jonathan shankey

Just watched this last night. I'm a fan of Otto Preminger and was therefore full of hopes, but after a terrific opening 20 minutes, it sort of falls away after all that I think. However, what a fantastic performance from Charles Bickford as the Lieutenant. Brilliant. Worth it to see his performance alone -- Ferrer is wonderful in the opening scene when he defends Gene Tierney and generally adds the right dosage of menace, but the self-hypnosis in the hospital bed is unlikely and the final ten minutes in the house are vaguely ridiculous. The relationship between him and Tierney is very strong however. It is sad to think that Tierney struggled so much health-wise, because to my mind she was the most beautiful of her generation and is utterly plausible in any of the movies that I have come across..