La casa del corvo

Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, and Leslie Caron star in "The Man with a Cloak," a 1951 thriller set in 1848 New York. A young woman (Caron) comes to New York to get money for her boyfriend's political cause from his grandfather (Calhern). Grandpa is in the clutches of his ex-girlfriend turned housekeeper (Stanwyck) and a surly butler (Joe De Santis) who are waiting for the old man to die so they can get his money. The Caron character thinks they are trying to kill him, so she appeals to an apparent ne'er do well who hangs at the local bar, Dupin (Cotten) for help.

This is a slow-moving story for sure, but Cotten has some great dialogue nonetheless. Stanwyck looks beautiful and is very good as the duplicitous woman. Alas, these are film careers on the wane, as evidenced by the smallness of the film. Caron is quite young and appealing, and of course, her star would go up and up. The ending has a twist that is quite fun. I have no idea if it's historically preposterous or not, but this movie needed a kick and it was a good one. Certainly worth seeing for its stars.

A semi-historical costume drama about literature's first detective (or his author), as played by Joseph Cotton. The acting is excellent all around. Cotton is good, he doesn't try to do too much with his role, & it would have been tempting to ham it up during some drinking scenes, but he underplays his part nicely. Barbara Stanwyck is deliciously evil as she tries every imaginable trick to achieve her goal. Leslie Caron is cute & believable as a French woman in a role tailor made for her. Joe De Santis does well as the heavy. Louis Calhern overpowers each scene he's in, but that's what his character calls for. Another thing I enjoyed about this film is that it's apparently headed towards several cliches, but manages to avoid them before getting there & doesn't follow the usual expected plot pattern. It's by no means a Film Noir, but it shares some very snappy dialog with that genre, especially between Cotton & Stanwyck. If the film had a little more suspense or mystery, & it would have been a real winner. I rate it 7/10.

Though the mystery man is in reality no mystery man--most viewers will be able to identify the literary figure from the beginning--this movie gem now almost forgotten is well written, well acted, and well presented. It still packs a wallop, filled with thrills and suspense. Not surprisingly, the leads give outstanding performances as one would expect from the likes of Joseph Cotten, Barbara Stanwyck, Louis Calhern, and Leslie Caron. What is surprising is how well Jim Backus (Mr. Magoo) as Flaherty the good-hearted if cynical bartender shines in a small part, as does Joe De Santis, now known mainly for his TV work, playing the sinister and potentially deadly Martin, the butler. Margaret Wycherly too plays Mrs. Flynn, the pessimistic yet wily housekeeper, to perfection.

The story by detective novelist John Dickson Carr while not all that original is aided by a witty script by Frank Fenton. The plot is a rehash of the age-old ploy of a group of hangers-on after an old man's fortune, this time led by a conniving siren. What makes this one somewhat fresh is the introduction of a historical character and a pretty French guest who supplies intrigue smiting of revolutionary Europe in 1848, in the aftermath of the fall of Napoleon's empire. There is also an unexpected death to make it all the more interesting. All in all an entertaining film that deserves more recognition.

A curious film hampered by an overwritten and stagy script, Man With a Cloak starts off looking like it might deserve to be as forgotten as it apparently is. However it recovers nicely when we see its plot unfold. Joseph Cotten plays Dupin, an intellectual, fond of drinking, but without a steady income, who spends much of his time in the local establishment owned by the kindly yet pragmatic Flaherty (Jim Backus). The young French woman Madeline Minot (Leslie Caron) arrives in New York from France with a letter of introduction from her fiancée, now manning the barricades in Paris, to his grandfather, the wealthy but dying Charles Therverner (Louis Calhern) who must spend his last days surrounded by the avaricious staff of the house, who impatiently await his death, in the vain hope that they will somehow get his money. Barbara Stanwick, as the head of the house, and Joe De Santis as the brutish and menacing butler, along with Margaret Wycherly as the housekeeper, have waited years for the old man to die, and are now confronted with the arrival of Madeline Minot, who is also seeking the old man's fortune although for the altruistic purpose of aiding the establishment of a republic in France. While the dialog tends towards the verbose, the story maintains your interest, especially the unlikely romance of sorts between Stanwick and De Santis, a romance based not on any mutual attraction, but on their shameless complicity in hastening along the dying process. Cotten, as Dupin, manages to come between them and in the process infuriates the butler though his anger is played with taut control by De Santis, whose performance is memorable. All in all, it is one of those films, that if you can catch it on TCM, is definitely worth watching.

I suspect that this was thought of as a small production by MGM at the time, but it's got two of my favorites, both of whom were perhaps not quite as "big" as they had been a few years earlier: Stanwyck and Cotten (maybe the only time he was mustachioed on film?). This film has a lot going for it: wonderful score by David Raksin, the rich voices of the principals, Louis Calhern chewing up all of the period scenery, and strong black-and-white photography. It's a period thriller, but a leisurely one, with a nice sense of atmosphere. The script has some lively exchanges between characters, although the artifice shows a bit sometimes. Stanwyck's character is a little ambiguous, but that seems appropriate in a way. Always-reliable supporting players Joe DeSantis and Margaret Wycherly (the terrifying mum in "White Heat") are fine as the cohorts of Stanwyck's "Lorna Bounty"--what a great name! And there's a beautiful raven too. What more can you ask for?