day schedule.) By the way, take a good, hard, look at the exteriors of the Lydon family chateau in this. Look familiar? Yes, it's the same house used as Robert Walker's home in "Strangers on a Train" and June Lockhart's in "Bury Me Dead."

All told, if you enjoy crime stories focused on young people trapped in traumatic circumstances, it's definately worth a look.

Although I would hesitate to call it "film noir," Strange Illusion is a tightly woven, intriguing mystery. For a Poverty Row production, the writers and Ulmer paced the film well and kept it interesting. The acting, although amateurish at times, doesn't distract from a believable story. My only real complaint about the film is the music-- too much and too loud.

Brett's penchant for teenage girls is a refreshingly realistic perversion for a film of the '40s. It also stands in stark contrast to the "gee whiz" scenes which seem lifted straight out of "Leave It to Beaver."

I rate it 7/10.

The movie just goes to show cheap doesn't necessarily mean bad. It's a poverty row PRC production. But the movie also has a fine cast, distinguished direction, and expert craftsmanship. On the other hand, the story tends to convolute, and we never do find out the exact nature of the "strange illusion" that anticipates real events. But then an occult touch lends the movie a mysterious nature beyond the who killed young Paul's (Lydon} father. And that opening sequence, apparently filmed through a gauzy filter, remains a real grabber.

Lydon's simply excellent in the pivotal role. Hard to believe he was only twenty at the time since he's so well poised. His teen friends are a lively bunch, showing what teen behavior and slang was like even in those war years. (See if you agree: Jayne Hazard (sister, Dorothy) looks like a fresh-faced young Marilyn Monroe.) But the real grabber is Warren William. What a creepy character his Curtis is, seeing his face light up whenever he spies a nubile young thing like Lydia (McLeod). Actually, having a near-pedophile as a character is a pretty daring move for the time. And William transitions so smoothly from the masterful to the lustful that he steals the film from heavy competition. Too bad this distinctive performer is largely forgotten. He's definitely among the rewards of watching old movies.

Anyhow, cult director Ulmer again shows how to shape difficult material into an intriguing final product, despite budgetary drawbacks.

For a PRC film Strange Illusion is a top drawer item. It's on a PRC shoe string budget to be sure, but Edgar Ullmer is a director who works good with low budgets and in this case some offbeat casting.

James Lydon who most people will know as the radio and film Henry Aldrich is far from the goofy juvenile persona of that role. He's a rather serious student who is deeply concerned about Warren William who has been paying court to his mother Sally Eilers. Lydon's father was killed six months earlier, among other things he was the former Lieutenant Governor of California. His father was also a criminologist who interested himself in the case of a psychopathic killer who is believed dead, but Lydon thinks William's the guy.

What's really creepy in this film is that William in fact has been a patient at a sanitarium under the care of psychiatrist Charles Arnt. No mystery here, we learn early on that Arnt has William working for him. Psychiatrists intimidate people because they are students of the mind and know what makes people tick. Having one with a killer at his beck and call is a frightening concept unto itself. And William has his own agenda.

The lucky break for Lydon is that he also has a psychiatrist at his beck and call, his uncle on his mother's side Regis Toomey.

Strange Illusion is a film that will scare you far more than some blood and gore things because it explores things we don't like to think about. And that other worldly ending is a truly unique experience. I can't say any more about it.

This is one you have to see for yourself.