Nightmare

This is a splendid early wartime thriller, with the wonderful plot twist that a corpse with a knife in his back is found and disposed of, but then reappears the next day in the same place with another knife in his back. A Nazi spy code-named SI-10 turns out to be identical with the license plate of his Lagonda, in which a secret microphone/speaker is disguised as a dashboard cigarette lighter. This is the only film ever produced by Dwight Taylor, the well known screenwriter who also scripted this. The main appeal of this film however is the powerful presence of the intensely disturbed Diana Barrymore, who combines womanly charm and fascination with a violent streak so terrifying and uncontrollable that it has rarely been encountered so unequivocally on screen. So powerful is this unsettling violence in her nature, that her tragic life story and suicide all too amply confirm that it was not just acting. As an actress, she was a natural. What a pity that she was so self-destructively mixed up, since a major talent was lost to the screen. She could have been the greatest Barrymore of them all if she could have held herself together. Brian Donlevy does very well as the whimsical American who gets mixed up in this story because he has been 'bombed-out' in the London Blitz while dressed in his dinner jacket. There are no gag lines in this script. It is a dark and brooding work, made darker by the London Blackout of course. There are many highly tense moments, and this thriller really works.

Brian Donleavy finds himself mixed up in a curious muddle of spy intrigue, as the corpse he initially agrees to help Diana Barrymore get rid of most unexpectedly returns next night to the same place with knife in his back and all, so they have to do away with it a second time, which proves more difficult, as this is an advanced spy intrigue still in the beginning of the second world war with Nazis all over the place working for Germany in Britain, particularly Scotland, as it appears later. It is not a bad film, although rather mediocre and superficial, but you must not miss the whisky war in the end. Diana Barrymore is beautful and makes the right impression as something enigmatical out of this world, while Brian Donleavy blunders on as usual with obligatory American rudeness. It's great entertainment but not much more, especially today, since the war and its initial perils are over since more than 75 years.

1942's "Nightmare" was a higher budget 'B' from Universal, who were hoping that name value would make a star out of top billed Diana Barrymore (John's daughter, Drew's aunt). Unfortunately, her obvious talent failed to translate into box office success, quickly retiring from the screen, only to star in tabloid headlines for the rest of her unhappy life (dead at age 38 of a drug overdose in 1960). This particular feature may be her finest showcase, with a most unorthodox leading man in 40 year old Brian Donlevy, whose character, an American stranded in London, raises nary an eyebrow when she asks him to dispose of a dead body in her upstairs study. We later find that the corpse is that of her long unseen husband (Henry Daniell), who turned up on her doorstep in time to be murdered by persons unknown, but not before offering up a dying clue with his last breath. Understandably fearing that she might be arrested, and puzzled when the corpse winds up back in the study after being safely transported across town hours before, she ends up swiping a car so they can escape to Scotland to visit her wealthy cousin (Gavin Muir). Brian Donlevy proved to be an underrated leading man, but did fine work here, and in Fox programmers "Half Angel," "Born Reckless," and especially "Midnight Taxi." Henry Daniell is criminally wasted, but other small roles are well played by such familiar performers as Arthur Shields, Hans Conreid, John Abbott, and Ian Wolfe (playing a nastier butler than usual). Holds up fairly well until the end, but definitely NOT a horror film, despite its status among Universal's SHOCK! package of genre titles issued to television in the late 50's (Pittsburgh's CHILLER THEATER never showed it, but Minneapolis' HORROR INCORPORATED did).

Another one of those "wrongfully accused man and woman on the run" thrillers, notable only as one of the few starring vehicles for John Barrymore's daughter Diana. Brian Donlevy is slightly miscast as a down-on-his-luck gambler who inexplicably gets involved with a woman who may have killed someone. Also Nazis because 1942. It's all rather muddled and hard to follow or care. Donlevy's dialogue makes me think his part was written with Humphrey Bogart or maybe Alan Ladd in mind. For her part Diana Barrymore has a bland screen presence and spits out her lines like they taste as bad as they sound. Supporting cast is ok. Slow pace with no memorable scenes. Not a particularly good picture.

Diana Barrymore and Brian Donlevy star in "Nightmare" from 1942.

Daniel Shane (Brian Donlevy) roams the streets of London, having lost his business in an air raid. He overhears a couple talking about putting a key under the mat as they leave; he lets himself in, finds some eggs, cooks them, and eats.

A young woman, Leslie Stafford (Barrymore) enters, and Daniel explains his predicament. She doesn't want him to leave. He explains he's sailing to America with the shirt on his back to join the war effort. She promises him money and a new suit if he will do her a favor.

She takes him upstairs, and inside a room is a man, head on a desk, knife in his back. She asks Daniel to get rid of the body. It's her husband; she claims she didn't kill him.

Daniel does what she asks. Only one problem - the body shows up again in exactly the same place! Now they get out, heading for her cousin's in a car that each thinks belongs to the other. It doesn't.

A likeable cast enlivens this film, which has some witty dialogue. Donlevy is terrific as he tries to sort out what he's gotten himself into - unafraid, relaxed, and seeing it all as a challenge.

Diana Barrymore is very good; she was a lovely actress. Unfortunately, her personal problems got in the way, and she was dead by the age of 38. When she was down on her luck, Tyrone Power gave her money. A sad life.

I immediately recognized Hans Conried, Uncle Tonoose from the Danny Thomas Show, in a small role. I'm not sure why I recognized him.

Entertaining film.