Prendi la mia vita

Hugh Williams and Greta Gynt are super as the couple trying to prove that he didn't murder an old flame at her London lodgings. He is convicted largely due to a formidable prosecution from a suitably ebullient Francis L. Sullivan but she determines to find out what really happened. The odd thing is that there are no photographs of the victim; it's as if she had no recent past... Then serendipity takes a hand and Gynt happens upon a tune that takes her to Edinburgh and soon she is on the trail to the truth. Ronald Neame's first go from the director's chair and it's a suspenseful, taut film noir well worth catching up with.

I just wish I knew who dubbed Greta Gynt - she had a beautiful voice.

Gynt stars with Hugh Williams, Marius Goriing, and Francis L. Sullivan in "Take My Life," a British noir from 1947.

Williams is Nicholas Talbot, the husband and manager of opera star Phillipa Shelley (Gynt). Opening night of a new opera, an old girlfriend of Nicholas' shows up. Once they are home, Phillipa teases her husband about her; he becomes annoyed, and they start fighting. During the fight, she throws something at him and injures him in the forehead. He leaves.

The next day, the old girlfriend is found dead, and Nicholas matches the description of a man seen leaving her apartment. He is arrested.

Phillipa takes it upon herself to investigate the murder and clear Nicholas.

It's an okay drama; the evidence of the murder is somewhat flimsy. Greta Gynt was very beautiful, and I have enjoyed her films. The prosecuting counselor (Sullivan) brought a lot of life to the film, as a forerunner of Charles Laughton in WItness for the Prosecution.

It's a great film with great performances.... as so many reviewers here express that same sentiment so much more eloquently than I ever could....! The poorer reviews are critical in areas that only time has given them the benefit of.... 'Even' as a black and white movie there is a wonderful atmosphere that a color version could never hope to meet let alone exceed..!

If you tend to enjoy good entertainment with no pre-conceived expectations then this film will most certainly deliver.....

I sometimes wish that this fantastic app and website would also list a few of the more contemporary reviews so as to provide a sense of the film's context to ordinary film goers.... but even with that option, unfortunately, there would be very few that people might have written let alone shared....!

Minor classic ! "Take My life" is one of the better films of its era in British film making. A Rank Film that catched the attention of Hollywood and brought its leading actress Greta Gynt to the film capitol of the world. The merits of "Take My Life" is in its fast paced and skillfully directed hands of Ronald Neame. The feeling of suspense is carefully distributed throughout the film via a dramatic developement that never leavs you unexcited or bored. The actors are controlled and focused. One can tell that the actors enjoyed the challenge of a script that required high acting skills to pull off. And The Rank Studioes gathered their best talents to make the film a minor classic of British film-noire style. "Take my Life" was widly distributed all over the world and is remembered as Greta Gynts best liked film, both by her and her fans. So take a risk with this film if you want to spend an evening (or day) of cinemagic style and suspense. You wont walk off dissapointed if you are lover of vintage films

Brilliant thriller with a musical touch to it, the key to the solution being a tiny melody putting the primadonna Greta Gynt on the track. This to me unknown actress dominates the film with a vengeance, never giving up on her lonely and heroic quest to clear her husband, wrongly accused of murder because of unfortunate circumstances speaking against him. The other great female part is Rosalie Crutchley, here very young but already deeply fascinating with her demonic suavity. Francis Sullivan is domineering as usual as the prosecutor and as perfectly objective as the lawyer Jaggers in "Great Expectations" the previous year, but the most interesting part is Marius Goring. He always makes overly intelligent parts risking to run amuck, but here you get closer to his hidden menace than ever. It was Ronald Neame's debut as a director, and it matches more than well any sustained thriller by Hitchcock or Anthony Asquith. It's brilliantly written, flattering the audience by always letting them know more than the actors, and the finale is a cliffhanger with a surprise to it. It was a long time since you last saw such a clever thriller.