User reviews

I wish I could have met Ida Lupino. When people ask who you if you could have 6 extraordinary 20th century persons over for dinner, well, for me one person would be her. I think she is now one of the great unsung and unprofiled personalities in the film industry. Her life story would make a great tele movie (Hey, Mr Bogdanovich........). Ida Lupino has been the driving force in many fascinating noir films of the 40s and 50s. I can remember being saddened at seeing her reduced to a horrible part in a ghastly AIP film is the late 70s. She was bitten by a big worm at the kitchen sink. Ugh. I should have contacted her then as she died not long after.. more from the part than the worm too. From High Sierra, Roadhouse and the extraordinary RKO thriller On Dangerous Ground, Ida Lupino was often the producer and the lead actress. Later, with her husband Howard Duff they produced many now timeless noir dramas that are still very engrossing today. One of them is JENNIFER which I think is the last film with a Monogram Pictures copyright. Monogram changed the company name formally to Allied Artists in 1953 and JENNIFER has both company names on the opening credits. This is a superior haunted house thriller equally as scary as both The Innocents and The Haunting made 8 years later. Really chilling and very creepy, this tiny film is exactly the sort of really good film Ida Lupino made and was responsible for. Try and find it...you will always remember it and as I feel, much admiration for this great and almost forgotten actress/producer.

I first caught up with Jennifer years ago while out of town when it showed up on TV in the middle of the night; I fell asleep before it ended but it stuck with me until I had to track it down. Its appeal is that, though there's not a lot to it, it weaves an intriguing atmosphere, and because Ida Lupino and Howard Duff (real life man-and-wife at the time) display an alluring, low-key chemistry. Lupino plays a woman engaged to house-sit a vast California estate whose previous caretaker -- Jennifer -- up and disappeared. (Shades of Jack Nicholson in the Shining, although in this instance it's not Lupino who goes, or went, mad). Duff is the guy in town who manages the estate's finances and takes a shine to Lupino, who decides to play hard to get. She becomes more and more involved, not to say obsessed, with what happened to her predecessor in the old dark house full of descending stairways and locked cellars. The atmospherics and the romantic byplay are by far the best part of the movie, as viewers are likely to find the resolution a bit of a letdown -- there's just not that much to it (except a little frisson at the tail end that anticipates Brian De Palma's filmic codas). But it's well done, and, again, it sticks with you. Extra added attraction: this is the film that introduced the song "Angel Eyes," which would become part of the standard repertoire of Ol' Blue Eyes.

In 1955 I took an entrance exam at Cambridge University, staying by myself in one of the old stone college buildings. One evening I went out to see a movie, which happened to be Jennifer. It's a classic creepy old house movie. Jennifer arrives to take over from the previous caretaker, who has mysteriously disappeared. She runs into a whole gamut of strange clues and spooky effects, pitched so you - and she -can't be sure if they are real or she's imagining them. Music and optical shock are used to great effect, with all the power that skillfully lit monochrome cinematography can deliver (considerable!!). At the end, she is reassured that it was all in her mind, and she's safe... till the very last shot, which opens up all the questions again, and still raises the hairs on my neck when I think of it. Going back to my room, I had to pass through a long set of dark cloisters - nearly didn't make it!! At least that's how it seemed back then. It would be great if the film were re-released on DVD, to see if its power persists today.

Ida Lupino gets a job as the caretaker of an abandoned estate. The previous owner, Jennifer, according to her cousin, Howard Duff, simply vanished. Something, however, was going on, and Miss Lupino comes to believe that she was killed... and that Duff, whom she is growing fond of, did it.

It's one of the many projects that Mr. & Mrs. Duff acted in together, and they do a nice job, even if some of the production makes me wince, particularly Ernest Gold's "Lookit me, maw!" score. But with James Wong Howe as the cinematographer, you know you're in for a good time, and he uses his deep focus techniques to make miss Lupino look tiny and trapped in a house that looks Caligariesque.

Jennifer stars real-life married couple Ida Lupino and Howard Duff from 1953, directed by Joel Newton.

No wonder Ida fell for Howard - he was quite the handsome hunk back then.

Lupino plays Agnes Langley, who takes a job as caretaker of a spooky mansion, where Duff is Jim Hollis, the financial manager for the family. The previous resident was a cousin, Jennifer who supposedly disappeared. Agnes is assured Jennifer won't be back.

Curious, Agnes begins to suspect there was more to Jennifer's story. She hears from a handyman that Jennifer worked for a big attorney and stole valuable papers. She finds Jennifer's diary and bank book and comes to two conclusions- Jennifer is dead somewhere in the house, and she was a blackmailer.

Gothic drama innovatively photographed with some good effects as Agnes wanders around the house hearing noises and looking nervous. Duff is a true gothic character- you don't know if he had anything to do with Jennifer's disappearance or if he's a good guy interested in Agnes.

Some scary moments and not much of a dénouement. Of note, this film introduced a Sinatra favorite, Angel Eyes.

Worth seeing.

I hate to say it, considering how much I admire Ida Lupino, but this film is a total flop. It was directed by 'Joel Newton', and is his sole directorial credit, so I suspect that may have been a pseudonym of someone else. Ida Lupino and her husband Howard Duff are the two leads. But despite their best efforts, the film is so badly made, so corny, and has such extremely ludicrous music that it is essentially worthless. It aims at being a sturdy film noir film, but it fails on all counts. James Wong Howe was the cinematographer, but even he is below par. His shots of 'a mysterious shadow' are not even good. In this same year, Lupino directed her brilliant film THE BIGAMIST (1953), and the previous year she had delivered a fine performance in ON DANGEROUS GROUND (1952), so she was not at all in decline at the time of JENNIFER. This is just one of those duds which all concerned must have wished to forget, and so should we.

Terse townspeople, a curt introduction, a missing person, and a handsome, massive, but empty estate: so begins 'Jennifer.' I appreciate how the movie works quickly to build an uneasy atmosphere, with good use of light and shadow in the sprawling manor, sound effects, and Ernest Gold's dramatic score to spark our imagination. A movie of such a slight length must necessarily either maintain a quick pace to communicate all its plot, or be light on plot in the first place. In this instance, I think it's a bit of both.

Whether it's fast dialogue or a rapid progression and succession of scenes, protagonist Agnes is kept on edge as a lot of ideas are thrown her way or otherwise enter her mind. This also serves to keep the audience engaged - partly by its very nature, but also partly because the scenario as it presents to us is more than a little ham-handed, and one must actively maintain their suspension of disbelief. There's extraordinary focus from Agnes and around town on missing Jennifer after she enters the Gale House, and more than a few details in the house that catch Agnes' attention and make her nervous seem terribly innocuous - in both instances, more than is realistically sensible. As the character of Jim Hollis remarks at one point - "When you jump to a conclusion, you really leap!" It's a lot to take in, and for much of the runtime one teeters on the precipice of "Okay, but where is this going?" - not least of all as there seems to be little actual narrative advancement.

Joel Newton's direction broadly doesn't seem particularly noteworthy, though he does arrange some fine shots and scenes. The cast's performances, likewise, are suitable - though only star Ida Lupino stands out at all, demonstrating her superb range and nuance, and ability to wholly inhabit a character. Honestly, 'Jennifer' as a whole is much the same - kind of unremarkable, but with some bright spots. This is especially true as the feature seems to hold the bulk of its plot in reserve until the last 5-10 minutes. For all the scattered ideas that dot the previous hour, in all that time the story just doesn't feel like it's going anywhere.

That sense is rather unfortunate, as it turns out that all the while, the screenplay was (to mixed degrees of success) laying the groundwork for the finale. The plot development is still unquestionably thin, but it seems modestly more sensible in light of where 'Jennifer' finishes. Those scattered ideas that populate most of the film are either deliberate red herrings, or very underhandedly dropped hints as to the ending and actual explanation for the course of events. But all these notions, and even the conclusion itself, are not written or realized very cohesively. As opposed to the typical "trail of breadcrumbs," this is more like a handful of breadcrumbs tossed at random in an area - some are meaningful, some aren't. I do appreciate how furtive the ending is in its reveal, declining the forceful epiphany adopted in most modern flicks of a similar tenor in favor of an approach so emphatically understated as to be almost dismissive. Any viewer who isn't tuned in to that specific low-key frequency of revelation may well think the movie ended without any resolution at all. All the same, my admiration to that point is lessened by the insufficient care for storytelling that preceded it.

On the balance I did enjoy this, and I'd even give it as a modest recommendation to anyone looking for a picture built on mystery. I just wish it were more solid all around - provide more for the supporting cast to do; tighten the narrative. It's definitely flawed, but I like it more than not, and I think 'Jennifer' is worth a watch if you happen to come across it.

A woman is hired to look after a vacated old mansion that seems to be haunted by the spirit of the woman who previously had the job but disappeared. It sounds like a good, old-fashioned thriller and gets off to be pretty good start. Soon, however, it goes awry, turning into a dull drama. It becomes a drag despite the short running time of only 73 minutes. It was directed by some mysterious fellow named Joel Newton, who has no other film credit on his resume. Perhaps he is an earlier version of "Allen Smithee," the alias given to the director of films to which no director would attach his name. Lupino and off-screen husband Duff try their best but are given little to work with.

It has been almost 50 years since I saw "Jennifer" for the first and only time. I did not know the name of this movie until I looked it up on this web site, but I have told many people (especially my grandchildren) how movies do not have to include graphic details in order to frighten you and leave powerful impact. The story skillfully introduces you to concepts which if true put Ida Lupino in a very dangerous situation. Each time Miss Lupino discovers a new "fact" she draws the viewer into her confusion and fear.

This movie has such impact on me that almost 50 years later I still list it as one of the most frightening movies that I have ever seen. Yet this movie does not contain the blood and gore which became popular shortly after this movie was made. It's amazing what impact a good story and great actors can make.

A few years later and this 70-minute flick could have been an entry on TV's The Alfred Hitchcock Hour. It's cheaply produced with a bare-bones cast and in b&w at a time when Hollywood was going all out in Technicolor. But the plucky Lupino plugged along with her gritty little programmers that bucked the tide.

There's nothing special here, but there's enough ambiguity in Agnes's (Lupino) character and the circumstances to keep viewers engaged. A troubled Agnes (note the unflattering name) seeks escape by signing on as caretaker to a vacant old mansion, perhaps haunted by the missing former resident, Jennifer. Soon she gets involved with locals Hollis (Duff) and Orin (Nichols). At the same time, the mystery of Jennifer's disappearance deepens and we wonder about Hollis and Orin.

Oddly, not much really happens. Still, it's a clever screenplay with a number of provocative dark hints. That plus Lupino's superb acting skills provide subtle compensation. I especially like the unexpected hints that goofy kid Orin may not be the innocent he appears. But just why the studly Hollis would be attracted to the rather plain, unstable Agnes remains something of a stretch. Still, it's a measure of Lupino's all-around artistry that, for the sake of the role, she wouldn't flatter her looks. But get out your ear-muffs whenever Agnes starts spinning "Vortex" on the turn-table. It's music-to-go-mad-by, and the last thing wobbly Agnes should glom onto.

Anyhow, the results amount to a decent variation on a familiar thriller theme. I just wish the all-around gifted Lupino would get the industry recognition she so richly deserves.

A strange little tale that intrigues with its premise but hasn't a very interesting or satisfying conclusion. Out of work for four months, Ida Lupino interviews for a job as caretaker at a palatial estate for a family she's been warned is very eccentric. The manor is empty most of the year with the family out of town, so Lupino doesn't do much except stroll the grounds and investigate rooms. She's also obsessed with the woman who had the job before her--the mysteriously missing Jennifer--who was cousin to the woman who hired her. Curious item from Allied Artists only runs 73 minutes--and doesn't even have enough plot for this brief length! Howard Duff, talking from one side of his mouth as a gangster might, is totally inappropriate as a love-interest for Lupino, who is skittish and curt around men without explanation. Legendary James Wong Howe, of all people, was the cinematographer; he might be the one to blame for a cheat-shot near the climax, which arrives with a lot of questions still unanswered. ** from ****

Needing employment, Agnes Langley (Ida Lupino) agrees to take a job as caretaker for an otherwise abandoned estate. She is told the previous caretaker, the titular Jennifer, went "missing". After discovering Jennifer's diary, Agnes becomes obsessed with unraveling the mystery.

On the whole, Jennifer left me terribly unsatisfied. While I love the film's set-up, I don't feel the promise of Jennifer is ever realized. There's a reasonably interesting mystery, a big old house, and plenty of bumps in the night, but not much else. If the other characters had just been honest and forthcoming with Agnes from the beginning, there wouldn't have even been a mystery. It's disappointing to discover that, after 73 minutes, Jennifer isn't really missing, just somewhere else.

Despite my issues with the plot, I always love seeing Ida Lupino in just about anything she did. She was an amazing, talented woman. You can see that in Jennifer. She does so much with such a nothing plot and almost saves the film single handed. I don't know why, but I had no idea she was married to Howard Duff. The pair have some nice chemistry here - another of the film's highlights.

4/10

This is a miniature but a very efficient one. Ida Lupino is one of those actors I never found lacking but on the contrary raising every film she was in to a top level. She excelled in acting parts where she could make something great out of a small character, and this is a typical example. She gets a job as a caretaker at a large but desolate mansion of a great past but with a very dark secret developing into a looming mystery of constantly more threatening proportions, as Ida finds herself persecuted by the same kind of ghost that evidently scared away Jennifer, the previous lodger. No one knows what became of her, she just vanished without a trace, and that's the mystery, which immediately starts to haunt the vulnerable Ida, who gets more and more possessed by it. Two male characters also haunt the place and act as some kind of aids but seem both very suspicious, and she definitely cannot trust them and even less the more helpful they are. What's really happening is that everyone is keeping a secret from her, and as she can get no clue to the threat of this fact she naturally feels more and more exposed to unknown dangers, and she has a right to be. It all ends up to a shocking climax, making the structure of this film very similar to many Hitchcocks, especially "Suspicion" with Cary Grant and Joan Fontaine 10 years earlier. The interest and quality of the film lies entirely with suggestions and innuendos, shadows speak more than words, the moods take over and dominate reality, and you get involved in Ida's increasing terror of the unknown. It's a marvellous small film and the greater and more interesting for its fascinating minimalism.

Watching Ida Lupino in a nearly one-woman show of a movie was enthralling, but its shaggy-dog story let me down. Too bad, because this is a small-budget Allied Artists release that boasts top talent at work: James Wong Howe as cinematographer and Ernest Gold with a strong music score. There's even Matt Dennis on hand in a party scene at the piano singing his jazz standard "Angel Eyes".

But the director is Joel Newton, either a one-shot or a pseudonym. His pacing is lugubrious, basically following Ida around as she is on screen almost throughout, except for a brief plot line sequence featuring co-stars Howard Duff and Mary Shipp.

Casting of Duff, ida's frequent co-star and husband, robs much of the film of maximum suspense, as he seems way too comfortable opposite her, when for dramatic purposes a more sinister Zachary Scott type would have been preferable. Similarly, the 19-year-old delivery boy is played by Robert Nichols, way too old and way too bland for the rather significant (functionally) role.

I enjoyed the atmosphere generated by Howe's location photography, but Ida deserved a better vehicle.